Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning actor, playwright, and screenwriter.The gravelly-voiced actor perhaps is known best for the play and film Torch Song Trilogy, which he wrote and starred in. The 1982 Broadway production won him two Tony Awards, for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play, two Drama Desk Awards, for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play, and the Theatre World Award, and the film earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination as Best Male Lead.Fierstein also wrote the book for La Cage aux Folles (1983), winning another Tony Award, this time for Best Book of a Musical, and a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Book. Legs Diamond, his 1988 collaboration with Peter Allen, was a critical and commercial failure, closing after 72 previews and 64 performances. His other playwriting credits include Safe Sex, Spookhouse, and Forget Him.
Has won four Tony Awards from only four nominations: two in 1983, as Best Actor (Play) and Author of Best Play for "Torch Song Trilogy", a performance he recreated in the film version of the same title, Torch Song Trilogy ; a third in 1984, the Book Tony for writing the libretto of "La Cage aux Folles"; and the fourth in 2003, as Best Actor in the Divine role of Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray". These four awards tie him with Tommy Tune for the most Tony Awards in different categories.
The essence of Fiersteins landmark "Torch Song Trilogy" was autobiographical, since he began performing as a drag queen in Manhattan clubs as early as age 15.
Won a GLAAD Award for Visibility category.
Won the Humanitas Prize in the Childrens Animation Category for: "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child" for episode "The Sissy Duckling".
Was known only for playing drag roles off-off Broadway (often in plays he wrote himself) until he played his first male role in Robert Patrick IIIs "The Haunted Host" in Boston. The play was such a personal success for him that when he had to leave the show for four days for his fathers funeral, the show closed.
Won Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical at the 2003 Tony Awards for his role in the play "Hairspray".
With his Tony Award win for "Hairspray", along with his three previous wins, he ties with Tommy Tune for most Tony Awards for different categories.
In the 2003 New York City Thanksgiving Day Parade, he was Mrs. Claus, dressed in drag.
After a severe bout of depression following a break up with a lover, Fierstein wrote about the painful experience and the end result was "The International Stud", which was produced at the Theater for the New City in 1976 (later at La MaMa in 1978) with Fierstein introducing and starring as his Arnold Beckoff character, a gay man whose bisexual lover dumps him for a female. Fierstein went on to write two more plays about Arnold and introduced "Fugue in a Nursery" and "Widows and Children First!", in 1979 at La MaMa, with Fierstein again playing the lead. Eventually, Fierstein integrated the three Arnold plays into a single play, "Torch Song Trilogy", which was first presented off-off-Broadway in 1981, and the rest is history.
Is good friends with actor/director Danny DeVito.
He pronounces his last name "fire-steen".
His trademark voice is the result of over-developed ventricular folds in his throat, which produce a hoarse-sounding double voice.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 11, 2016.
When he was cast as an openly gay fashion designer in the short-lived sitcom "Daddys Girls" , he became the first gay actor to play an openly gay character in a series in American television history.
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Actually, I think the average voice is like 70 percent tone and 30,percent noise. My voice is 95 percent noise.
If you deny yourself commitment what can you do with your life?,Of course people are afraid. But honestly facing that fear seeing it for what it is is the only way of putting it to rest.
In Torch Song, I did that character almost non-stop from 1978 until I made the movie in 1987. Then I had some failure, which also colors how you react to doing other things.
Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate.
To work all the time is to be incredibly lucky.
State-sanctioned marriage is a civil contract, period. A contract is not a judgment of moral value. It is a legal agreement between two parties that testifies to a meeting of minds between those consenting entities. It is not a religious act or rite and so has nothing to do with Adam and Eve or Steve or even Harvey. .
