Happy Birthday to three-time Tony-winning performer Nathan Lane, born Joseph Lane on Feb. 3, 1956, in Jersey City. He attended Catholic schools, including the Jesuit St. Peter’s Prep, where he was voted Best Actor in 1974 and received the Hall of Fame Professional Achievement Award in 2011. He briefly attended St. Joseph’s University on a drama scholarship, which didn’t cover enough of his expenses, so he decided to leave and work for a while to earn some money, moving to New York to pursue acting. Since there was a Joseph Lane registered with Actors’ Equity, he changed his name to Nathan, after Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls.
He made his Off-Broadway debut with a 1978 revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and his Broadway debut with a 1982 revival of Present Laughter, for which he received a Drama Desk nomination. His next Broadway shows were the musicals Merlin (1983), which ran for six months, and Wind in the Willows (1985), which ran for three days. His Off-Broadway work in the 1980s includes the musicals What About Luv? (1984), which ran for two weeks, and In a Pig’s Valise (1989), which ran two months. Below is Lane as Toad with Vicki Lewis (Mole) and David Carroll (Rat) in “That’s What Friends Are For” from Wind in the Willows at the 1985 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
In 1987, he met Terrence McNally, beginning a long personal and professional relationship, which includes roles in The Lisbon Traviata (1990 Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel), Love! Valour! Compassion! (1995 Obie and Drama Desk), and Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams (2006 Drama Desk nomination). His association with Stephen Sondheim began in 1989 with the workshop of Assassins. In 1996, Sondheim wrote “Little Dream” especially for Lane to sing in the film The Birdcage, for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination. In 1999, Lane appeared in the workshop of Wise Guys, and in 2004, he revised the book for and starred in the Broadway premiere of The Frogs. Below is the press reel from The Frogs, including Lane and Roger Bart in “I Love to Travel” (starting at 1:50).
Lane saw some of his biggest successes in the 1990s. In 1992, he starred in a revival of Guys and Dolls (appropriately playing Nathan Detroit), for which he received his first Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award. That year, he also won an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. In 1994, Lane voiced meerkat Timon in the film The Lion King, including the Oscar-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and the Oscar-nominated “Hakuna Matata.” In 1996, he starred in a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, for which he won the Tony and Drama Desk awards. Below is Lane with Walter Bobbie and J.K. Simmons in “The Oldest Established” from Guys and Dolls.
Lane’s biggest success though came in 2001, when he starred in the musical The Producers, earning further Tony and Drama Desk awards. In 2004, he reprised his role on the West End, winning the Olivier Award, while his performance in the film version earned him his second Golden Globe nomination. In 2005, Lane and Broderick received adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.) in a joint ceremony on Jan. 9, 2006, and were immortalized in wax as Max and Leo at Madame Tussauds in New York a week later. In 2008, Lane was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. He ended the decade with a Lortel nomination for the solo show Sleepwalk with Me. Below is Lane and the London cast in a medley from The Producers at the 2004 Royal Variety Performance.
In 2010, Lane starred in the musical The Addams Family (Drama Desk nom) and received a Drama League Award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater. In 2013, he starred in The Nance, receiving Tony and Drama Desk nominations. On Nov. 17, 2015, he married his long-time partner, producer Devlin Elliott. In 2016, he returned to Broadway in a revival of The Front Page, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk nominations. He then did the revival of Angels in America in London and on Broadway, winning another Tony and Drama Desk. Below is Lane with Bebe Neuwirth and The Addams Family cast in “When You’re an Addams” on the Apr. 6, 2010, episode of The Late Show.
Lane’s other TV work includes the animated series Teacher’s Pet, Timon & Pumbaa, and George and Martha. He received Daytime Emmy Awards for the first two and a nomination for last. He’s received six Primetime Emmy nominations for guest appearances on Frasier, Mad About You, Modern Family, and The Good Wife. He also played F. Lee Bailey in the Emmy-winning limited series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.