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Personal info
Name	Harvey Fierstein	Date of birth	6 June 1954
Marital status		Birthplace	Brooklyn, New York, USA
Personal links	The Harvey Fierstein website at Plump Records Online

Biography

Harvey Fierstein is an award-winning playwright, actor and Gay rights activist. For Torch Song Trilogy he won the Broadway Theater's prestigious Tony Awards for both his starring performance and for Best Play. Mr. Fierstein won a third Tony for his book of the musical "La Cage Aux Folles." His other plays include "Safe Sex", "Spookhouse" and "Forget Him". He adapted Torch Song Trilogy for the screen, reprising his lead role in a cast that included Ann Bancroft and Matthew Broderick. Mr. Fierstein also wrote and starred in the multi-Ace Award winning HBO Showcase "Tidy Endings". Other film appearances include Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Garbo Talks", "The Harvest", and the upcoming "White Lies" and "Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Hyde." Harvey's voice was featured on a classic episode of "The Simpsons" as Homer's executive secretary, and is heard as the narrator of the Academy Award winning documentary, "The Times of Harvey Milk." On television, Fierstein earned an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Rebecca's first love on "Cheers." He is a frequent guest on late night television, including the Tonight Show, David Letterman, Arsenio Hall and cable's Politically Incorrect. Other TV appearances include "Murder She Wrote", "Miami Vice", the CBS pilot "Those Two", and the PBS tribute to Cole Porter, "Swellagant Elegance". He was also a series regular on the '94-'95 S series "Daddy's Girls", starring Dudley Moore. Harvey Fierstein made his acting debut at La Mama E.T.C. in Andy Warhol's only play, "Pork", in 1971. Since then, he has appeared in over seventy stage productions. He has received grants from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and has won awards including Theater World, OBIE, Oppenheimer, Dramatists Guild Hull/Warriner, Drama Desk, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and was honored with a plaque on Brooklyn's "Walk of Fame."

Trivia

Harvey Fierstein's 12 Step Program to Change Your Life: Taken from Harvey Fierstein's Commencement Address to the 1992 class at Bennington. Never lie, and never let anyone cause you to lie. Truth, or the pursuit of it, is all we have. Never do anything you are ashamed of. If you're ashamed that means somewhere inside you think it's wrong; and if you think it's wrong, you shouldn't be doing it. Take full responsibility for yourself. You are the only one who can say what goes into or comes out of your body. Always admit when you're wrong. You'll save thousands in therapy later -- and a few friendships too. Change your mind as often as possible. Just because you thought something yesterday doesn't mean you have to think it today. Don't ever become a prisoner of your own opinion. Beware of anyone who says they know. Trust me, they don't, or they wouldn't have to say they did. Take care of yourself first, then your family, then your friends. And if you have anything left over, share it. Do something, anything, every day to change the world. It doesn't have to be big, it could be giving a dime to a street person, planting a flower, picking up litter. Anything will change the world. When you have nothing better to do, smile. You'll have to trust me on the miracle this step brings. Make a bit of time every day to be alone and think. Five or ten minutes is enough. It will keep you sane. Have all the sex you want -- safe sex. Get lust out of your way. It's the only way I know to make sure you fall in love for the right reasons. And I want you all to find true love. Learn something new every day. Read a newspaper article that you wouldn't normally read. Open a dictionary to a word you never heard, or never understood. His trade mark is of course his gruff, yet soft, voice. At the Gay Games 1998 in Amsterdam I was in a stadium with 50.000 other gays (what a party that was) and he was way down on the field. The second he began to speak I was thrilled. It's really him! No one can do that voice. The essence of Fierstein's landmark Torch Song Trilogy (1988) was autobiographical, since he began performing as a drag queen in Manhattan clubs as early as age 15. 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 III's "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 father's funeral, the show closed. Quotes: If you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life? Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. The great thing about suicide is that it's not one of those things you have to do now or you lose your chance. I mean, you can always do it later. He has won several prizes: 1983 - 2 Tonies for Torch Song Trilogy 1992 - Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for: "Cheers" (1982) for playing "Mark Newberger". 1994 - Won a GLAAD Award for Visibility category. 2000 - Won the Humanitas Prize in the Children's Animation Category for: "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child" (1995) for episode "The Sissy Duckling".

Filmography
Year	Title	Character
2003	Duplex
2002	Death to Smoochy	Merv Green
2001	Rescued From the Closet	Himself
2000	Playing Mona Lisa	Bennett
2000	Common Ground	Don
1999	Jump
1999	X-Chromosome	Mom/Little Mom Head (voice)
1999	The Sissy Duckling	Elmer (voice)
1999	Double Platinum	Gary Millstein
1998	Stories from My Childhood	Narrator
1998	Safe Men	Good Stuff Leo the Fence
1998	Mulan	Yao (voice)
1997	Kull the Conqueror	Juba
1996	Elmo Saves Christmas	Easter Bunny
1996	White Lies	Art
1996	Everything Relative	The Moyle
1996	Independence Day	Marty Gilbert
1995	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	The Sissy Duckling (voice)
1995	The Celluloid Closet	Himself
1995	Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde	Yves DuBois
1994	Daddy's Girls	Dennis Sinclair
1994	Bullets Over Broadway	Sid Loomis
1993	Mrs. Doubtfire	Uncle Frank Hillard
1993	The harvest	Bob Lakin
1992	In the Shadow of Love: A Teen AIDS Story	Andrew
1998	Mama's Pushcart: Ellen Stewart and 25 Years of La MaMa E.T.C.	Himself
1998	Torch Song Trilogy	Arnold Beckoff
1988	Tidy Endings	Arthur
1986	Apology	The Derelict
1984	The Times of Harvey Milk	Narrator
1984	Garbo Talks	Bernie Whitlock
1983	The Demon Murder Case	Voice of Demon

Pictures