Whether he’s playing Cam and Mitchell’s pal Pepper on Modern Family, Robin Williams‘ husband in The Birdcage or one of the leads in The Producers, this two-time Tony winner is first-rate.

Nathan, who turns 56 today, was most recently on Broadway in The Addams Family.

For all his Broadway success in such shows as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Odd Couple and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, television success has been more elusive.

But after two failed sitcoms on the broadcast networks, Nathan is set to star in a comedy on USA Network (where they actually give their shows some time to find an audience!). He stars as an unlucky actor who puts his Broadway aspirations on hold to return to his Texas hometown and care for his sick father. Cheyenne Jackson will play a handsome doctor who befriends Lane.
Let’s enjoy some Nathan:

A woman who is a real national treasure has a birthday today.

She’s Elaine Stritch and she turns 87!

This Tony winning showbiz legend is indeed still going strong with live performances of her one woman show and a run on Broadway in 2010 in A Little Night Music.

But she’s best known for her signature song Ladies Who Lunch from Company. The first of the three clips is from her smash show Elaine Stritch at Liberty where she tells a few anecdotes before launching into the classic number.

The second clip is a documentary about Company and a riveting episode where Miss Stritch simply could not deliver while trying to record the soundtrack for the show during a late night session. But when she finally does a few days later, it is dynamite.

And finally, the third clip is Miss Stritch performing I’m Still Here because, well, she is!

She is a force of nature and I hope she knows how many people appreciate her for sharing her great talent and energy with us for all these years and for all the work she and the love of her life, Harry Kullijian, have done to keep the arts in schools.

Harry died on the eve of his 92nd birthday just a little over a month ago and my sources tell me Miss Channing is determined to carry on with their work.

They were junior high school sweethearts, didn’t see each other for more than 60 years, then reunited and married in 2003. They radiated happiness as you can see in the documentary Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, currently in theaters.

Below is a trailer for this fabulous movie as well as Miss Channing performing the wonderful ballad Before the Parade Passes By from her biggest hit show Hello Dolly.

Long before she married Ellen DeGeneres and became one-half of the most famous lesbian couple in America, Portia had achieved television stardom as a cast member on two classic television comedies: Ally McBeal and Arrested Development.

Portia also appeared in the FX series Nip/Tuck and was one of the stars of the ABC sitcom Better off Ted.

Hope to see her back on television soon and look forward to an Arrested Development feature film!

Happy birthday to a very talented lady!

UPDATE: Here is Ellen’s Birthday tweet to her wife:

That little sister happens to be Sara Gilbert, current co-host of The Talk and an alum of the long-running sitcom Roseanne.

Sara is dating musician Linda Perry and actually talked about it a little bit on The Talk.

When I chatted with Sara in summer 2010 about the show, she had just begun to publicly talk about being a lesbian.

“I’m naturally kind of a private person,” she told me then. “I’m at a place in my life where I’m excited about this project and I want to share more. How much that is I guess I’ll get to find as the show goes. I’m not someone who’s been a talk show host before so I’m going to follow the lead of people like Sharon [Osbourne] and Julie [Chen] who have a lot more experience than I do and try and find the right zone for myself and my family.”

RT @TheRealRoseanne dear miss daughter sara on her bday: thank u for creating a new way for girls to see themselves. GOOD JOB! #iloveu R.

THEsaragilbert sara gilbert

Thank you @TheRealRoseanne for the sweetest birthday message today. Love you, Sara aka your middle child

It seems like only yesterday that he was getting banned from ABC because of a risque appearance on the American Music Awards and getting arrested after a drunken fight with his boyfriend in Finland.

Well, okay, Finland was practically yesterday – it was just last month!

But Adam is a hard-working superstar with a real connection to his extremely loyal fans. And on his birthday, Adam does not want any gifts from those fans – he’d prefer they donate the charity: water organization.

He writes on his donation page:

Last year for my ‘golden birthday’, you gave me the best birthday present I could have asked for — you donated $323,803 to bring clean water to over 16,000 people! It felt so amazing to have my fans, friends and family do something so inspiring for my birthday.

I’ve been asked what I would like people to do this year for my 30th birthday. I’d like to invite you to join me and “give up” your birthday this year.

Wait until you see how amazing it feels.

Together, I bet we can raise over $1 million and bring thousands more people clean water.

Happy birthday to Adam!

Greg’s story means so much to me because I was coming out in a big way in the mid-90s and it was then that he also came out and wrote a deeply-felt memoir called Breaking the Surface in which he revealed that he had been HIV positive when he won his third and fourth gold  medals at the 1988 Olympics.

I interviewed Greg back in 2010 (that’s us pictured below at the Pantages Theatre) and he had a lot to say about HIV awareness.

When Greg announced that he was HIV-positive in the mid-90s, there were not yet the drugs available that prevent the disease from being a death sentence. But, he said, the breakthroughs are no reason to not remain vigilant.

“Sure, we’ve made great strides with medications and treatments. But what I try and share with young people is all the hardships. I wouldn’t wish my drug regiment on anyone. I swallow a lot of pills and the side effects from the medications are not pleasant.”

“The things that I’ve had to go through and endure and in and out of the hospital and that sort of thing. Yes, Magic Johnson and myself, we’re out and about, we’re active and we’re doing good things but it doesn’t mean that the disease is manageable. I can’t stress it enough how important it is to be responsible. It’s something that they can avoid! We’ve learned this through education and we’re trying to get that through to young people who think that they’re indestructible.”

On another note, there is a Facebook page campaigning for Greg to be asked to participate in Dancing With the Stars. He’d be an excellent choice and if you want to join the effort, here is a LINK to the Facebook page.

Alan Cumming turns 47 today and has plenty to celebrate. Three weeks ago, the Tony Award winner and Emmy nominee married artist Grant Shaffer in a “improptu” wedding at Soho Grand. The couple got together in 2005 and entered into a civil partnership in 2007.

Cumming, who is politically active, tweeted the news of the wedding this way: “On the 5th anniversary of our wedding in London grant and I tied the knot again in NYC!!! #eatmericksantorum”

Alan took to Twitter again today to reflect on his birthday festivities:

My b’day part 1: Propped up the bar at The Cock NYC. May have cock blocked the gogo boys standing on it.

Alancumming Alan Cumming

My b’day part 2: had late night snack of split pea soup, judging by my jeans this morning.

Ellen DeGeneres turns 54 today and is as big a star as she’s ever been.

She was the winner of the 2011 Greggy Award for Female Star of the Year because she not only entertains, but also deeply cares.

Ellen’s daytime show is now in its ninth season and more popular than ever and she is a special AIDS envoy who uses her high profile to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS around the world.

Happy birthday to a very special star.

So, in honor of her 66th birthday today, here are some videos of three of her most famous songs: Here You Come Again, I Will Always Love You and Jolene.

Enjoy – and happy birthday to Dolly!

His character of Scotty Wandell (husband to Kevin Walker played by Matthew Rhys), was one of the show’s most popular. We fell in love with the character and the credit goes to the handsome and talented Canadian actor who played him.

What was even better was when Luke, who turns 32 today, took the brave step of coming out publicly during the show’s run.

He most recently appeared in the Broadway production of The Normal Heart.

Happy birthday to Luke!

Miss Rivera has been a revelation this season as her cheerleader character comes to terms with being a lesbian and was never better than in a heartbreaking scene in which her beloved grandmother completely rejects her.

“I have to tell you a secret, a secret that I’ve kept from you for a very long time,” she tells her grandmother at her kitchen table. “Abuelita, I love girls the way that I’m supposed to feel about boys. … I want you to know me, who I really am. When I’m with Brittany, I finally understand what people are talking about when they talk about love.”

Santana is not always the most likeable character but she’s always interesting. It is to Naya’s great credit that she has made us care about Santana by showing the glimpses of vulnerability underneath the layers of toughness.

I think it is my favorite song of all time and has special meaning because it was the only song that me and my late friend, Walter Carpenter III, used to sing together. He was a heavy metal fan and loved the Judas Priest version as much as I loved Baez’s.

So here is Miss Baez performing that song in the mid-70s and then a few years back as a duet with the equally great Judy Collins.

Rex is an openly gay actor who has done well playing gay characters. Besides Lloyd, he is now playing the role of Mr. Wolfe, a clueless high school guidance counselor, on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory.

I’ve seen several episodes of the new comedy and I love the straight-gay friendship between Rex’s character and George (Jeremy Sisto).

Congrats to Rex on the new gig! May it run as long as Entourage.

I’d have to say, just off the top of my head, that they would be Something’s Gotta Give, First Wives Club, Baby Boom, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Marvin’s Room.

But then I realize I’ve left out her Oscar winning performance in Annie Hall and her other Woody Allen-directed turns in Manhattan, Love and Death, Sleeper and Play it Again, Sam. Then there’s her amazing dramatic work in Reds (Oscar nomination), Shoot the Moon, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Mrs. Soffel and The Godfather trilogy.

So many movies and she’s still at it with last year’s Morning Glory opposite Harrison Ford.

Here are some of my favorite Diane Keaton moments:

She certainly turned the world on with her smile during the glorious seven year run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and for five years before that as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

She is, of course, Mary Tyler Moore and she turns 75 years old today!

I have every season of both shows on DVD and when I want to watch something of quality, smart comedy that really stands the test of time, I will watch those shows.

Mary won two Emmys as Laura Petrie and four as Mary Richards. Her seventh came years later for a villainous in the TV movie Stolen Babies.

Miss Moore has excelled in both drama and comedy winning a Golden Globe Award and being nominated for an Oscar for her performance as an ice cold mother in Ordinary People and winning a special Tony Award for her performance in the play Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Mary is one of the all-time greats and next month, will receive the Screen Actors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She was one of the first inductees into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame and, if there’s any justice, will be a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors next year.

Here are some clips to remind us of the greatness of Mary:

Malcolm Gets kept his personal life fairly private while playing a straight guy on the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City during the 90s. But since the show ended its run, he’s been very openly gay.

This stage, film and television actor was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Amour and also appeared in Broadway productions of Dreamgirls, The Molière Comedies, Passion and The Story of My Life.

Malcolm won the Obie for his work Off-Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along and The Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1995. He also was very good in the 2009 HBO film Grey Gardens and as one of the leads opposite Craig Chester in the 2005 indie romantic comedy Adam and Steve.

There’s a reason why he’s always so in-demand. In addition to being an actor, Gets is a dancer, singer, composer, classically trained pianist, vocal director, and choreographer.

Hope he has enough time in his busy schedule to celebrate his birthday!