Happy Birthday Nathan Lane!

Nathan Lane, the openly gay two-time Tony Award winning actor, turns 54 years old today.

His career is going as strong as ever with a return to Broadway soon in The Addams Family with Bebe Neuwirth. Since making his Broadway debut in 1982 in Present Laughter, Nathan has repeatedly scored with hit shows including in Tony winning roles in The Producers and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Other hits include The Odd Couple, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, a revival of Guys and Dolls, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Bad Habits, The Man Who Came to Dinner, a revival of Waiting for Godat and in Love! Valour! Compassion!

His film and television career has not matched his stage triumphs but he did star in the film version of The Producers with Matthew Broderick and scored his biggest film hit opposite Robin Williams in The Birdcage. He also starred with Bette Midler in Isn’t She Great and had roles in Swing Vote and Nicholas Nickleby, among others.

Nathan once shared that when he told his mother he was gay, she replied, “I’d rather you were dead.” To which he replied, “I knew you’d understand.” He came out publicly after the death of Matthew Shepard.

Here is a clip of Nathan in The Birdcage: