Happy Birthday to Bryan Batt!

His character of Sal might have been closeted on Mad Men but Bryan Batt is an out and proud gay man who turns 48 today!

He’s a great talent who, by the time Mad Men came along, had already had tremendous success on stage with major roles in such shows as Sunset Boulevard, Saturday Night Fever and La Cage aux Folles and in the films Jeffrey and Kiss Me Guido.

Bryan has been far from idle since he was written out of Mad Men. He appeared in the final two episodes of Ugly Betty, filmed two movies (Brawler and Sam), did his one-man show Batt on a Hot Tin Roof at Feinsteins in New York and released a wonderful memoir called She’s Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother. [Here is a LINK to my interview with Bryan about the book].

He and his partner of more than two decades, Tom Cianfichi, own a home decor and furnishings store, Hazelnut, on Magazine Street in New Orleans.