Harvey Fierstein
At some point in his career, Harvey Fierstein walked away from Tony Award ceremonies with hardware in multiple categories — Best Book of a Musical, Best Actor in a Play, and Best Actor in a Musical — a range that signals just how many corners of the theatre he's occupied at once.
Born on June 6, 1952, in Brooklyn, Fierstein attended the High School of Art and Design before going on to study at Pratt Institute. He built a career that spans acting, playwriting, screenwriting, singing, directing, and producing, working across stage, film, and television. That breadth is reflected in his Drama Desk Awards as well, which cover Outstanding Play, Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and Outstanding Actor in a Play — three distinct disciplines recognized by the same organization.
Beyond the stage, Fierstein has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and VH1 Trailblazer Honors, adding to a long list of recognition that includes the Theatre World Award and the Hull-Warriner Award. His work as a voice actor further extends a career that refuses to stay in one lane. The Tony for Best Actor in a Musical sits alongside the one for Best Actor in a Play, making him one of the relatively few people to have taken home acting Tonys in both categories — a concrete measure of the range he's brought to American theatre.
Quotes by Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein's insights on:
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no ones definition of your life, but define yourself.
You know, I always got offered other stuff. Not the romantic leads, obviously. But very often it’s a role that’s underwritten, where the character has no personality at all. And they need a character actor who can fill it in.
With Russia about to hold the Winter Games in Sochi, the country is open to pressure. American and world leaders must speak out against Mr. Putin’s attacks and the violence they foster. The Olympic Committee must demand the retraction of these laws under threat of boycott.
The next time you feel you have to say, “I love you” to someone, say it to yourself – and see if you believe it.
Just because I said that’s what I want doesn’t mean that’s what I want. I mean, that’s what I want but that doesn’t mean that I’m necessarily ready for it.
As soon as I started writing, other writers stopped wanting me acting in their shows – maybe they thought I was going to rewrite them.
See, an ugly person who goes after a pretty person gets nothing but trouble. But a pretty person who goes after an ugly person gets at least cab-fare.
I burned out on AIDS and did no AIDS work for a couple of years. I was so angry that people were still getting this disease that nobody can give you – you have to go out and get it!
I have great faith in the United States. It’s the only country I would ever live in.