Lainie Kazan

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Lainie Kazan

Kazan at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Children Uniting Nations/Billboard afterparty
Born Lanie Levine
(1940-05-15) May 15, 1940
Brooklyn, New York,
United States
Occupation Actress, singer
Years active 1958-present
Spouse(s) Peter Daniels (1971-1989; his death; 1 child)
Website
www.lainiekazan.com

Lainie Kazan (born May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer.

Personal life

Kazan was born Lanie Levine in Brooklyn, New York City,[1] the daughter of a Russian Ashkenazi Jewish father who worked as a bookie and a Turkish Sephardic Jewish mother, Carole, whom Kazan has described as "neurotic, fragile and artistic."[2][3] Kazan graduated from Hofstra University, located in Hempstead, New York. She was married to Peter Daniels in 1971. In a segment of Celebrity Ghost Stories she revealed that she was widowed in 1989 when he died of lung cancer. She has one daughter named Jennifer from that marriage, and is a grandmother. She serves on the boards of the Young Musicians’ Foundation, AIDS Project LA, and B'nai Brith.

Kazan suffered from deep vein thrombosis, and has dedicated time to educating the public about the condition.[4]

Career

Kazan made her Broadway debut in The Happiest Girl in the World in 1961 followed by Bravo Giovanni (1962). She served as understudy to Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, finally getting to go on 18 months into the run when the star was ill with a serious throat problem. Both had attended the same high school, Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York. Kazan’s mother alerted the press and, encouraged by rave reviews for her performance, she quit the show and set out to establish herself in a singing career.

As her popularity increased, Kazan posed nude for a spread in the October 1970 issue of Playboy, which was reused in Pocket Playboy #4, issued in 1974. Her appearance in the magazine opened the door for her to headline and operate two different Playboy Jazz Clubs, both under Hugh Hefner’s overview, which she called Lainie’s Lounge East and West on opposite coasts, one in Los Angeles and the other in Manhattan. Her Playboy photographs also inspired the look of Jack Kirby’s DC Comics superheroine Big Barda.

Kazan appeared in numerous supper clubs across the country, and she guested on Dean Martin’s variety series 26 times. Other television work includes a recurring role as Aunt Frieda on the Fran Drescher sitcom The Nanny and as Kirstie Alley’s mother on Veronica’s Closet, and guest shots on St. Elsewhere (resulting in an Emmy nomination), The Paper Chase, Touched by an Angel, and Will & Grace. She was also featured in My Big Fat Greek Life, a short-lived series based on the Nia Vardalos hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in which she had also starred alongside Vardalos. She appeared in a scene as the mother of Adam Sandler’s character in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, but it was deleted in the feature film. It is, however, included in the special features on disc. Prior to this film, she had appeared with its co-star Kevin James in two episodes of his The King of Queens TV series as the once-renowned singer Ava St. Clair.

A life member of The Actors Studio,[5] Kazan returned to Broadway to recreate her film role for the musical adaptation of My Favorite Year, earning a Tony Award nomination for her performance. She completed a stint in The Vagina Monologues. She has also appeared in regional productions of A Little Night Music, Man of La Mancha, Gypsy, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hello, Dolly!, and Fiddler on the Roof, among others. In 1984, she made a guest appearance on the Faerie Tale Theatre episode “Pinocchio” as Sophia the Blue Fairy.

Kazan has performed on concert stages and in Las Vegas and Atlantic City showrooms.[citation needed]

She appeared in an episode of Ugly Betty, playing the mother of Bobby, who was soon to become the central character’s brother-in-law. She appeared in one episode, "Fire and Nice".[6]

On August 17, 2010, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Kazan would join the cast of Desperate Housewives for Season 7. She played the role of a self-employed business owner and neighbor to Susan.[7]

In 2013, she made an appearance as Bertram's mother in the Disney Channel Original Series "Jessie"

Filmography

Television work

Stage work

Discography

  • Lainie Kazan (1966) SE-4385 MGMRecords (original studio album)
  • Right Now (1966) SE-4340MGM Records (original studio album; with sleeve notes by Dean Martin)
  • Love Is Lainie (1967) SE-4496 MGM Records (original studio album)
  • The Love Album (1967) SE 4451 MGMRecords (original studio album)
  • The Best of Lainie Kazan (1969)SE-4631 MGM Records (compilation album)
  • In the Groove (1998) 65168 Musicmasters (original studio album)

References

  1. ↑ Klein, Alvin (May 3, 1992). "Lainie Kazan Goes Back to Her Roots". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
  2. ↑ JewishJournal.com
  3. ↑ j. - Lainie Kazan bringing cabaret classics to S.F
  4. ↑ "Ability Magazine: Lainie Kazan Interview" (2008)". Retrieved 2012-04-03. 
  5. ↑ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8. 
  6. ↑ "Ugly Betty Casts Bobby's Parents". TVGuide.com. 
  7. ↑ "Lainie Kazan to Guest-Star on Desperate Housewives". TVGuide.com. Retrieved August 17, 2010. 

External links

Authority control
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