Lainie Kazan Autographs
Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for St. Elsewhere and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for My Favorite Year. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role in My Favorite Year (1982). Kazan played Maria Portokalos in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise. She also played Aunt Freida on The Nanny.
Kazan was born Lainie Levine in Brooklyn, the daughter of Carole (née Kazan) and Ben Levine. She is of Ashkenazi Jewish and Sephardic Jewish descent with Russian and Turkish roots. Some of her grandparents lived in Jerusalem before moving to Manchester, England, and settling in Brooklyn. Kazan has described her mother as "neurotic, fragile and artistic." Kazan attended Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School with Barbra Streisand, for whom she would later understudy. She graduated in 1956. Kazan studied theatre at HB Studio and graduated from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, in 1960. While at Hofstra, Kazan appeared in school musicals written and directed by a classmate director Francis Ford Coppola as well as actor James Caan.
Kazan made her Broadway debut in 1961 with the musical The Happiest Girl in the World. She appeared the following year in another musical, Bravo Giovanni, and understudied Barbra Streisand for the lead role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1964). When Streisand could not perform due to a throat condition, Kazan took her place in a matinee and evening performance for one day of the show's run. Her popularity increasing, Kazan posed nude for 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. Overseen by Hugh Hefner, the clubs were named Lainie's Room West and Lainie's Room East, each on opposite coasts, with the first one located in Los Angeles and the other in Manhattan. Her Playboy photographs inspired the look of Jack Kirby’s superheroine Big Barda.
Read more about Lainie Kazan on Wikipedia
Affiliate disclosure: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Current items with a signature of Lainie Kazan
These are the most current items with a signature of Lainie Kazan that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
Traded items with a signature of Lainie Kazan
The most expensive item with a signature of Lainie Kazan (Lainie Kazan Playboy Singer Actress Original 75+ Signed Contract Correspondence) was sold in February 2019 for $1,500.00 while the cheapest item (Lainie Kazan Signed 8x10 Photo PSA/DNA COA Autograph AUTO Stock Photo) found a new owner for $0.99 in July 2021. The month with the most items sold (20) was December 2025 with an average selling price of $95.99 for an autographed item of Lainie Kazan. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in February 2019 with $1,500.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $0.99 was January 2008. In average, an autographed item from Lainie Kazan is worth $19.98.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Lainie Kazan were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
