Bryan Batt
Batt in September 2009
Born	(1963-03-01) March 1, 1963 (age 49) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

Bryan Batt (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor best known for his role in the AMC series Mad Men as Salvatore Romano, an art director for the Sterling Cooper agency. Primarily a theater actor, he has had a number of starring roles in movies and television as well. His performance in the musical adaptation of Saturday Night Fever earned him one of New York City's more unusual honors, a caricature at Sardi's.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Batt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Gayle Batt, an amateur actress and dancer and civic activist.^[2][3] His family founded and ran the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park.^[4] He attended and graduated from Isidore Newman School, a preparatory school in New Orleans, and Tulane University.^[5] Although Batt played a closeted character in Mad Men, the actor himself is openly gay. He has played gay roles on film (Jeffrey and Kiss Me, Guido) and stage (La Cage aux Folles). In 2005, Batt told Playbill that he used to worry about the effect of coming out on his career:

When I played the lead in Sunset Blvd., the movie of Jeffrey was coming out, and I was petrified. Back then, every agent told you that if you want to play a straight role, you don’t come out. This was before Ellen [DeGeneres] came out. But now I couldn't give a rat’s ass. It’s normal to be gay.^[6]

Bryan Batt lives with his partner, Tom Cianfichi, an events planner.^[7] Batt and Cianfichi have been together more than 21 years;^[8] they met while performing Evita in Akron, Ohio. Batt was playing Che, and Cianfichi was the understudy for Magaldi.^[6] Batt and Cianfichi own a home decor and furnishings store, Hazelnut, on Magazine Street in New Orleans.^[4] In 2010 Batt published a memoir about his mother entitled She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother;^[9] she died in December 2010.^[3] In 2011 Clarkson Potter published his second book Big, Easy, Style which focuses on interior design and home furnishings.^[10]

Works[link]

Film[link]

• Jeffrey - Darius (Workin' Man Films 1995)
• Kiss Me, Guido - Tino (Sundance 1997)
• Funny People - George Simmons' Agent (2009)

Theater[link]

• Broadway
  • La Cage aux Folles - standby Albin (Marquis Theatre)
  • Beauty and the Beast - Lumiere (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre)
  • Seussical - Alternate Cat in the Hat (Richard Rodgers Theatre, Colonial Theatre, Boston tryout)
  • Saturday Night Fever - Monty (Minskoff Theatre)
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel - standby Percy/Pimpernel (Minskoff Theatre)
  • Sunset Boulevard - u/s Joe Gillis/Ensemble (Minskoff Theatre)
  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - Reuben, u/s Pharaoh (Minskoff Theatre)
  • Cats - Munkustrap (Winter Garden Theatre)
  • Starlight Express - Rocky I/Greaseball (Gershwin Theatre)
• Off-Broadway
  • Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act (OBC Recording, nominated for Drama Desk Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical)
  • Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back! - Various (Triad Theater, New Original Cast, OBC Recording)
  • Jeffrey - Darius (Minetta Lane,WPA/Christopher Ashley)
  • Too Many Girls - Al (ELT)
  • The Golden Apple - Patroclus (York Theater)
  • Give My Regards to Broadway (Carnegie Hall/David Bell)
  • I Love New York (Rainbow and Stars - Bistro Award, OBC Recording)
• Los Angeles
  • Jeffrey - Darius ( Westwood Playhouse) LA Drama-Logue Award
• Regional
  • Evita - Che (Carousel Dinner Theater)
  • Grease - Kenicke (Darien Dinner Theater)
  • Trixie True: Teen Detective - Dick Dickerson (Boston Post Road Stage Co.)
  • Romeo & Juliet - Paris (New Orleans Center Stage)
  • The Lover - John (New Orleans Center Stage)
  • Action - Jeep (New Orleans Center Stage)

Television[link]

• Mad Men (AMC) - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated 2007, won 2008, 2009.
• Guess Who's Coming to Decorate (Style)
• Rescue Me (FX)
• Guiding Light (CBS)
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC)
• The Cosby Show (NBC)
• Pulp Comics Special featuring Caroline Rhea (Comedy Central)
• As the World Turns (CBS)
• Ugly Betty (ABC) - Spencer ("The Past Presents the Future")

Book[link]

• She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother: A Memoir (Random House, 2010), ISBN 978-0-307-58885-2
• "Big, Easy Style" (Clarkson Potter\Publishers, 2011), ISBN 978-0-307-59190-6

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bryan Batt

• Official website
• Bryan Batt at the Internet Movie Database
• Bryan Batt at IBDB
• Website for Hazelnut, Bryan's store

Bethenny Frankel (born November 4, 1970) is an American reality TV personality, author, entrepreneur, and natural foods chef. She was a contestant on the 2005 series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart and one of the original five "housewives" featured on the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of New York City. She was the subject of the shows Bethenny Getting Married? and Bethenny Ever After and founded the company Skinnygirl Cocktails.

Early life and education[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

Frankel is the only child of Robert J. Frankel and Bernadette Burke. Frankel is Jewish; her father was Jewish and her mother converted to Judaism. Frankel attended The Wheatley School on Long Island before moving to Florida. Frankel graduated from the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the Natural Gourmet Culinary Institute in New York. She also attended New York University and Boston University.

Career[link]

Frankel began her TV and film career with appearances in the 1993 short film, Soiree Sans Hors D'oeuvres, the 1994 movie Hollywood Hills 90028, and the 1995 movie Wish Me Luck. She also worked as a production assistant for Saved by the Bell.^{[citation needed]} Upon graduation from the Natural Gourmet Culinary Institute she formed a natural foods bakery and delivery service called BethennyBakes.

In 2005, Frankel was one of 16 candidates on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart TV show and was one of two finalists.^[1][2][3]

Frankel was an original cast member on Bravo's series The Real Housewives of New York City.^[4]

In 2009 she launched her company, Skinnygirl Cocktails, and was a contributor to Bravo TV's coverage of the Kentucky Oaks. In March, Frankel's first book, Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting, was published. In December 2009, her second book, The SkinnyGirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life, was released. She also created an exercise DVD, Body by Bethenny, in spring 2010 and an audio book, The Skinnygirl Rules, which summarized her two SkinnyGirl books. In March 2011, Bethenny released A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life which spent several weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List.

In June 2010, Frankel starred in the Bravo reality TV show Bethenny Getting Married?, which documented her engagement and marriage and the birth of her daughter. The show's premiere was the highest rated of any series in Bravo's history.^[5][6]

In September 2010, Frankel announced, that for personal reasons, she would not be returning to the The Real Housewives of New York City show.^[7] In February 2011, Frankel starred in a follow up series, Bethenny Ever After which documented her first year of marriage and motherhood. In November, Frankel appeared on the ABC reality series Skating With The Stars, a spin-off of another ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars, and finished as runner-up to the champion.

In April 2011, Frankel sold her Skinnygirl cocktail line to Fortune Brands' Beam Global for an alleged $120 million dollars.^[8] It was subsequently pulled from Whole Foods Market shelves in August 2011 after it was discovered not to meet Whole Food's quality standards due to a preservative in the product, contrary to its advertisement, which stated "no preservatives."^[9]. Lab results had shown that the item contains sodium benzoate, despite its 'All Natural', and 'No Preservatives' claims, "in order to improve its shelf life".

In November 2011, a planned syndicated talk show to be hosted by Frankel failed to gain enough major station pickups to go ahead for a Fall 2012 launch.^[10] The show's distributor, Warner Bros. Television Distribution, still had faith in Frankel as a talk host, and in January 2012 announced a 6-week trial run for the show, which will air in Summer 2012 on select Fox-owned stations. The show will be produced through Warner Bros' Telepictures and will be executive produced by Frankel and Ellen DeGeneres, whose own talk show is also produced by Telepictures.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Frankel married Peter Sussman, in 1996. The marriage ended in divorce.^[12]

Frankel married Jason Hoppy on March 28, 2010, at The Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.^[13]

On May 8, 2010, Frankel gave birth to daughter Bryn.^[14]

Frankel posed nude for animal rights group PETA in September 2009. The photo was featured on a billboard in Times Square as part of PETA's campaign against the wearing of fur.^[15].

Bibliography[link]

• Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting (ISBN 1-41659-798-0, 2009)
• The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life (ISBN 1-41659-799-9, 2000)
• Body by Bethenny: Body-sculpting Workouts to Unleash Your SkinnyGirl (ISBN 978-1-59828-440-9, 2010)
• A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life (ISBN 1439186901, 2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bethenny Frankel

• Official website
• Samantha Ettus interviews entrepreneur and TV star Bethenny Frankel
• Bethenny Frankel Interview
• "Bethenny Frankel". Beauty Interviews. September 1, 2008. http://beautyinterviews.com/my-beauty-secrets/bethenny-frankel/. 
• Thompson, Megan (September 20, 2011). "Bethenny Frankel's Scary Sailing Trip!". RealityTVMagazine.SheKnows.com. http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2011/09/20/bethenny-frankels-scary-sailing-experience/.