Today’s the birthday of American actor, writer and director MITCHELL LICHTENSTEIN. Born as Mitchell Wilson Lichtenstein, his father is pop-art artist Roy Lichtenstein. You may remember his role from Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet where he played the partner of a gay Taiwanese man living in the United States who is forced to marry by his parents. If you’re not familiar with this film, you might want to look for it. It is an early example of Lee’s thoughtful dealing with gay subjects ten years before Brokeback Mountain.

Lichtenstein shines in what is a funny and moving sweetheart of a film.  His other films include Streamers (1983), The Lords of Discipline (1983),  Crackers (1984), The Wedding Banquet (1993), Ratchet (1996),  Flawless (1999), Twin Set (2002).  He produced, wrote, and directed the 2007 black comedy horror film Teeth, about the pitfalls and power of a girl as a living example of thevagina dentata myth. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews.  Lichtenstein latest film Happy Tears premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.

He and his husband Vincent Sanchez keep a house in the West Village in NYC.