John Lloyd Mills Young (born July 4, 1975) is an American actor and singer. In 2006, he won the

Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did n ...

for his role as Frankie Valli in Broadway's ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of the ...

''. He is the only American actor to date to have received a Lead Actor in a Musical Tony,

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

and

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for a Broadway debut. Young sang lead vocals on the Grammy Award-winning ''

'' cast album, certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Young reprised his role as Frankie Valli in Warner Brothers' film adaptation of ''Jersey Boys'', directed by Clint Eastwood and released June 20, 2014. Young was appointed by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. He was sworn-in by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on November 21, 2013. He resigned from the President's Committee in August, 2017, co-signing a letter of resignation that said in reference to President Trump, "Ignoring your hateful rhetoric would have made us complicit in your words and actions."

Early life

Young was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, the son of Rosemarie Joan (Cianciola) and Karl Bruce Young, a Strategic Air Command tanker-squadron commander. His mother died when he was two years old. His father had English, Welsh and German ancestry, and his mother was of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent. He was raised partly in Plattsburgh, NY, attending Plattsburgh High School and acting in their drama department. He is a graduate of Brown University.

Career

After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Young worked his way up through the ranks of the theater scene with roles in numerous regional and off-Broadway plays, including the New York-area premiere of Michael Healey's ''The Drawer Boy'' with actor John Mahoney; "Charlie" in Julia Jordan's '' The Summer of the Swans''; "Moritz" in the Douglas Langworthy translation of Wedekind's '' Spring Awakening''; and "Claudio" in

Rinne Groff Rinne Groff (aka Rinne Becker Groff) is an American playwright and performer. Biography Groff was trained at Yale University and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she currently teaches. A founding member of Elevator Repair S ...

's ''The Five Hysterical Girls Theorem'' for the Target Margin Theatre. He was named one of the Best Featured Actors in a Play by the New Jersey Star-Ledger as "Danny Saunders" in Aaron Posner and Chaim Potok's dramatic adaptation of Potok's book,

The Chosen Chosen or The Chosen may refer to: The chosen ones *Chosen people, people who believe they have been chosen by a higher power to do a certain thing including **Jews as the chosen people Books * ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel), a 1967 novel by Chaim ...

, opposite

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

, directed by David Ellenstein. He failed to land the part of Frankie Valli in the pre-Broadway run of ''

'', but a year later and after several more auditions, he was asked to headline the show on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, where he played the role for over two years. During his tenure at ''

'', which now has several companies playing worldwide, Young performed at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

, New Year's Eve in Times Square,

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Young's run with

concluded on November 9, 2007, followed shortly thereafter by a sold-out-in-a-day solo concert debut at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. After moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Young starred as Marius in an all-star production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' at the Hollywood Bowl and was the first guest star invited to appear on '' Glee''. Young debuted his visual art in May 2010 in "Food for Thought," a show benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles, at Willis Wonderland, the home of Young's friend, Grammy-winning songwriter Allee Willis. Young's art is represented by Hollywood's Hamilton-Selway Fine Art Gallery. His first art commission was for famed Beverly Hills, CA, restaurant, Spago. Young's debut album, "My Turn...", was released on July 3, 2012. The album was executive-produced by Dona R. Miller and Young's Under the Skyway Productions, with production from

Tommy Faragher Thomas Edward Faragher is an American producer, composer, songwriter, singer, and arranger. He is originally from Redlands, California. Performer Faragher started his career as a singer and keyboardist with his family, who formed a group called ...

of FOX's hit show, '' Glee'', whose cover of " Teenage Dream" was the first song from the show to reach NO. 1 on the

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

. The album was expanded and re-released with eight new tracks in 2014. He made his debut at New York's Cafe Carlyle in February 2013. Young reprised his Frankie Valli role in the Broadway production of ''Jersey Boys'' from July 3 - September 30, 2012. In March 2014, Young made his West End Theatre debut, starring in the musical's London production. He reprised the role in director Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of ''

'', which was released in June 2014. Young's extensive charity work includes frequent appearances with and support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS,

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation pr ...

amfAR amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of ...

, Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang,

AIDS Project Los Angeles APLA Health is a non-profit organization that is focused on building health equity and promoting wellbeing for the LGBT and people living with HIV." APLA Health is one of the largest non-profit HIV service organizations in the United States. Its ...

and the United Service Organization ( USO). Young has been a member of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

since 1995. He is a practitioner and student of Chinese Chan Buddhism.

Filmography

* '' Glee'' (2009) * '' Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!'' (2009) * ''

'' (2014)

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Actor in a Musical ''

Drama Desk Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Actor in a Musical ''

Outer Critics Circle Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Actor in a Musical ''

Theatre World Awards

* Winner - 2006 Outstanding Broadway Debut ''

Grammy Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Show Album ''

Drama League Award

* Nomination - 2006 Performer of the Year ''

References

External links

Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, John Lloyd American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Italian descent American people of Welsh descent Drama Desk Award winners Living people Tony Award winners 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Sacramento, California University of Salamanca alumni 1975 births Theatre World Award winners Brown University alumni