Broadway Bash: Samuel L. Jackson Celebrates His 63rd Birthday on The Mountaintop

Samuel L. Jackson has dodged bullets, bombs and snakes on a plane, but the Guinness Book of World Records' highest grossing movie actor of all time could not escape a birthday celebration held in his honor at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Following the December 21 matinee performance of The Mountaintop, the Oscar-nominated actor, who plays civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was surprised onstage by real-life political figure Reverend Al Sharpton with a gorgeous vanilla cake and an impromptu rendition of "Happy Birthday." Also on hand to send warm birthday wishes Jackson’s way was his co-star Angela Bassett and Today host Kathie Lee Gifford. Click below for a sweet treat, then catch history in motion in this hot new Broadway play.