13th Tony Awards
Encyclopedia
The 13th Annual Tony Awards took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom on April 12, 1959 and was broadcast on local television station WCBS-TV in New York City
. The Master of Ceremonies was Bud Collyer.
Presenters: Dana Andrews, Ina Balin, Ralph Bellamy, Polly Bergen, Claudette Colbert, Robert Dowling, Faye Emerson, Farley Granger, Oscar Hammerstein II, Celeste Holm, Robert Preston, Rip Torn .
Music was by Meyer Davis and his Orchestra.
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Outstanding Musical
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Distinguished Dramatic Actress
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Distinguished Musical Actor
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Distinguished Musical Actress
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Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor
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Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actress
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Distinguished Supporting or Featured Musical Actor
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Distinguished Supporting or Featured Musical Actress
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Outstanding Choreographer
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Scenic Designer
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Costume Designer
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Conductor and Musical Director
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Stage Technician
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New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The Master of Ceremonies was Bud Collyer.
Presenters: Dana Andrews, Ina Balin, Ralph Bellamy, Polly Bergen, Claudette Colbert, Robert Dowling, Faye Emerson, Farley Granger, Oscar Hammerstein II, Celeste Holm, Robert Preston, Rip Torn .
Music was by Meyer Davis and his Orchestra.
Production
Outstanding PlayTony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
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- J.B. by Archibald MacLeish. Produced by Alfred de Liagre, Jr.
- A Touch of the PoetA Touch of the PoetA Touch of the Poet is a play by Eugene O'Neill.It and its sequel, More Stately Mansions, were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled A Tale of Possessors Self-Dispossessed...
by Eugene O'Neill. Produced by The Producers Theatre, Robert Whitehead, and Roger L. Stevens - Epitaph for George DillonEpitaph for George DillonEpitaph for George Dillon is an early John Osborne play, one of two he wrote in collaboration with Anthony Creighton . It was written before Look Back in Anger, the play which made Osborne’s career, but opened a year after in Oxford in 1957 and moved to London’s Royal Court theatre, where Look...
by John Osborne and Anthony Creighton. Produced by David Merrick and Joshua Logan - The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg and Harvey Breit. Produced by William Darrid and Eleanor Saidenberg
- The VisitThe VisitThe Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, adapted by Maurice ValencyMaurice ValencyMaurice Valency was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, best known for his award winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux and Friedrich Duerrenmatt. He wrote several original plays, but is best known for his adaptations of...
. Produced by the Producers Theatre
Outstanding Musical
Tony Award for Best Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
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- RedheadRedhead (musical)Redhead is a musical with music composed by Albert Hague and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, who with her brother, Herbert, along with Sidney Sheldon and David Shaw wrote the book/libretto...
by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, Sidney Sheldon, and David Shaw, music by Albert Hague, lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Produced by Robert Fryer and Lawrence Carr. - Flower Drum SongFlower Drum SongFlower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
. Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers. Produced by Joseph Fields, Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers - La Plume de Ma TanteLa Plume de Ma Tanteis a musical written, devised, and directed by Robert Dhery, with music by Gérard Calvi, and English lyrics written by Ross Parker. It was nominated for the Best Musical, but lost to Redhead...
. Written, devised, and directed by Robert Dhery, music by Gerard Calvi, English lyrics by Ross Parker. David Merrick and Joseph Kipness, present the Jack Hylton Production.
Performance
Distinguished Dramatic ActorTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
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- Jason Robards, Jr. (The Disenchanted)
- Cedric HardwickeCedric HardwickeSir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
(A Majority of One) - Alfred LuntAlfred LuntAlfred Lunt was an American stage director and actor, often identified for a long-time professional partnership with his wife, actress Lynn Fontanne...
(The Visit) - Christopher PlummerChristopher PlummerArthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
(J. B.) - Cyril RitchardCyril RitchardCyril Ritchard was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is probably best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in the Mary Martin musical production of Peter Pan....
(The Pleasure of His Company) - Robert StephensRobert StephensSir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
(Epitaph for George Dillon)
Distinguished Dramatic Actress
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
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- Gertrude BergGertrude BergGertrude Berg was an American actress and screenwriter. A pioneer of classic radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her serial comedy-drama The Rise of the Goldbergs , later known as The Goldbergs.-Career:Berg was born...
(A Majority of One) - Claudette ColbertClaudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
(The Marriage-Go-RoundThe Marriage-Go-RoundThe Marriage-Go-Round is a 1958 play written by Leslie Stevens and a 1961 film adaptation also written and produced by Stevens. It was inspired by a suggestion that dancer Isadora Duncan supposedly made to playwright George Bernard Shaw: the two of them should have a child because "with your mind...
) - Lynn FontanneLynn FontanneLynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
(The Visit) - Kim StanleyKim StanleyKim Stanley was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances....
(A Touch of the Poet) - Maureen StapletonMaureen StapletonMaureen Stapleton was an American actress in film, theater and television.-Early life:Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family...
(The Cold Wind and the Warm)
Distinguished Musical Actor
Tony Award for Best Performance by a 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...
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- Richard Kiley (Redhead)
- Larry BlydenLarry BlydenLarry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
(Flower Drum Song)
Distinguished Musical Actress
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- Gwen VerdonGwen VerdonGwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...
(Redhead) - Miyoshi UmekiMiyoshi Umekiwas a naturalized American actress and standards singer. She was best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly , in the 1957 film Sayonara, as Mei Li in the 1958 Broadway musical and 1961 film Flower Drum Song, and as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper of Bill Bixby's and Brandon Cruz's...
(Flower Drum Song)
Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
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- Charlie Ruggles (The Pleasure of His Company)
- Marc ConnellyMarc ConnellyMarcus Cook Connelly was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930.-Biography:...
(Tall Story) - George GrizzardGeorge GrizzardGeorge Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
(The Disenchanted) - Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
(Once More, With Feeling) - Robert MorseRobert MorseRobert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
(Say, Darling) - George ScottGeorge ScottGeorge Scott may refer to:*George Scott , fought in Canada, governor of Grenada from 1762 to 1764*George Scott , wrote a 1683 book extolling the virtues of Scottish settlement in East Jersey...
(Comes a Day)
Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actress
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
This is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:...
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- Julie NewmarJulie NewmarJulie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
(The Marriage-Go-RoundThe Marriage-Go-RoundThe Marriage-Go-Round is a 1958 play written by Leslie Stevens and a 1961 film adaptation also written and produced by Stevens. It was inspired by a suggestion that dancer Isadora Duncan supposedly made to playwright George Bernard Shaw: the two of them should have a child because "with your mind...
) - Maureen Delany (God and Kate Murphy)
- Dolores HartDolores HartDolores Hart is an American Roman Catholic nun and former actress. She made 10 films in 5 years, playing opposite Stephen Boyd, Montgomery Clift, George Hamilton and Robert Wagner, having made her movie debut with Elvis Presley in Loving You .-Background:Dolores Hicks was the only child of the...
(The Pleasure of His Company) - Nan MartinNan MartinNan Martin was an American actress who starred in movies and on television.Born in Decatur, Illinois and raised in Santa Monica, California, her first film role was The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit...
(J.B.) - Bertrice Reading (Requiem for a Nun)
Distinguished Supporting or Featured Musical Actor
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947...
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- Russell NypeRussell NypeRussell Nype is an American actor and singer.Born in Zion, Illinois, Nype made his Broadway debut in Marc Blitzstein's opera Regina in 1949. The following year he won critical acclaim and both the Tony and Theatre World Awards for his performance opposite Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam...
(Goldilocks) - Leonard StoneLeonard StoneLeonard Stone was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films.-Life and career:...
(Redhead)
Distinguished Supporting or Featured Musical Actress
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976....
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- Pat StanleyPat StanleyPat Stanley is an American actress, dancer and singer.-Family:She was married to songwriter Johnny Burke, and later to writer William Hanley with whom she had two daughters, Nell and Katherine. She has three granddaughters Darsen, Sophia, and Mabel.Since 1980 she had been married to third...
(Goldilocks) - Julienne Marie (Whoop-Up)
Craft
Outstanding DirectorTony Award for Best Direction of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
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- Elia KazanElia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
(J.B.) - Peter BrookPeter BrookPeter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
(The Visit) - Robert Dhery (La Plume de Ma Tante)
- William GaskillWilliam GaskillWilliam 'Bill' Gaskill is a British theatre director.He worked alongside Laurence Olivier as a founding director of the National Theatre from its time at the Old Vic in 1963...
(Epitaph for George Dillon) - Peter GlenvillePeter GlenvillePeter Glenville , born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne, was an English film and stage actor and director.-Biography:...
(Rashomon) - Cyril RitchardCyril RitchardCyril Ritchard was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is probably best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in the Mary Martin musical production of Peter Pan....
(The Pleasure of His Company) - Dore ScharyDore ScharyIsadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
(A Majority of One)
Outstanding Choreographer
Tony Award for Best Choreography
-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
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- Bob FosseBob FosseRobert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
(Redhead) - Agnes de MilleAgnes de MilleAgnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
(Goldilocks) - Carol HaneyCarol HaneyCarol Haney was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award for her role in The Pajama Game...
(Flower Drum Song) - Onna WhiteOnna WhiteOnna White was a Canadian choreographer and dancer nominated for eight Tony Awards.-Career:Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventually her studies took her to the famed San Francisco Ballet Company, where she danced in the first full-length...
(Whoop-Up)
Scenic Designer
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- Donald OenslagerDonald OenslagerDonald Oenslager was a celebrated American scenic designer who won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design.-Biography:Oenslager was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and became interested in design while studying in Europe...
(A Majority of One) - Boris AronsonBoris AronsonBoris Aronson was an American scenic designer for Broadway and Yiddish theatre. He won the Tony Award for Scenic Design six times in his career.-Biography:...
(J.B.) - Ballou (The Legend of Lizzie)
- Ben Edwards (Jane Eyre)
- Oliver Messel (Rashomon)
- Teo Otto (The Visit)
Costume Designer
Tony Award for Best Costume Design
These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals...
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- Rouben Ter-Arutunian (Redhead)
- Castillo (Goldilocks)
- Dorothy Jenkins (The World of Suzie Wong)
- Oliver Messel (Rashomon)
- Irene SharaffIrene SharaffIrene Sharaff was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award.- Background :...
(Flower Drum Song)
Conductor and Musical Director
Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director
The Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director was first presented in 1948, and later discontinued after 1964.-1940s:* 1948: Milton Rosenstock – Finian's Rainbow* 1949: Max Meth – As the Girls Go-1950s:...
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- Salvatore Dell'Isola (Flower Drum Song)
- Jay Blackston (Redhead)
- Lehman EngelLehman EngelLehman Engel was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film.-Work in theatre, television and films:...
(Goldilocks) - Gershon Kingsley (La Plume de Ma Tante)
Stage Technician
Tony Award for Best Stage Technician
The Tony Award for Stage Technician was first given in 1948 and was last presented fifteen years later in 1963.-1950s:* 1950: Joe Lynn, master propertyman – Miss Liberty...
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- Sam Knapp (The Music Man)
- Thomas Fitzgerald (Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?)
- Edward Flynn (The Most Happy Fella)
Special awards
- John GielgudJohn GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, for contribution to theatre for his extraordinary insight into the writings of Shakespeare as demonstrated in his one-man play, Ages of Man.
- Howard LindsayHoward LindsayHoward Lindsay was an American theatrical producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse, and for his performance, with his wife Dorothy Stickney, in the long-running play Life with...
and Russell Crouse, for a collaboration that lasted longer than Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
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- Cast of La Plume de Ma TanteLa Plume de Ma Tanteis a musical written, devised, and directed by Robert Dhery, with music by Gérard Calvi, and English lyrics written by Ross Parker. It was nominated for the Best Musical, but lost to Redhead...
: Pamela Austin, Colette Brosset, Roger Caccia, Yvonne Constant, Genevieve Coulombel, Robert Dhery, Michael Kent, Jean Lefevre, Jacques Legras, Michael Modo, Pierre Olaf, Nicole Parent, Ross Parker, Henri Pennec, for contribution to the theatre.
External links
- http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html Tony Awards Official Site