1st Tony Awards
Encyclopedia
The First Tony Awards, more formally known as the Antoinette Perry
Awards for Excellence in Theatre, were held on April 6, 1947, in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
in New York City. Presented by the American Theatre Wing
, they celebrated the best in live American theatre over the previous season. The ceremony, hosted by Brock Pemberton
, was broadcast on radio station WOR
and the Mutual Network.
The awards got their nickname, "Tonys", during the ceremony itself when Pemberton handed out an award and called it a "Toni", referring to the nickname of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing.
Musicals represented were Street Scene
, Brigadoon
and Finian's Rainbow
. Oklahoma!
and Carousel
could not be nominated because, while although still playing their original runs at the time of the awards, they had opened too soon to qualify for the awards (Oklahoma! had opened in 1943, and Carousel in 1945).
The award itself was a scroll
, an initialed sterling silver compact case for the women, and an engraved gold bill clip or cigarette lighter for the men. Tickets to the first Tony event cost $7.00 each. More than 1,000 guests attended.
Actors—Play
Actresses—Play
Supporting or Featured Actress—Play
Supporting or Featured Actor—Musical
Costume Designer
Choreographers
Antoinette Perry
Antoinette Perry was an actress, director and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The Tony Awards are her namesake....
Awards for Excellence in Theatre, were held on April 6, 1947, in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
in New York City. Presented by the American Theatre Wing
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, they celebrated the best in live American theatre over the previous season. The ceremony, hosted by Brock Pemberton
Brock Pemberton
Brock Pemberton was an American theatrical producer, director and founder of the Tony Awards.Pemberton was born in Leavenworth, Kansas and attended the University of Kansas. Before becoming a producer he was a press agent in New York...
, was broadcast on radio station WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
and the Mutual Network.
The awards got their nickname, "Tonys", during the ceremony itself when Pemberton handed out an award and called it a "Toni", referring to the nickname of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing.
Musicals represented were Street Scene
Street Scene (opera)
Street Scene is a Broadway musical or, more precisely, an "American opera" by Kurt Weill , Langston Hughes , and Elmer Rice...
, Brigadoon
Brigadoon
Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as "Almost Like Being in Love" have become standards....
and Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
. Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
and Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
could not be nominated because, while although still playing their original runs at the time of the awards, they had opened too soon to qualify for the awards (Oklahoma! had opened in 1943, and Carousel in 1945).
The award itself was a scroll
Scroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
, an initialed sterling silver compact case for the women, and an engraved gold bill clip or cigarette lighter for the men. Tickets to the first Tony event cost $7.00 each. More than 1,000 guests attended.
Actors—PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayThe 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...
- José FerrerJosé FerrerJosé Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
in Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de Bergerac (play)Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life.... - Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
in Years Ago
Actresses—PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a PlayThis 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:...
- Ingrid BergmanIngrid BergmanIngrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
in Joan of LorraineJoan of LorraineJoan of Lorraine is a 1946 play-within-a-play by Maxwell Anderson. It is about an acting company who stages a dramatization of the story of Joan of Arc and the effect that the story has on them. As in the musical Man of La Mancha, most of the actors in the drama play two or more roles... - Helen HayesHelen HayesHelen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
in Happy BirthdayHappy Birthday (play)Happy Birthday is a play written by Anita Loos. It opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 31, 1946 and closed on March 13, 1948, after 564 performances. It starred Helen Hayes, for whom it was written. The story involves Addie, a mousy librarian who becomes enamoured of a handsome...
Supporting or Featured Actress—PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a PlayThis 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:...
- Patricia NealPatricia NealPatricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
in Another Part of the ForestAnother Part of the ForestAnother Part of the Forest is a 1946 play by Lillian Hellman, a prequel to her 1939 drama The Little Foxes.-Plot synopsis:Set in the fictional town of Bowden, Alabama in June 1880, the plot focuses on the wealthy, ruthless, and innately evil Hubbard family and their rise to prominence...
Supporting or Featured Actor—MusicalTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a MusicalThis 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...
- David WayneDavid WayneDavid Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
in Finian's RainbowFinian's RainbowFinian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
Costume DesignerTony Award for Best Costume DesignThese 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...
- Lucinda BallardLucinda BallardLucinda Ballard was an American costume designer who worked primarily in Broadway theatre.Born Lucinda Davis Goldsborough in New Orleans, Louisiana, Ballard studied at the Art Students League in New York City. Her first professional credits was as the scenic and costume designer for a 1937...
for Happy BirthdayHappy Birthday (play)Happy Birthday is a play written by Anita Loos. It opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 31, 1946 and closed on March 13, 1948, after 564 performances. It starred Helen Hayes, for whom it was written. The story involves Addie, a mousy librarian who becomes enamoured of a handsome...
, Another Part of the ForestAnother Part of the ForestAnother Part of the Forest is a 1946 play by Lillian Hellman, a prequel to her 1939 drama The Little Foxes.-Plot synopsis:Set in the fictional town of Bowden, Alabama in June 1880, the plot focuses on the wealthy, ruthless, and innately evil Hubbard family and their rise to prominence...
, Street SceneStreet Scene (play)Street Scene is a play by Elmer Rice that opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1929 and ran for a total of 601 performances. The action of this ambitious, groundbreaking play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street...
, John Loves MaryJohn Loves MaryJohn Loves Mary is a 1949 film directed by David Butler. It stars Ronald Reagan and Jack Carson.-Cast:*Ronald Reagan as John Lawrence*Jack Carson as Fred Taylor*Wayne Morris as Lt. Victor O'Leary*Edward Arnold as Sen. James McKinley...
, The Chocolate SoldierThe Chocolate SoldierThe Chocolate Soldier is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man...
ChoreographersTony 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...
- 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...
for Brigadoon - Michael KiddMichael KiddMichael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer.-Life and career:Born Milton Greenwald in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, an immigrant barber, and his wife Lillian, Michael Kidd moved to Brooklyn with his family and attended New Utrecht High School there...
for Finian's RainbowFinian's RainbowFinian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
Special awards
- Dora Chamberlain
- Mr. and Mrs. Ira Katzenberg
- Jules Leventhal
- P.A. MacDonald
- Burns MantleBurns MantleRobert Burns Mantle was a well-known American drama critic. He founded the Best Plays annual publication in 1920.. , The New York Times...
- Arthur MillerArthur MillerArthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
- Vincent Sardi, Sr.