1968 TONY AWARDS (TV)
Summary
The twenty-second annual presentation of the American Theatre Wing Tony (Antoinette Perry) awards for excellence in the Broadway theater, telecast live from the Shubert Theatre in New York. Narrator Albert Drake opens the evening and introduces the company of "Golden Rainbow," who perform "Twenty-Four Hours a Day." Host Jack Benny then takes the stage and, after a few opening jokes, introduces co-hosts Angela Lansbury and Peter Ustinov. They briefly explain the voting and tallying process, and then introduce Tony Randall, who presents the award for Best Scenic Design to Desmond Heeley for "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." Liza Minnelli presents the award for Best Choreography to Gower Champion for "The Happy Time," and actors Robert Goulet, David Wayne and Michael Rupert perform "The Happy Time" and "A Certain Girl" from the same show. Benny welcomes Alan King, who presents Best Direction of a Musical to Champion as well. Ustinov presents a special award to Audrey Hepburn, and Jerry Herman presents the award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre to Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Greene for "Hallelujah, Baby!"
Lansbury then introduces several noteworthy shows from previous years, and Tanya Everett, Bette Midler and Mimi Turque perform "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from "Fiddler on the Roof," Jill Haworth performs the title song from "Cabaret," and David Atkinson performs "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha." Next, Sandy Dennis presents Best Direction of a Play to Mike Nichols for "Plaza Suite," though he is not in attendance and accepts the award via a pre-taped speech. Benny presents a special award to Carol Channing, and she introduces Pearl Bailey and the new cast of "Hello, Dolly!", who then perform "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "So Long, Dearie." Benny presents Bailey with a special award, as she is ineligible for submission as a replacement performer. Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson present the award for Featured Actor in a Play to James Patterson for "The Birthday Party," though he is absent as well. Featured Actress in a Play then goes to Zena Walker for "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg." Lansbury introduces the musical "How Now, Dow Jones," and the company performs "Step to the Rear." Following this, Gregory Peck presents a special award to David Merrick, who also wins Best Production of a Play for "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." (Best Production of a Musical goes to Albert Selden, Hal James, Jane C. Nusbaum and Harry Rigby for "Hallelujah, Baby!", though the award is not presented onscreen.)
Hepburn takes the stage again and presents a special award to fellow "Gigi" actor Maurice Chevalier. Leslie Uggams introduces her "Hallelujah, Baby!" co-stars Lillian Hayman and Robert Hooks, and they perform "Smile, Smile." Next, Shirley Booth and Art Carney present the Featured Actor in a Musical award to Hiram Sherman for "How Now, Dow Jones," though he is not in attendance, and Featured Actress in a Musical goes to Hayman for "Hallelujah, Baby!". Harold Prince presents a special award to the APA-Phoenix Repertory Company, which is accepted by Helen Hayes. Diahann Carroll takes the stage and introduces Groucho Marx, and they present Leading Actor in a Musical to Goulet for "The Happy Time." Leading Actress in a Musical is a tie, going to both Uggams for "Hallelujah, Baby!" and Patricia Routledge for "Darling of the Day." Lansbury presents the award for Best Musical to "Hallelujah, Baby!", and Peck presents a special award to Marlene Dietrich, who made her Broadway debut in an original concert performance in 1967. Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman present the award for Best Actor in a Play to Martin Balsam for "You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running," and Best Actress in a Play goes to Zoe Caldwell for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." Anne Bancroft then presents Best Play to "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," accepted by Merrick and playwright Tom Stoppard via taped speech. Ustinov, Benny and Lansbury then reconvene and briefly discuss their upcoming projects, and bid the audience good night to close the show. Includes commercials for Eastern Airlines.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: April 21, 1968 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:71648
- GENRE: N/A
- SUBJECT HEADING: Specials; Award presentations; Theater - Awards; African-American Collection - Music; Women's Collection - Music
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 1968
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Eastern Airlines
- TV - Promos - "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"
CREDITS
- Alexander H. Cohen … Producer
- Lee Miller … Associate Producer
- Stan Harris … Director
- Hildy Parks … Writer
- Jack Benny … Host
- Angela Lansbury … Host
- Peter Ustinov … Host
- Alfred Drake … Narrator
- Robert Goulet … Performer
- David Wayne … Performer
- Michael Rupert … Performer
- Tanya Everett … Performer
- Bette Midler … Performer
- Mimi Turque … Performer
- Jill Haworth … Performer
- David Atkinson … Performer
- Pearl Bailey … Performer
- Leslie Uggams … Performer
- Lillian Hayman … Performer
- Robert Hooks … Performer
- Martin Balsam
- Anne Bancroft
- Shirley Booth
- Zoe Caldwell
- Art Carney
- Diahann Carroll
- Gower Champion
- Carol Channing
- Maurice Chevalier
- Betty Comden
- Sandy Dennis
- Marlene Dietrich
- Adolph Green
- Helen Hayes
- Desmond Heeley
- Audrey Hepburn
- Jerry Herman
- Anne Jackson
- Hal James
- Alan King
- Groucho Marx
- David Merrick
- Liza Minnelli
- Paul Newman
- Mike Nichols
- Jane C. Nusbaum
- James Patterson
- Gregory Peck
- Harold Prince (See also: Hal Prince)
- Tony Randall
- Harry Rigby
- Patricia Routledge
- Albert Selden
- Hiram Sherman
- Tom Stoppard
- Jule Styne
- Zena Walker
- Eli Wallach
- Joanne Woodward