The Tony AwardsNamed for Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer, and the dynamic wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing who had recently passed away, the Tony Awards made their official debut at a dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947.
The silver medallion of the masks of comedy and tragedy, known as the American Theatre Wing's Tony Award®, is theatre's most prestigious and coveted prize. But, you may wonder, how in the world did a theatre award get the name 'Tony'? Who was this Tony, and what's his or her claim to theatre history?
Tony -- actually Toni -- was the nickname of a stunningly beautiful but tough-as-nails Denver actress, Antoinette Perry, who later turned successfully to producing and directing in an era when women in the business were usually relegated to acting, costume design or choreography.
Miss Perry, from age three, showed innovative theatrical instincts. Once established in New York, she scored an enviable roster of hits and became one of theater’s most influential women. She's still one of the most revered. Amazingly, well into the 1970s, Perry was the only woman director with a track record of Broadway hits.
Reflecting on her career in 1935, Miss Perry wrote, "I wanted to be an actress as soon as I could lisp. I didn't say I was going to become an actress. I felt I was one. No one could have convinced me I wasn't."
