History of The Tony Awards

1962 Tony Winners
Tony Award winners from the 1962 Tony Awards
Diahann Carroll, Robert Morse,
Margaret Leighton, and Paul Scofield.
The Tony Awards are Broadway’s most prestigious award and are given annually for distinguished achievements in American theater. They were created by the American Theatre Wing and made their debut at a dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in 1947. The Tony Awards were named for actress-producer Antoinette “Tony” Perry, who was a co-founder of the Wing and was instrumental in establishing American theatre.
The purpose of the Tony Awards is to recognize excellence in Broadway plays and musicals in the following areas:
• Best Musical
• Best Revival of a Musical
• Best Direction of a Musical
• Best Book of a Musical
• Best Play
• Best Revival of a Play
• Best Direction of a Play
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
• Best Original Score
• Best Orchestrations
• Best Choreography
• Best Scenic Design of a Musical
• Best Costume Design of a Musical
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical
• Best Sound Design of a Musical
• Best Scenic Design of a Play
• Best Costume Design of a Play
• Best Lighting Design of a Play
• Best Sound Design of a Play
Current Tony Medallion
Current Tony Award medallion statuette
Early Tony Award
The intricately-detailed mirrored compact
given to early award recipients
-this one is from the
first awards presented 1947
Early Tony Award
The money clip presented to early award winners
-this one is from the first awards in 1947

The award wasn’t always the standard trophy award given today. The first two years, everyone was given a scroll, and women received compacts made by Tiffany and Co., while men received a gold money clip as their awards! Beginning in 1949, winners received a disk-shaped medallion where the front showed the Comedy/Tragedy Masks and the back listed the category they had won. Once the award ceremony became a live television broadcast in 1967, the medallion was mounted on a base and became a trophy, similar to what is given today. The annual televised award ceremony has grown to have almost 4 million viewers!