20th Tony Awards

20th Tony Awards
Date	June 16, 1966
Location	Rainbow Room, Rockefeller Center
Hosted by	George Abbott and Ginger Rogers
Television/Radio coverage
Network	CBS

The 20th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast on June 16, 1966 from the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center on Radio Station WCBS. This was the first afternoon Tony Awards ceremony. The Masters of Ceremonies were George Abbott and Ginger Rogers. The ceremony was sponsored by the League of New York Theatres in conjunction with the American Theatre Wing, which had previously solely arranged the ceremony.^[1]

The ceremony

Presenters: Lauren Bacall, Herschel Bernardi, Sandy Dennis, Henry Fonda, Phil Ford, Mimi Hines, Ray Milland, Barry Nelson, Mike Nichols, Thelma Oliver, April Olrich, Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Simon

Music was by Meyer Davis and his Orchestra.

Award winners and nominees

Winners are in bold

Best Play	Best Musical
Marat/Sade – Peter Weiss Inadmissible Evidence – John Osborne Philadelphia, Here I Come! – Brian Friel The Right Honourable Gentleman – Michael Dyne	Man of La Mancha Mame Skyscraper Sweet Charity
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Hal Holbrook – Mark Twain Tonight as Mark Twain Roland Culver – Ivanov as Pavel Lebedev Donal Donnelly and Patrick Bedford – Philadelphia, Here I Come! as Gareth O'Donnell Nicol Williamson – Inadmissible Evidence as Bill Maitland	Rosemary Harris – The Lion in Winter as Eleanor of Aquitaine Sheila Hancock – Entertaining Mr Sloane as Kath Kate Reid – Slapstick Tragedy as Celeste/Molly Lee Remick – Wait Until Dark as Susy Hendrix
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Richard Kiley – Man of La Mancha as Don Quixote/Cervantes Jack Cassidy – It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman as Max Mencken John Cullum – On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Dr. Mark Bruckner Harry Secombe – Pickwick as Pickwick	Angela Lansbury – Mame as Mame Dennis Barbara Harris – On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Daisy/Melinda Julie Harris – Skyscraper as Georgina Gwen Verdon – Sweet Charity as Charity Hope Valentine
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Patrick Magee – Marat/Sade as Marquis de Sade Burt Brinckerhoff – Cactus Flower as Igor Larry Haines – Generation as Stan Herman Eamon Kelly – Philadelphia, Here I Come! as S. B. O'Donnell	Zoe Caldwell – Slapstick Tragedy as Polly Glenda Jackson – Marat/Sade as Charlotte Corday Mairin D. O'Sullivan – Philadelphia, Here I Come! as Madge Brenda Vaccaro – Cactus Flower as Toni
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Frankie Michaels – Mame as Patrick Dennis Roy Castle – Pickwick as Sam Weller John McMartin – Sweet Charity as Oscar Michael O'Sullivan – It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman as Dr. Abner Sedgwick	Beatrice Arthur – Mame as Vera Charles Helen Gallagher – Sweet Charity as Nickie Patricia Marand – It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman as Lois Lane Charlotte Rae – Pickwick as Mrs. Bardell
Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Peter Brook – Marat/Sade Hilton Edwards – Philadelphia, Here I Come! Ellis Rabb – You Can't Take It with You Noel Willman – The Lion in Winter	Albert Marre – Man of La Mancha Cy Feuer – Skyscraper Bob Fosse – Sweet Charity Gene Saks – Mame
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre	Best Choreography
Man of La Mancha – Mitch Leigh (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics) Sweet Charity – Cy Coleman (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics) Mame – Jerry Herman (music and lyrics) On a Clear Day You Can See Forever – Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics)	Bob Fosse – Sweet Charity Jack Cole – Man of La Mancha Michael Kidd – Skyscraper Onna White – Mame
Best Scenic Design	Best Costume Design
Howard Bay – Man of La Mancha William Eckart and Jean Eckart – Mame David Hays – Drat! The Cat! Robert Randolph – Anya, Skyscraper and Sweet Charity	Gunilla Palmstierna-Weiss – Marat/Sade Loudon Sainthill – The Right Honourable Gentleman[2] Howard Bay and Patton Campbell – Man of La Mancha Irene Sharaff – Sweet Charity

Special awards

Helen Menken (posthumous), for a lifetime of devotion and dedicated service to the Broadway theatre.

References

1. Zolotow, Sam. the New York Times, "5 Tonys Awards to 'LaMancha'", June 17, 1966, p.37
2. Australia Dancing — Sainthill, Loudon (1919–1969)

External links

• Tony Awards official site