The First Tony Awards in 1947: Discover the Winners and Their Unique Prizes
The First Tony Awards in 1947: Discover the Winners and Their Unique Prizes
Will SayreTue, April 7, 2026 at 4:19 AM UTC
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Movies get the Oscars, TV gets the Emmys, and then there's Broadway.
Every year, typically in June, the biggest plays to hit New York City are honored by the Tony Awards, a prestigious and often unforgettable event that just happened to celebrate its whopping 79th anniversary.
The star-studded night dates back to 1947, when the American Theater Wing established an awards program to celebrate excellence on stage. The awards were named after Antoinette Perry, who was an actress, director, producer and wartime leader of the Wing. She had recently passed away by the time the ceremony was established.
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According to Perry’s eldest daughter, Margaret Perry, the honor was originally going to be called the Toni Award — but a popular ad campaign at the time was also using the name Toni. So, the decision was made to change the spelling to "Tony" Award.
The Tonys made their official debut at a dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. The dress code was black tie optional, and the performers who took to the stage included Mickey Rooney and Ethel Waters. Big winners that night included Arthur Miller, Ingrid Bergman, Patricia Neal and Elia Kazan.
According to Playbill, there was no official Tony Award for the first two years. The winners were presented with a scroll, as well as engraved 14-karat gold money clips or cigarette lighters for the men, and initialed articles of jewelry for the women, including initialed compacts and bracelets.
Added to that, theater professionals weren’t the only individuals honored. Prizes were also given to loyal attendees of first nights. There was even a special award honoring the long service of a particular stage doorman!
In more modern Broadway news, fans may have caught Daniel Radcliffe in the current one-person show Every Brilliant Thing — or plan to. But on May 26, Mariska Hargitaywill take over for the Harry Potter star, 36.
This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
