Antoinette Perry

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 5:57am

So most of you know that the TONYS are given in honor of this woman, but anyone know who she is? I'm at her IBDB.com page, and of course it has the shows, but nothing else. I wish these pages were more in depth (say, like the IMDB).

It looks like the awards were started right after her death. Does anyone know why they chose her? and not, say, Osgood Perkins ( b. 1892 - d. 1937; last show: END OF SUMMER).

Or even George S Kaufman??

Thoughts? Anyone? Updated On: 6/12/06 at 05:57 AM

[Illegally Blondish]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 6:09am

It's because she basically found the American Theatre Wing and was chairman.

I did a whole research paper on her/the Tony Awards in high school. What a nerd I was.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 6:17am

Well, they should mention that on the IBDB page. No, you're not a nerd. I did my senior research paper over Mary Shelley.

Shelley is my Hero.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:15am

She was a popular actress and one of the first prominent female producers and directors, who was the head of the American Theatre Wing during WWII. After her death, there was a sentiment within the community to want to honor her in some way, so with that the Tony Awards were born.

Her bio:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/archive/perry.html