william daniels- 1776

[broadwaynut20]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 1:49pm

I was watching boy meets world yesterday with william daniels and a question popped into my head. I have heard somewhere that he refused a Tony Award or a Tony Nomination for 1776. Is this true? and if so why?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 1:51pm

because Brent Spiner was better...

[broadwaynut20]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 1:54pm

or not. So does anyone have the real answer

[timote316]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 1:57pm

He refused the Tony nom because it was for Best Featured Actor, as opposed to Best Actor, which he should have been nominated for. In the old days, the Tonys went by billing - if you were billed above the title, you were eligible for Best Actor/Actress. If you were below, you are Featured. 1776 didn't bill anyone above the title, so all were featured. John Adams (Daniels role) is clearly the lead, however.

Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Updated On: 2/26/05 at 01:57 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 1:59pm

Because he was billed below the title, the Tony nominators placed him in the Best Featured Actor category rather than Best Lead. He found that to be insulting and so he withdrew his name from consideration. There was only three nominees in the category as a result and Daniels' fellow castmate Ron Holgate (Richard Henry Lee) took home the prize.

Updated On: 2/26/05 at 01:59 PM

[Feodor Sverdlov]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 2:05pm

William Daniels was, clearly, the best actor in a musical or anything else that year. He was superb in 1776.