20th Tony Awards


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.

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 PlayBest Musical

  • Man of La Mancha
  • * Mame
  • * Skyscraper
  • * Sweet Charity
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayBest 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 MusicalBest 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 PlayBest 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 MusicalBest 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 PlayBest 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 Written for the TheatreBest Choreography
  • Man of La Mancha – Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion
  • * Sweet Charity – Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields
  • * Mame – Jerry Herman
  • * On a Clear Day You Can See Forever – Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner
  • Bob Fosse – Sweet Charity
  • * Jack Cole – Man of La Mancha
  • * Michael Kidd – Skyscraper
  • * Onna White – Mame
    • Best Scenic DesignBest 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
  • * Howard Bay and Patton Campbell – Man of La Mancha
  • * Irene Sharaff – Sweet Charity

    • Special awards

    , for a lifetime of devotion and dedicated service to the Broadway theatre.

    Multiple nominations and awards

    These productions had multiple nominations:
    The following productions received multiple awards.