23rd Tony Awards


The 23rd Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by NBC television on April 20, 1969, from the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York City. Hosts were Diahann Carroll and Alan King.

The ceremony

Presenters: Lauren Bacall, Pearl Bailey, Harry Belafonte, Richard Benjamin, Godfrey Cambridge, Betty Comden, Patty Duke, Adolph Green, Dustin Hoffman, Angela Lansbury, Jack Lemmon, Ethel Merman, Arthur Miller, Robert Morse, Zero Mostel, Paula Prentiss, Robert Preston, Vanessa Redgrave, Leslie Uggams, Gwen Verdon, Shelley Winters.
Musicals represented:
Scenes from plays were presented for the first time. Plays represented were:
Winners are in bold
Best PlayBest Musical

  • 1776
  • * Hair
  • * Promises, Promises
  • * Zorba
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
  • James Earl Jones – The Great White Hope as Jack Jefferson
  • * Art Carney – Lovers as Andy Tracey
  • * Alec McCowen – Hadrian the Seventh as Fr. William Rolfe
  • * Donald Pleasence – The Man in the Glass Booth as Arthur Goldman
  • Julie Harris – Forty Carats as Ann Stanley
  • * Estelle Parsons – The Seven Descents of Myrtle as Myrtle
  • * Charlotte Rae – Morning, Noon and Night as Various Characters
  • * Brenda Vaccaro – The Goodbye People as Nancy Scott
    • Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
  • Jerry Orbach – Promises, Promises as Chuck Baxter
  • * Herschel Bernardi – Zorba as Zorba
  • * Jack Cassidy – Maggie Flynn as The Clown
  • * Joel Grey – George M! as George M. Cohan
  • Angela Lansbury – Dear World as Countess Aurelia
  • *Maria Karnilova – Zorba as Madame Hortense
  • * Dorothy Loudon – The Fig Leaves Are Falling as Lillian Stone
  • *Jill O'Hara – Promises, Promises as Fran Kubelik
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
  • Al Pacino – Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? as Bickham
  • * Richard Castellano – Lovers and Other Strangers as Frank
  • * Tony Roberts – Play It Again Sam as Dick Christie
  • * Louis Zorich – Hadrian the Seventh as Cardinal Ragna
  • Jane Alexander – The Great White Hope as Eleanor Bachman
  • * Diane Keaton – Play It Again Sam as Linda Christie
  • * Lauren Jones – Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? as Linda
  • * Anna Manahan – Lovers as Hanna
    • Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a MusicalBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
  • Ronald Holgate – 1776 as Richard Henry Lee
  • * Larry Haines – Promises, Promises as Dr. Dreyfuss
  • * Edward Winter – Promises, Promises as J.D. Sheldrake
  • * William Daniels – 1776 as John Adams
  • Marian Mercer – Promises, Promises as Marge MacDougall
  • * Sandy Duncan – Canterbury Tales as Various Characters
  • * Lorraine Serabian – Zorba as Leader
  • * Virginia Vestoff – 1776 as Abigail Adams
    • Best Direction of a PlayBest Direction of a Musical
  • Peter Dews – Hadrian the Seventh
  • * Joseph Hardy – Play It Again Sam
  • * Harold Pinter – The Man in the Glass Booth
  • * Michael A. Schultz – Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?
  • Peter Hunt – 1776
  • * Robert Moore – Promises, Promises
  • * Tom O'Horgan – Hair
  • * Harold Prince – Zorba
    • Best ChoreographyBest Scenic Design
  • Joe Layton – George M!
  • * Sammy Bayes – Canterbury Tales
  • * Ron Field – Zorba
  • * Michael Bennett – Promises, Promises
  • Boris Aronson – Zorba
  • * Derek Cousins – Canterbury Tales
  • * Jo Mielziner – 1776
  • * Oliver Smith – Dear World
    • Best Costume Design-
  • Loudon Sainthill – Canterbury Tales
  • * Michael Annals – Morning, Noon and Night
  • * Robert Fletcher – Hadrian the Seventh
  • * Patricia Zipprodt – Zorba
    		• -

    Special awards

  • The National Theatre Company of Great Britain
  • The Negro Ensemble Company
  • Rex Harrison
  • Leonard Bernstein
  • Carol Burnett

    Multiple nominations and awards

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