The Four Tony Awards Hosts Who Won During a Ceremony They Hosted
Hosting the American Theatre Wing’s annual Tony Awards® telecast is one of the most thrilling gigs in all of show business. Because the hosts are the cream of the Broadway and Hollywood crop, many times the ceremony emcee has also been one of the year’s Tony Award nominees. Here is a look back at those busy and talented performers who have won a Tony Award at a ceremony they co-hosted—including the two who have done it twice. The list is in reverse chronological order, stretching back to 1967, the first year the Broadway League joined with the American Theatre Wing to present the Tony Awards telecast on national television. The League and The Wing will present the 73rd annual Tony Awards Sunday, June 9, 2019 on CBS.
Hugh Jackman (2004)
The Australian-born stage and screen supernova has hosted the Tony Awards four times. His first Tony telecast was in 2003, the year he was gearing up to bring The Boy from Oz to the New York stage. The musical, which told the story of Australian composer/entertainer Peter Allen, opened at the Imperial Theatre later that year. Jackman made his Broadway debut in the title role. He returned to host the 2004 Tony Awards, and took home the award for Best Actor in a Musical for his The Boy from Oz performance. He later hosted the Tonys in 2005 and 2014, and received a Special Tony Award in 2012.
Nathan Lane (1996 and 2001)
The star-studded 50th annual Tony Awards took place in 1996, and the host was one of Broadway’s funniest and most versatile talents. Nathan Lane had already wowed audiences and critics alike with his star turn as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls—for which he received a Tony nomination—among many other shows. That spring he was starring on Broadway as Pseudolus in the Stephen Sondheim musical farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. At the Tony ceremony, he won as Best Actor in a Musical. Five years later he would return to emcee the 2001 Tony ceremony, this time sharing the hosting job with his co-star in The Producers, Matthew Broderick. Both Bialystock and Bloom—er, Lane and Broderick—were nominated that year as Best Actor in a Musical. Lane won.
Glenn Close (1992 and 1995)
Glenn Close has hosted the Tony Awards twice—and she won a Tony Award both times. The first time was in 1992 when she had been nominated as Best Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in Ariel Dorfman’s drama Death and the Maiden. She won. Three years later she returned to co-host the Tonys, sharing the podium with Gregory Hines and Nathan Lane. That was 1995, and she won Best Actress in a Musical for her unforgettable portrayal of Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Sunset Boulevard.
Robert Preston (1967)
The very first national telecast of the Tony Awards took place in 1967, with Mary Martin and Robert Preston overseeing the festivities. Both were Broadway legends, she for creating roles in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music and South Pacific; and he for his Tony-winning turn as the original Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man. And both were doing double duty. In addition to co-hosting the Tonys, they were starring together on Broadway as the entire cast of I Do! I Do!, a two-character musical by The Fantsaticks songwriters Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. Both were nominated for their performances; Preston won as Best Actor in a Musical.
Extra: A Special Award for Richard Burton (1976)
In addition to the above-mentioned competitive awards, one Tony ceremony co-host received a special honor on Tony night. Richard Burton was presented with a Special Tony Award in 1976, the year he co-hosted the Tony Awards ceremony with Eddie Albert, Jane Fonda, Diana Rigg, George C. Scott, and Trish Van Devere.