Tommy Tune! A birthday tribute!

What do you do when you're nearly 6' 7" tall, the son of a Texas oil rigger tagged with a last name of Tune, don't play basketball, love to dance and happen to be gay?

You head to New York and Broadway!

That's precisely what Tommy Tune did, debuting on Broadway as a young 26 year-old blessed with enough talent and charm to land a job at his first audition. From that 1965 debut in the musical Baker Street, Tune went on to join the cast of A Joyful Noise in 1966, which was Michael Bennett's choreographic debut, and in 1967 joined the cast of How Now, Dow Jones.

By 1974 Tune had already become a Broadway legend, picking up his first Tony Award for his performance in the Cy Coleman/Michael Bennett/Dorothy Fields production of Seesaw, which also earned Bennett a Tony award for Best Choreography.

Over the ensuing decades Tune continued to wow the Great White Way, accumulating awards that have included among them 13 Tony Award nominations, 9 of which culminated in wins!

From Wikipedia:

Awards

• 1974 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Seesaw
• 1978 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• 1980 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
• 1980 Tony Award for Best Choreography - A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
• 1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Nine
• 1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play - Cloud Nine
• 1982 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Nine
• 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - My One And Only
• 1983 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - My One And Only
• 1983 Tony Award for Best Choreography - My One And Only
• 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - Grand Hotel
• 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Grand Hotel
• 1990 Tony Award for Best Choreography - Grand Hotel
• 1990 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Grand Hotel
• 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - The Will Rogers Follies
• 1991 Tony Award for Best Choreography - The Will Rogers Follies
• 1991 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - The Will Rogers Follies
• 2003 National Medal of Arts ^[16]
• 2003 Texas Cultural Trust's Texas Medal of Arts.^[17]
• 2008 Fred & Adele Astaire Lifetime Achievement Award ^[18]
• 2008 Actors' Fund of America Julie Harris Lifetime Achievement Award ^[19]
• 2009 Inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame

Nominations

• 1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - The Club
• 1978 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• 1979 Tony Award for Best Choreography - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• 1979 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• 1980 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
• 1983 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - My One And Only
• 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - Tommy Tune: White Tie and Tails

At 72, Tune offers no sign that he's retiring, as this recent video of him discussing his work with his sister Gracey for their performance for National Tap Dance Day in this interview with TheaterJones.com.




Happy Birthday Tommy Tune!