1979 Tony Awards ~ COMPLETE

[@clarencehenderson7634]

After almost 40 years I still get emotional watching the late great Dorothy Loudon sing Fifty Percent!

[@garydeblasio8810]

50 percent is a beautiful song and Dorothy sang it beautifully.

[@NoahLindquist96]

I love the laugh after, "And now, the nominees for the best musical of the year." Was there ANY doubt that it would be Sweeney Todd?

[@bman560]

Thank you so much for posting this. When Jane Fonda gives her father the lifetime achievement award it gave me goose bumps.

[@TheTerryE]

And he sounds so sad. A very tortured man.

[@bman560]

@@TheTerryE yes but with all the talk of him being a distant father, you can clearly see she loved her father very much

[@pjdominicis]

Thank you so much for sharing all these lost treasures!!! :)

[@liesljones5987]

Dorothy Loudon's "50 % (@ 53.00)" is incredible.

[@jayiijay]

Wow. Thanks so much for posting this!

[@cam11971]

I think its so nice at 57:06 Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury's reaction to Dorothy Loudons performance

[@folliesfanatic]

And Kitty Carlyse behind Angela and Stephen too!

[@jmramos0109]

That opening intro, speaking of Broadway theater traditions. This awards night introduced Americans to the way of life of Broadway plays and the ones involved in them

[@richardbullis6263]

Jane Alexander looks good on Tony's. I like how Henry Fonda refer to her as his other Jane.

[@michaell.walton7076]

I was sad to see that Angela's Sweeney number was lip-synced. Very unusual for the Tonys.

[@tomorrowmorning8360]

At 10:08 Carlin Glynn wins for Best Little Whorehouse, a few years later she played Molly Ringwald’s mother in the movie Sixteen Candles.

[@millie8943]

Thank you

[@jjaniero]

omg dorothy loudon unbelievable 53:00 acceptance speeches sure were classy back then

[@tomorrowmorning8360]

Does anyone know who the lady in red is at 2:27? It’s on the tip of my tongue. Haven’t I seen her playing an attorney on Law&Order? (didn’t everyone from NY theater eventually play someone on Law&Order?)

[@richarddixon7855]

I believe it is Tovah Feldshuh.

[@dadodydo]

1:05:53 the outstanding Angela Lansbury, who fully deserved that Tony.

[@iHeartsNostalgiaPit]

and she wouldn't win again for 30 years

[@iHeartsNostalgiaPit]

and iHeart's tony awards tour continues and the theme is superstitions (even with themes they managed to keep it under the time limit, unless you are the 1974 Tony Awards) Lucie Arnaz is a pretty good singer too bad Lucille kept her off Grease because of a petty grudge Time to google I remember Mama (not alot of information) oh man take a good look people Rogers will pass away later in the year damn wasn't expecting a tie in an acting category man there was always a time when they did musical before play

[@richardbullis6263]

What is Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein doing now?

[@cayetanotirado5907]

@ Richard Bullis: Robert Klein continues to do comedy at various venues, he was to play Grace's dad on the revival "Will and Grace" (2018-19 season?). Last I heard, Lucie Arnaz was trying to get back to her famous father Latin roots by singing in Spanish and dancing some salsa/conga rhythms at some high end clubs in Florida; She bought a house in Palm Springs. CA a couple of years ago.

[@FilmDisney]

Any new ones? 83, 84 perhaps?

[@FedericoTedeschi]

God, opening numbers were weird back then - 'Sweeney Todd' performs at 30:37 - Steve wins at 1:17:45

[@ajdc88]

weird?

[@MadelynKontis]

If Len Cariou was there, why wasn't he in the performance from _Sweeney Todd_?

[@tommytimp]

He probably didn't want to perform. I'd bet they asked him. Or maybe Angie was such a diva that she insisted on being the focal point. Or maybe Hal Prince wanted to save Len Cariou for a real performance.

[@scrabt2254]

It's a shame that Victor Garber wasn't nominated for his role

[@BuckyBrown-lt4ry]

@@scrabt2254 Vic is gay.

[@richardbullis6263]

So what?

[@richardmayora1289]

@@tommytimp Stop making things up. The reason that Cariou did not perform was the usual reason stars don't perform on the Tonys...they are exhausted and preserving their voice. Years after Sweeney Todd Cariou said publicly that he wished he did not play the role because it was so grueling it harmed his voice. If you look back at the Tonys there are many, many shows with big stars and the producers had the chorus performed a number. Some producers force the star to perform simply because it is the best national commercial they can get.

[@richardbullis6263]

Henderson Forysthe looks like Jason Robards.

[@cathycartee4180]

Richard Rodgers was dying of throat cancer and could no longer speak.

[@garydeblasio8810]

Sweeney Todd won 8 Tonys but it still got ripped off. Namely, Ken Jennings and Merle Louise shoud have won in the supporting categories. And not even nominated!!

[@gman2010ification]

I saw Sweeny Todd in March 1979 (I was in the second row)--as much as I love Angela L, I have to admit that she really couldn't handle the songs--so it's no surprise that she had to lip sync this. BUT Dorothy Loudon's rendition of 50 Percent has got to be one of the greatest moments in show biz history.

[@BamaFan-vc4gn]

Excuse me. Are you crazy? What an idiot opinion.

[@wylierichardson-tu6zs]

I also saw the original version of ST (revealing my age here, sadly enough), and thought Angela was completely up to the task. She earned a hearty standing ovation, so apparently I am not alone in my thinking. It's anyone's guess as to why she lip-synced on the Tonys, but that doesnt diminish her impact in the role one bit, as far as I am concerned.

[@TheTerryE]

It's a shame the great Joan Hickson wasn't there to pick up her Tony!

[@MS-df2fk]

Apparently "made" and "laid" were bad words in 1979 :/

[@PrincessLydia]

Seriously, that performance was over-bleeped!

[@jeanbawi]

Today eubie

[@renan.csmaia]

1:09:31 Glenn Close appears as Mrs. Len Cariou.

[@wylierichardson-tu6zs]

back then she wasn't well-known, but she would achieve fame on her own in due time. It turns out that Glenn and Len (hey, that rhymes!) were never married, but in a relationship at the time of the Tonys.

[@RachelDavisMatthews]

Dr David Stewart from ATWT wins at 13:45

[@shawnmulligan2894]

41:40-41:43 Why is it that every copy I see of the Tony's has some problem with this spot or another part in I Remember Mama? This was the only show that didn't have a cast album with original stars, I wanna at least hear this song in full, dammit!

[@richardmayora1289]

The score was pretty bad. I saw the show twice.

[@teeniebeenie8774]

what is on jane alexanders head?? and ellen brystons icky hair!! why tom bosley?? why???? another bad yr for bway: had to import icky tv actors. (someone teach lucie arnaz to lipsync….) yay angela L !!!! they look so greedy when they run to the stage.