The 33rd Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS television on June 3, 1979, from the Shubert Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.Thomas, Robert Jr.''The New York Times'', "Tonys for Elephant, Sweeney Todd", June 4, 1979, p.C47 The hosts were Jane Alexander, Henry Fonda and

Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...

The ceremony

The presenters were Tom Bosley, Barry Bostwick, Ellen Burstyn,

Georgia Engel Georgia Bright Engel (July 28, 1948 – April 12, 2019) was an American actress. She is best known for having played Georgette Franklin Baxter in the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' from 1972 to 1977, Pat MacDougall on ''Everybody Loves Ra ...

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

, Celeste Holm,

John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director ...

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mid ...

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

, Ron Leibman,

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...

, Hal Linden,

Jean Marsh Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

and

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...

. The theme of the ceremony was theatrical superstitions, and various other showbusiness beliefs. Henry Fonda received a Special Award, which was presented by his daughter

. Walter Cronkite presented

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

with his Special Award. Musicals represented: * ''

Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

'' ("Fifty Percent" - Dorothy Loudon) * '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' ("The Aggie Song" - Company) * '' Eubie'' ("Hot Feet" - Gregory Hines) * '' I Remember Mama'' ("A Little Bit More" -

, George Hearn and Company) * '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' ("The Worst Pies in London" - Angela Lansbury) * ''

They're Playing Our Song ''They're Playing Our Song'' is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch. In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat ly ...

'' ("They're Playing Our Song" -

Robert Klein Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy specials: ''A Child of the 50s'' (1973), ''Mind Over Matter'' (197 ...

and Lucie Arnaz)

Winners and nominees

''Winners are in bold ''

Special awards

*Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre -

* Regional Theatre Award -

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Ameri ...

, San Francisco, California *Henry Fonda *Walter F. Diehl, International President of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators, has been an active force in advancing the well-being of the Broadway theatre and of theatre nationally. *

Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awar ...

, Waterford, Connecticut

Multiple nominations and awards

These productions had multiple nominations: *''9 nominations:'' '' Sweeney Todd'' *''8 nominations:'' ''

'' *''7 nominations:'' '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' and ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

'' *''5 nominations:'' ''

Bedroom Farce A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy, which centres on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors. Overview The most famous bedroom farceur is probably George ...

'' *''4 nominations:'' '' The Crucifer of Blood'' and ''

'' *''3 nominations:'' ''

Eubie! ''Eubie!'' Is a revue featuring the music of jazz/swing composer Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, Andy Razaf, Johnny Brandon, F. E. Miller, and Jim Europe. As with most revues, the show features no book, but instead showcases 23 of Eubie ...

'', '' The Grand Tour'', '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and '' Wings'' *''2 nominations:'' ''

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

'' The following productions received multiple awards. *''8 wins:'' '' Sweeney Todd'' *''3 wins:'' ''

'' *''2 wins:'' ''

'' and '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''

References

External links

Tony Awards Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Awards, 33 Tony Awards ceremonies 1979 theatre awards

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...