Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

, the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

, and a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

Early life

Tune was born in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

, to oil rig worker, horse trainer, and restaurateur Jim Tune and Eva Mae Clark along with his sister, Gracey. He attended Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, Houston and the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

-affiliated

Lon Morris College Lon Morris College (LMC) was a private junior college located in Jacksonville, Texas, United States, and was the only school affiliated with the United Methodist Church that was owned by an individual conference and not the denomination ...

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and pa ...

. He studied dance under

Patsy Swayze Yvonne Helen "Patsy" Swayze ( née Karnes; February 7, 1927 – September 16, 2013) was an American film choreographer, dancer, and dance instructor, and the mother of actor Patrick Swayze. Her credits include choreography for ''Urban Cowboy'' ...

in Houston. He also studied dance with Kit Andree in Boulder, Colorado. He went on to earn his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in Drama from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 1962 and his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in Directing from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. Tune later moved to New York to start his career.

Career

Tune stands a lanky tall, and at first he found his height to be a disadvantage when auditioning for roles, as he would tower over potential co-stars. He wore horizontally-striped shirts to auditions, dipped extra low when he did pliés and learned to dance upstage ("I'd look shorter that way. It's a law of perspective") to try to overcome it. In 1965, Tune made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut as a performer in the musical ''

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

''. His first Broadway directing and choreography credits were for the original production of ''

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...

'' in 1978. His direction of ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'' in 1982, which also won the Tony for Best Musical, garnered him his first Tony for direction of a musical. He has gone on to direct and/or choreograph eight Broadway musicals. He directed a new musical titled ''Turn of the Century'', which premiered at the

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...

in Chicago on September 19, 2008 and closed on November 2, 2008. Tommy Tune, directing cloud 9

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, Tune has directed '' The Club'' and '' Cloud Nine''. Tune toured the United States in the Sherman Brothers musical '' Busker Alley'' in 1994–1995, and in the stage adaptation of the film ''

Dr. Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in the ...

'' in 2006. Tune is the only person to win

in the same categories (Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical) in consecutive years (1990 and 1991), and the first to win in four categories. He has won ten Tony Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. On television, Tune was a recurring guest star and assistant choreographer from 1969 to 1970 on ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the ...

'' and its summer replacement series, ''Dean Martin Presents

The Golddiggers The Golddiggers was a female singing and dancing troupe created for ''The Dean Martin Show.'' They performed on TV, on live tours and internationally with the USO. The group was formed in 1968, dissolved in 1992, and reorganized in 2007, and has ...

''. He also briefly appeared on ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...

'' in 1988. Tune appeared in a 1975 TV special titled ''Welcome to the "World"'' along with

Lucie Arnaz Lucie Désirée Arnaz (born July 17, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of act ...

and

Lyle Waggoner Lyle Wesley Waggoner (; April 13, 1935 – March 17, 2020) was an American actor, sculptor, presenter, travel trailer salesman and model, known for his work on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' from 1967 to 1974 and for playing the role of Steve Trevor ...

to promote the opening of

Space Mountain Space Mountain is a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at five of the six Disneyland-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar conical exterior façade that is ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

. His film credits include Ambrose Kemper in '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1969), directed by

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

and starring

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

, '' The Boy Friend'' (1971) with

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

, and '' Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino'' (1976) with

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

and

Monica Vitti Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed fo ...

. Tune released his first record album, ''Slow Dancin','' in 1997 on the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

label featuring a collection of his favorite romantic ballads. In 1999, he made his

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

debut as the star of '' EFX'' at the

MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with 6,852 rooms. It is also the third-largest hotel complex in the world by number of rooms ...

. Tune staged an elaborate musical entitled ''Paparazzi'' for the

Holland America Line Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...

cruise ship the Oosterdam in 2003. He works often with The Manhattan Rhythm Kings, for example touring in a Big Band

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

entitled ''Song and Dance Man'' and ''White Tie and Tails'' (2002). Tune performed in his musical revue, ''Steps in Time: A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance'', in Boston in April 2008 and continuing in various venues from Bethesda, Maryland in January 2009 to California in February 2009. The Tommy Tune Awards, presented annually by Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), honor excellence in high school musical theatre in Houston. The current home of the Tommy Tune Awards is the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas. Tune appeared as Argyle Austero in the revived fourth and fifth seasons of ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'' on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. In 2015, he made a return to the New York stage as a featured performer in City Center's staged concert

Encores! Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Ha ...

. He was featured in two numbers in '' Lady, Be Good!''; his first act number was the Gershwin standard "

Fascinating Rhythm "Fascinating Rhythm" is a popular song written by George Gershwin in 1924 with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was first introduced by Cliff Edwards, Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire in the Broadway musical '' Lady Be Good.'' The Astaires also recorde ...

." In the eighteenth episode of the sixth season of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', " A Star Is Burns", the citizens of Springfield are invited to make their own movies for a town film festival.

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

’s film, “A Burns for All Seasons”, features Tune’s name in the credits playing the role of

Waylon Smithers Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey", although his voice co ...

Personal life

Before leaving Texas in the 1960s for a Broadway career in New York, Tune worked with Mary Highsmith (mother of novelist

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novel ...

) at the Point Summer Theatre. In a letter to her daughter, Highsmith referred to Tune as her "adopted boy" whom she called "Romano". Tune later praised Highsmith for helping him develop his talents: "She was an opening for me; she opened a little bit of my tight fabric so that I might peer through." When not performing, he used to run an art gallery in

Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stre ...

that featured his own work. As of 2014, it is no longer open. In 1997, Tune's memoir, ''Footnotes'', was published. In it, he wrote about what drives him as a performer, choreographer, and director and reminisced about his days with

in '' My One and Only''; as well as meeting and working with his many idols. He further wrote about being openly gay in the world of theater; about losing his partner, choreographer David Steiger Wolfe, to

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

in 1994, and about the unhappy ending of his relationship with ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'' actor Michel Stuart. He also described a woman whom he did not name but who he said was the "love of islife", and some media speculated that the description he gave appeared to fit Twiggy. As of September 2021, Tommy Tune was the honorary president of the American Guild of Variety Artists, the

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

for non-actor stage performers.

Broadway productions

* ''

'' (1965) (performer) * ''

A Joyful Noise ''A Joyful Noise'' is a musical with a book by Edward Padula and music and lyrics by Oscar Brand and Paul Nassau. The 1966 Broadway production was a flop but introduced choreographer Michael Bennett in his Broadway debut. Based on Mississipp ...

'' (1966) (performer) * ''

How Now, Dow Jones ''How Now, Dow Jones'' is a musical comedy by Academy Award winner Elmer Bernstein, Tony Award nominee Carolyn Leigh and Max Shulman. The original Broadway production opened in December 1967. A critically acclaimed revised version premiered Off-Br ...

'' (1967) (performer) * ''

Seesaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...

'' (1973) (performer, associate choreographer) * ''

'' (1978) (director, choreographer) * ''

A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine ''A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine'' is a musical comedy consisting of two essentially independent one-act plays, with a book and lyrics by Dick Vosburgh and music by Frank Lazarus. Additionally, songs by other composers are incorporat ...

'' (1980) (director, choreographer) * ''

'' (1982) (director) * '' My One and Only'' (1983) (performer, choreographer) * '' Stepping Out'' (1987) (director) * ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'' (1989) (director, choreographer) * ''

The Will Rogers Follies ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of famed humorist and performer Will Rogers, using as a backdrop the Ziegfeld ...

'' (1991) (director, choreographer) * '' Tommy Tune Tonite!'' (1992) (performer) * ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

'' (1992) touring production (performer) * ''

The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public ''The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public'' is a musical with a book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is a sequel to the 1978 musical ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''. Plot Hoping to recover $26 m ...

'' (1994) (director, choreographer) * '' Grease'' (1994 revival) (production supervisor)

Awards and nominations

Other recognition

* 1994 – Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

* 2009 – National Museum of Dance's Hall of Fame

In Other Media

*Tommy Tune is a common reference in the 2022 Netflix original ''

Murderville ''Murderville'' is an American comedic murder-mystery streaming television series with improvised elements developed by Krister Johnson for Netflix. The series is based on the BBC Three television series ''Murder in Successville''. ''Murdervill ...

'' *Tommy Tune is mentioned in the 71st episode of ''Seinfeld'' by Frank Costanza

References

External links

Tommy Tune official website
* * *

NOTE: Requires Playbill membership to access.

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

, April 29, 2008, "Playbill's Brief Encounter with Tommy Tune". Retrieved April 30, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tune, Tommy 1939 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers American choreographers American gay actors American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male singers American musical theatre directors American tap dancers Drama Desk Award winners Lamar High School (Houston, Texas) alumni LGBT choreographers LGBT dancers LGBT people from Texas LGBT singers from the United States LGBT theatre directors Lon Morris College alumni Male actors from Houston Moody College of Communication alumni Musicians from Houston People from Wichita Falls, Texas Singers from Texas Special Tony Award recipients Tony Award winners United States National Medal of Arts recipients University of Houston alumni