April 2013 Auction Ends Tuesday, April 2nd, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/2/2013
Historic Tony Award, bestowed upon the luminous Helen Hayes in 1947, the debut year of the Tony Awards, which was originally called the ''Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre.'' Awarded to Hayes at the premiere ceremony of the most prestigious awards for Broadway, held in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on 6 April 1947. Sterling silver award, made by Tiffany & Co. is a mirrored makeup compact with hinged lid engraved with Hayes' initials ''HH''. Compact opens to an engraved inscription reading: ''THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING / Presents / Your 'Tony' / An / Antoinette Perry Award / 1946-47''. Inscription appears on an internal hinged lid covering the compartment to hold theater makeup. Finely crafted award features a built-in wiper that swipes the mirror clean of powder when the case is opened. Award was won by Hayes for her performance as the year's ''Best Actress - Dramatic'' in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway production of the play ''Happy Birthday''. She was directed by Joshua Logan as love-struck librarian Addie, a role written for her by Anita Loos, author of ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.'' This award was Hayes' second notch toward her impressive ''Showbiz Award Grand Slam'', or EGOT status -- a prestigious title shared by just 11 performers including Hayes who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. At the time of this first Tony, she had already won her first of two Oscars, and in 1976 Hayes became the first woman to have won all four awards. Tony Awards' eponymous inspiration, Antoinette Perry, had passed away in 1946, and her American Theater Wing co-founder Brock Pemberton initiated the awards to honor her memory. In just two years the awards were given in the form of medallions rather than compacts, money clips, lighters or scrolls. Coveted prize measures 2.75'' square and 3/8'' thick. Weighs 127 grams. Tarnishing and absence of most of the makeup from compact, with some residual powder remaining, else fine. The first ever of the country's highest honor in live theater awarded to its own ''First Lady''. From the Helen Hayes estate.
Incredibly Scarce Tony Award From The First-Ever Ceremony -- Awarded to the Legendary Actress Helen Hayes in 1947 for ''Best Actress - Dramatic''
Click above for larger image.