The woman who inspired the Tony Awards

DENVER (KDVR) — The Tony Awards celebrate excellence in theater, particularly live performances on Broadway, and they are presented this Sunday.

But did you know that the annual awards ceremony is named and inspired by a Denver actress?

Mary Antoinette Perry-Freauff, nicknamed Tony, was an actress, director, producer, humanitarian and activist, according to the Denver Public Library.

A star is born in Denver

Perry-Freauff was born in Denver in 1888 and came from a pioneer Colorado family. The library reports that his grandfather was Colorado Senator Charles L. Hall and that his family owned the oldest ranch in South Park called Salt Works Ranch.

As a child, she aspired to follow her aunt and uncle, Mildred Hall and George Wessels, into the theater arts, according to the Tony Awards website. The two were both “highly respected touring actors.”

At age 15, Perry-Freauff went to Pueblo to appear as a stock actress with Wessell’s touring company.

Perry-Freauff’s career takes off

In 1905, she left her uncle’s touring company in Chicago and made her debut in “Mrs. Temple’s Telegram” at Power’s Theater in Chicago. Later that year, Perry-Freauff played the ingenue in “Lady Jim” at Weber’s Theater in New York, according to the library.

After that, the Tony Awards announced that she had almost immediately been chosen to join “The Music Master” at the Bijou Theater. The show went on tour and visited the historic Elitch Theater in Denver.

How Denver’s performance changed Perry-Freauff’s life

“The Music Master” was a “resounding success” in Denver, according to the library.

Frank Freauff was president of the Denver Gas and Electric Company. He brought his friends to watch the show for several nights, where he met Perry-Freauff.

She and Freauff fell in love and married at the height of her acting career in New York in 1909. At that point, she decided to retire and start a family – daughters Margaret Hall and Elaine Storr became actresses and directors.

Perry-Freauff secretly invests in theater

But it didn’t take long for Perry-Freauff to return to the industry, according to the Tony Awards. Her husband didn’t know it, but in 1920 Perry-Freauff invested in Brock Pemberton’s production of Zona Gale’s comedy “Miss Lulu Bett,” which won the Pulitzer Prize.

When Frank found out that Perry-Freauff had invested and that the show had done so well, he gave her his blessing. But in 1922, Frank died of a heart attack, leaving Perry-Freauff an estate of $13 million.

Thanks to his blessing, she was able to use her wealth to invest in her career, the library reports. She used her money to help other actors and playwrights pay overdue hotel bills and took her family to Europe with Pemberton and his wife Margaret.

She played Zona Gale in “Mr. Pitt” in 1924, and in 1928 she made her directorial debut alongside Brock Pemberton. Their production of “Strictly Dishonorable” began in 1929 and was a great success, which the Tony Awards said helped it recover from the stock market crash that occurred about a month later.

Perry-Freauff was an influential director and member of society

Perry-Freauff’s role as director was controversial at the time, according to the library. But she kept going and directed 17 plays on Broadway over the next 14 years. She produced his Broadway hit, “Harvey,” in 1944 alongside Pemberton, which won a Pulitzer Prize.

Although she was largely successful in the theatrical arts, the Tony Awards said she is best remembered for her generosity and leadership. During World War II, she co-founded the Theater Wing of Allied Relief (now American Theater Wing), which created war fundraisers and eventually presented Broadway shows to troops overseas.

She was president of the National Experimental Theater and funded the work of new playwrights with the Actors’ Equity Association and the Dramatists Guild. It financed auditions for thousands of candidates during and after the war.

During this time, Perry was also involved in several organizations that helped homesick soldiers and brought “light to the war by putting on shows for wounded soldiers in the hospital,” according to the library.

She developed heart problems in 1945 but refused to see a doctor. Perry-Freauff’s daughters were preparing her birthday party for the next day when she had a heart attack on June 28, 1946 and died.

Tony Awards commemorate Antoinette Perry

Pemberton proposed the idea of ​​awards for “distinguished stage and technical performances” in Perry-Freauff’s honor, according to the Tony Awards website.

The first ceremony was held in 1947, and when Pemberton presented an award he called it “Tony” and the name stuck. Tickets for the first year were sold for $7, and the following year prices rose to $10 due to great success and high demand.

The ceremony has been televised since 1956 and has been well known ever since. Perry-Freauff was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2004, and her family’s ranch in South Park is now a historic landmark.