Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947.

Awards and nominations

1940s

* 1947: David Wayne – "Finian's Rainbow"
* 1948: "no award"
* 1949: "no award"

1950s

* 1950: Myron McCormick – "South Pacific"
* 1951: Russell Nype – "Call Me Madam"
* 1952: Yul Brynner – "The King and I"
* 1953: Hiram Sherman – "Two's Company"
* 1954: Harry Belafonte – "John Murray Anderson's Almanac"
* 1955: Cyril Ritchard – "Peter Pan"

* 1956: Russ Brown – "Damn Yankees"
**Mike Kellin – "Pipe Dream"
**Will Mahoney – "Finian's Rainbow"
**Scott Merrill – "The Threepenny Opera"

* 1957: Sydney Chaplin – "Bells Are Ringing"
**Robert Coote – "My Fair Lady"
**Stanley Holloway – "My Fair Lady"

* 1958: David Burns – "The Music Man"
**Ossie Davis – "Jamaica"
**Cameron Prud'homme – "New Girl In Town"
**Iggie Wolfington – "The Music Man"

* 1959: Russell Nype – "Goldilocks"
**Leonard Stone – "Redhead"

1960s

* 1960: Tom Bosley – "Fiorello!"
**Theodore Bikel – "The Sound of Music"
**Kurt Kasznar – "The Sound of Music"
**Howard Da Silva – "Fiorello!"
**Jack Klugman – ""

* 1961: Dick Van Dyke – "Bye Bye Birdie"
**Clive Revill – "Irma La Douce"
**Dick Gautier – "Bye Bye Birdie"
**Ron Husmann – "Tenderloin"

* 1962: Charles Nelson Reilly – "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"
**Orson Bean – "Subways Are For Sleeping"
**Severn Darde – "From the Second City"
**Pierre Olaf – "Carnival"

* 1963: David Burns – "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"
**Jack Gilford – "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"
**David Jones – "Oliver!"
**Swen Swenson – "Little Me"

* 1964: Jack Cassidy – "She Loves Me"
**Will Geer – "110 in the Shade"
**Danny Meehan – "Funny Girl"
**Charles Nelson Reilly, "Hello, Dolly!"

* 1965: Victor Spinetti – "Oh! What a Lovely War"
**Jack Cassidy – "Fade Out - Fade In"
**James Grout – "Half a Sixpence"
**Jerry Orbach – "Guys and Dolls"

* 1966: Frankie Michaels – "Mame"
**Roy Castle – "Pickwick"
**John McMartin – "Sweet Charity"
**Michael O'Sullivan – "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman"

* 1967: Joel Grey – "Cabaret"
**Leon Bibb – "A Hand is on the Gate"
**Gordon Dilworth – "Walking Happy"
**Edward Winter – "Cabaret"

* 1968: Hiram Sherman – "How Now, Dow Jones"
**Scott Jacoby – "Golden Rainbow"
**Nikos Kourkoulos – "Illya Darling"
**Michael Rupert – "The Happy Time"

* 1969: Ronald Holgate – "1776"
**William Daniels – "1776" (Refused the Nomination)
**A. Larry Haine – "Promises, Promises"
**Edward Winter – "Promises, Promises"

1970s

* 1970: Rene Auberjonois – "Coco"
**Brandon Maggart – "Applause"
**George Rose – "Coco"

* 1971: Keene Curtis – "The Rothschilds"
**Charles Kimbrough – "Company"
**Walter Willison – "Two by Two"

* 1972: Larry Blyden – "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"
**Timothy Meyers – "Grease"
**Gene Nelson – "Follies"
**Ben Vereen – "Jesus Christ Superstar"
* 1973: George S. Irving – "Irene"
**Laurence Guittard – "A Little Night Music"
**Avon Long – "Don't Play Us Cheap"
**Gilbert Price – "Lost in the Stars"

* 1974: Tommy Tune – "Seesaw"
**Mark Baker – "Candide"
**Ralph Carter – "Raisin"

* 1975: Ted Ross – "The Wiz"
**Tom Aldredge – "Where's Charley?"
**John Bottoms – "Dance With Me"
**Doug Henning – "The Magic Show"
**Gilbert Price – "The Night That Made America Famous"
**Richard B. Shull – "Goodtime Charley"

* 1976: Sammy Williams – "A Chorus Line"
**Robert LuPone – "A Chorus Line"
**Charles Repole – "Very Good Eddie"
**Isao Sato – "Pacific Overtures"

* 1977: Lenny Baker – "I Love My Wife"
**David Kernan – "Side by Side by Sondheim"
**Larry Marshall – "Porgy and Bess"
**Ned Sherrin – "Side by Side by Sondheim"

* 1978: Kevin Kline – "On the Twentieth Century"
**Steven Boockvor – "Working"
**Wayne Cilento – "Dancin'"
**Rex Everhart – "Working"

* 1979: Henderson Forsythe – "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"
**Richard Cox – "Platinum"
**Gregory Hines – "Eubie!"
**Ronald Holgate – "The Grand Tour"

1980s

* 1980: Mandy Patinkin – "Evita"
**David Garrison – "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine"
**Harry Groener – "Oklahoma!"
**Bob Gunton – "Evita"

* 1981: Hinton Battle – "Sophisticated Ladies"
**Tony Azito – "The Pirates of Penzance"
**Lee Roy Reams – "42nd Street"
**Paxton Whitehead – "Camelot"

* 1982: Cleavant Derricks – "Dreamgirls"
**Obba Babatunde – "Dreamgirls"
**David Alan Grier – "The First"
**Bill Hutton – "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

* 1983: Charles "Honi" Coles – "My One and Only"
**Harry Groener – "Cats"
**Stephen Hanan – "Cats"
**Lara Teeter – "On Your Toes"

* 1984: Hinton Battle – "The Tap Dance Kid"
**Stephen Geoffreys – "The Human Comedy"
**Todd Graff – "Baby"
**Samuel E. Wright – "The Tap Dance Kid"

* 1985: Ron Richardson – "Big River"
**"René Auberjonois – "Big River"
**"Daniel H. Jenkins – "Big River"
**"Kurt Knudson – "Take Me Along"

* 1986: Michael Rupert – "Sweet Charity"
**Christopher d'Amboise – "Song & Dance"
**John Herrera – "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
**Howard McGillin – "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"

* 1987: Michael Maguire – "Les Misérables"
**George S. Irving – "Me and My Girl"
**Timothy Jerome – "Me and My Girl"
**Robert Torti – "Starlight Express"

* 1988: Bill McCutcheon – "Anything Goes"
**Anthony Heald – "Anything Goes"
**Werner Klemperer – "Cabaret"
**Robert Westenberg – "Into the Woods"

* 1989: Scott Wise – "Jerome Robbins' Broadway"
**Bunny Briggs – "Black and Blue"
**Savion Glover – "Black and Blue"
**Scott Wentworth – "Welcome to the Club"

1990s

* 1990: Michael Jeter – "Grand Hotel"
**Rene Auberjonois – "City of Angels"
**Kevin Colson – "Aspects of Love"
**Jonathan Hadary – ""

* 1991: Hinton Battle – "Miss Saigon"
**Bruce Adler – "Those Were the Days"
**Gregg Burge – "Oh, Kay!"
**'Willy Falk – "Miss Saigon"

* 1992: Scott Waara – "The Most Happy Fella"
**Bruce Adler – "Crazy for You"
**Keith David – "Jelly's Last Jam"
**Jonathan Kaplan – "Falsettos"

* 1993: Anthony Crivello – "Kiss of the Spider Woman"
**Michael Cerveris – "The Who's Tommy"
**Gregg Edelman – "Anna Karenina"
**Paul Kandel – "The Who's Tommy"

* 1994: Jarrod Emick – "Damn Yankees"
**Tom Aldredge – "Passion"
**Gary Beach – "Beauty and the Beast"
**Jonathan Freeman – "She Loves Me"

* 1995: George Hearn – "Sunset Boulevard"
**Michel Bell – "Show Boat"
**Joel Blum – "Show Boat"
**Victor Trent Cook – "Smokey Joe's Cafe"

* 1996: Wilson Jermaine Heredia – "Rent"
**Brett Tabisel – "Big"
**Scott Wise – "State Fair"

* 1997: Chuck Cooper – "The Life"
**Joel Blum – "Steel Pier"
**Andre De Shields – "Play On!"
**Sam Harris – "The Life"

* 1998: Ron Rifkin – "Cabaret"
**Gregg Edelman – "1776"
**John McMartin – "High Society"
**Samuel E. Wright – "The Lion King"

* 1999: Roger Bart – "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"
**Desmond Richardson – "Fosse"
**Ron Taylor – "It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues"
**Scott Wise – "Fosse"

2000s

* 2000: Boyd Gaines – "Contact"
**Michael Berresse – "Kiss Me, Kate"
**Stephen Spinella – "James Joyce's The Dead"
**Lee Wilkof – "Kiss Me, Kate"
**Michael Mulheren – "Kiss Me, Kate"

* 2001: Gary Beach – "The Producers"
**Roger Bart – "The Producers"
**John Ellison Conlee – "The Full Monty"
**André De Shields – "The Full Monty"
**Brad Oscar – "The Producers"

* 2002: Shuler Hensley – "Oklahoma!"
**Brian d'Arcy James – ""
**Gregg Edelman – "Into The Woods"
**Marc Kudisch – "Thoroughly Modern Millie"
**Norbert Leo Butz – "Thou Shalt Not"

* 2003: Dick Latessa – "Hairspray"
**Michael Cavanaugh – "Movin' Out"
**John Dossett – ""
**Corey Reynolds – "Hairspray"
**Keith Roberts – "Movin' Out"

* 2004: Michael Cerveris – "Assassins"
**John Cariani – "Fiddler on the Roof"
**Raúl Esparza – "Taboo"
**Michael McElroy – "Big River"
**Denis O'Hare – "Assassins"

* 2005: Dan Fogler – "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"
**Marc Kudisch – "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
**Michael McGrath – "Monty Python's Spamalot"
**Matthew Morrison – "The Light In The Piazza"
**Christopher Sieber – "Monty Python's Spamalot"

* 2006: Christian Hoff – "Jersey Boys"
**Danny Burstein – "The Drowsy Chaperone"
**Jim Dale – "The Threepenny Opera"
**Brandon Victor Dixon – "The Color Purple"
**Manoel Felciano – "Sweeney Todd"

* 2007: John Gallagher Jr. – "Spring Awakening"
**Brooks Ashmanskas – ""
**Christian Borle – ""
**John Cullum – "110 in the Shade"
**David Pittu – "LoveMusik"

* 2008: Boyd Gaines – "Gypsy"
**Daniel Breaker – "Passing Strange"
**Danny Burstein – "South Pacific"
**Robin de Jesus – "In the Heights"
**Christopher Fitzgerald – "Young Frankenstein"

Trivia

Multiple Winners

3 Wins
*Hinton Battle

2 Wins
*David Burns
*Boyd Gaines
*Russell Nype
*Hiram Sherman

Multiple Nominees

3 Nominations
*René Auberjonois
*Hinton Battle
*Gregg Edelman
*Scott Wise

2 Nominations
*Bruce Adler
*Tom Aldredge
*Roger Bart
*Gary Beach
*Joel Blum
*David Burns
*Danny Burstein
*Jack Cassidy
*Michael Cerveris
*Boyd Gaines
*Harry Groener
*Ronald Holgate
*George S. Irving
*Marc Kudisch
*John McMartin
*Russell Nype
*Gilbert Price
*Charles Nelson Reilly
*Michael Rupert
*Hiram Sherman
*Andre De Shields
*Edward Winter
*Samuel E. Wright

*There have been no ties in the history of this category.

*Never in the history of this category has a performer won a Tony Award by portraying a character previously embodied by a former winner. There have been winners emerging from the same musical, however, but never for playing the same role:
** From "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum": David Burns, as Senex, in 1963, and Larry Blyden, as Hysterium, in 1972 (Jack Gilford had been nominated in 1963, also for his portrayal of Hysterium, but he did not win);
** From "Damn, Yankees": Russ Brown, as Van Buren, in 1966, and Jarrod Emick, as Joe Hardy, in 1994;
** From "Cabaret": Joel Grey, as The Master of Ceremonies, in 1967, and Ron Rifkin as Herr Schultz, in 1998 (Werner Klemperer had been nominated in 1988, also for his portrayal of Herr Schultz, but he did not win).

*The role of Herbie, in "Gypsy", holds the record for most nominations in this category, with four:
**1960 – Jack Klugman
**1990 – Jonathan Hadary
**2003 – John Dossett
**2008 – Boyd GainesOf all these performers, only Boyd Gaines won the Tony Award.

*Hinton Battle remains the most successful performer in the history of this category with a perfect score of three wins in three nominations. Scott Wise and René Auberjonois have also attained three nominations each, but have only been victorious once. Gregg Edelman, also with three nominations, has never won and is this category’s greatest “loser”.

*There has never been a consecutive winner in this category. There have been, though, some consecutive nominations. Jack Cassidy was consecutively nominated in 1964 and 1965, while Bruce Adler achieved the same honor in 1991 and 1992. Cassidy won in 1964, for his portrayal of Steve Kodaly, in “She Loves Me”.

*The record for the longest span between wins is held by Hiram Sherman, whose wins for "Two’s Company", in 1953, and "How Now, Dow Jones", in 1968, are set apart by 15 years.

*The record for the longest span between nominations is held by John McMartin, whose nominations for "Sweet Charity", in 1966, and "High Society", in 1998, are set apart by 32 years. McMartin has never won a Tony Award in this category.