The 34th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS television on June 8, 1980, from the

Mark Hellinger Theatre The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre) is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which formerly served as a cinema and a Broadway theat ...

. The hosts were

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whi ...

and

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

. The theme was "

understudies In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

"; each of the hosts and presenters had been understudies and offered anecdotes of that beginning.

The ceremony

Presenters:

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

, Carol Channing,

Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer. Early life Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman an ...

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. In 2011, the government of France mad ...

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

, James MacArthur, Nancy Marchand,

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian, and one of the seven original cast members of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). In h ...

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. B ...

, Tony Roberts,

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...

Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...

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 ...

. Musicals represented: * ''

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 ...

'' ("Doin' the Production Code" - Company) * '' Barnum'' ("Come Follow the Band"/"There is a Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute" - Jim Dale and Company) * '' Evita'' ("A New Argentina" - Patti LuPone and Company) * '' Oklahoma!'' ("People Will Say We're In Love" - Joel Higgins and Christine Andreas) * ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' ("I'm Flying" - Sandy Duncan and children) * '' Sugar Babies'' ("A McHugh Medley" - Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney) * ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'' ("America" - Debbie Allen and Company)

Winners and nominees

''Winners are in bold''

Special awards

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

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

*Regional Theatre Award Winner - Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky *

, Whose Life Is It Anyway?.

Multiple nominations and awards

These productions had multiple nominations: *''11 nominations:'' '' Evita'' *''10 nominations:'' '' Barnum'' *''9 nominations:'' ''

'' *''8 nominations:'' '' Sugar Babies'' *''5 nominations:'' ''

Talley's Folly ''Talley's Folly'' is a 1980 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. The play is the second in ''The Talley Trilogy'', between his plays '' Talley & Son'' and ''Fifth of July''. Set in an boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944, it i ...

'' *''4 nominations:'' '' Children of a Lesser God'' and '' Morning's at Seven'' *''3 nominations:'' ''

'' *''2 nominations:'' '' Bent'', ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. ...

'', ''Home'', '' The Lady from Dubuque'', '' Night and Day'', '' Oklahoma!'', ''

'' and ''Strider'' The following productions received multiple awards. *''7 wins:'' '' Evita'' *''3 wins:'' '' Barnum'', '' Children of a Lesser God'' and '' Morning's at Seven'' *''2 wins:'' ''

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Awards, 34 Tony Awards ceremonies 1980 in theatre 1980 theatre awards 1980 in New York City Tony

The ceremony

Winners and nominees

Special awards

Multiple nominations and awards

See also

External links