The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality featured roles in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Best Performance in a Musical. It was first presented to David Wayne at the 1st Tony Awards for his portrayal of Og in Finian's Rainbow. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public; the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers". Following the first ceremony, this category was not awarded until 1950 when it was renamed to Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured or Supporting Role in a Musical. It was renamed again to its current title in 1976.
Hinton Battle holds the record for having the most wins in this category, with a total of three. No characters have taken the award multiple times, but Herbie in Gypsy and Herr Schultz in Cabaret remain the most nominated, with two each.
Winners and nominees
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Statistics
Most wins
3 wins
Hinton Battle
2 wins
David Burns
Boyd Gaines
Russell Nype
Hiram Sherman
Most nominations
Character nomination total
Productions with multiple nominations
boldface=winner
Multiple awards and nominations
Actors who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories
Other statistics
There was one tie in the history of this category, in 1959.
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 Gaines (winner)
Hinton Battle remains the most successful performer in the history of this category with a perfect score of three wins in three nominations. Danny Burstein has received the most nominations in this category with four, but has only been victorious once. Gregg Edelman, Marc Kudisch, and Christopher Fitzgerald have received three nominations but never won and are this category's biggest "losers." Coincidentally, Edelman and Kudisch were nominated and lost to Shuler Hensley in 2002.
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 never won a Tony Award in this category.
The oldest winner in this category is Dick Latessa who was 73 when he won for Hairspray in 2003. The youngest winner is Frankie Michaels who won for Mame in 1966 at age 11.
See also
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical