William Daniels turned down his Tony nomination for Featured Actor in a Musical because he felt (rightly so) that, as Adams, he should be in the Leading Actor category. If Daniels hadn't said a word, he most assuredly would've won, just as Tammy Grimes (''The Unsinkable Molly Brown'') and Tom Bosley (''Fiorello!'') won Featured Tonys as the leads of THEIR shows. (Back then, I suppose you couldn't petition to be bumped up.)
Apparently, if you were billed above the title, you competed for Leading Actor at the Tonys. If you were below it, you were Featured Actor. Daniels was below the title of ''1776,'' but here's what I can't figure out: I just looked up ''Promises, Promises'' at the Playbill Vault, and Jerry Orbach also was BELOW the title. So why did Orbach get a Leading Actor nomination? Orbach won the Tony over his competition - Herschel Bernardi in ''Zorba''; Jack Cassidy in ''Maggie Flynn,'' and Joel Grey in ''George M!'' - and ALL THREE were above the title. (So I guess that billing rule wasn't always strict. Robert Morse was below the title of ''Take Me Along,'' but he, too, was nominated for Leading Actor, alongside Jackie Gleason and Walter Pidgeon.) |
