“Fiddler on the Roof” Wins Best Musical at Tonys

June 13, 1965 - “Fiddler on the Roof” was selected as the best musical of the 1964-65 season and “The Subject Was Roses” as the best play and winners of the Tony awards at the American Theater Wing’s dinner tonight at New York’s Astor Hotel. (Pictured left to right, Walter Matthau, Irene Worth, Liza Minnelli, and Zero Mostel.)

The Tony is Broadway’s equivalent of the Hollywood Oscar. The Tonys were established in 1947 as a memorial to Antoinette Perry, wartime chairman of the Theater Wing. They are silver medallions 3 inches in diameter. Each is inscribed on one side with the masks of comedy and tragedy and on the other side with the winner’s name.

“Fiddler on the Roof,” based on Sholem Aleichem’s stories, won 9 of the 20 categories. Tonys went to Zero Mostel, its star; Maria Karnilova, actress in a featured role; Jerome Robbins (two awards), choreographer and director; Harold Prince, producer; Joseph Stein, adapter; Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, composer and lyricist, and Patricia Zipprodt, costumer.

The show, which opened last Sept. 22 at the Imperial Theater, became an immediate hit. It tells in the story of a Jewish dairyman (Mostel) in a Russian village at the turn of the century, his sharp-tongued wife (Karnilova), and their five marriageable daughters.

“The Subject Was Roses,” the first Broadway play for its author, Frank Gilroy, celebrated its first birthday May 25. The story concerns a soldier who returns after serving three years in the Army and his orientation with his father and mother. Jack Albertson, who plays the father, won a Tony for his performance as a featured dramatic player.

“The Subject Was Roses” was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle’s Award. The Circle also named “Fiddler on the Roof” as the best musical.

“The Odd Couple” won four Tonys: Neil Simon, author; Mike Nichols, director; Walter Matthau, star; Oliver Smith, scenic designer.

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