Whoopi Goldberg To Host Tonys!

Tony Award winning star of stage and screen, Whoopi Goldberg, will take center stage as she hosts the 62nd Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards® on Sunday, June 15 live from Radio City Music Hall.    Ms. Goldberg made the announcement this morning live on ABC's THE VIEW.  The Tony Awards will air live on CBS from 8:00-11:00PM (ET/PT time delay).  The Tonys are presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing.
 
"I'm very excited to be hosting the Tony Awards," said Whoopi Goldberg.  "I love Broadway and I'm thrilled to be doing anything for the first time.  I'm gonna have a blast."
 
Whoopi Goldberg is one of a very elite group of artists who have won the Grammy ("Whoopi Goldberg," 1985), the Academy Award ("Ghost," 1991), the Golden Globe ("The Color Purple," 1985 and "Ghost," 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC's "Beyond Tara:  The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," 2002) and a Tony (Producer of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," 2002), as well as countless other awards and honors as an actor, producer, host and author.  She currently moderates "The View."
 
The 2008 Tony Awards will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment.
 
"How lucky are we to have such a legendary performer presiding over this year's Tony Awards?" said Glenn Weiss.  "Whoopi not only brings with her an immense amount of star-power, but also a charm and humor that is all her own," said Ricky Kirshner.
 

Kirshner has worked on 14 of the past 15 Tony Awards beginning as Associate Producer and working up to Executive Producer. Weiss is also director of the telecast; this is his eighth year.  He won an Emmy Award for his direction of the 2005 telecast. 
 
The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Award®, which was founded by the American Theatre Wing in 1947, is bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway.  The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast – the night America watches Broadway – is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television.
 
The Tonys are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Nina Lannan is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is Executive Director. At the American Theatre Wing, Sondra Gilman is Chairman, Doug Leeds is President and Howard Sherman is Executive Director. For Tony Award Productions, Elizabeth I. McCann is Managing Producer and Joey Parnes is Coordinating Producer. 
 
Official partners of the Tony Awards include:  Visa, the exclusive card accepted at the Tonys; Hilton Hotels, the official hotel partner of the Tonys; and IBM, which develops, designs, and hosts TonyAwards.com. Continental Airlines and Sprint are official supporters of the Tonys Awards.   Promotional and media partners for the 2008 Tony Awards include Macy's, Playbill, USA Today, MyBroadway.com, and Van Wagner. 
 

For more information please visit www.TonyAwards.com

Photo Credit Mark Rupp

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