Neil Patrick Harris to Return as Tonys Host for Third Time!

Neil Patrick Harris will return as the host of the 66th Annual Tony Awards Telecast, which broadcasts on June 10. Harris tweeted the news yesterday following the Broadway League and American Theater Wing announcement in the New York Times.

This year's Tonys will be broadcast live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City, Sunday, June 10, 2012 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. The awards show, which honors theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, has been a part of the CBS family since 1978. This will be the second year that the show will be broadcast live from the Beacon Theatre.

Harris, who played Dr Horrible in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, hosted the Tony award ceremony in 2009 and again last year.

Neil Patrick Harris currently stars as Barney Stinson in the hit CBS series, "How I Met Your Mother," a role which has garnered him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations, as well as a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor. Harris recently tackled the leading role of Bobby in the New York Philharmonic's concert production of Stephen Sondheim's Company at Lincoln Center.

Harris made his Broadway debut opposite Anne Heche in the Pulitzer-Prize winning drama, Proof. Subsequently, Harris also starred on Broadway as the Emcee in Cabaret, and as The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins. His additional theatrical credits include roles in All My Sons, Tick, Tick...Boom, The Paris Letter, Sweeney Todd, Rent, and Romeo and Juliet. Harris made his theatrical directorial debut with I Am Grock at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, and he recently helmed a production of Jonathan Larson's Rent at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. He has also served as host of the Tony Awards Ceremony.

On screen, Neil has starred in numerous feature films, including Beastly, Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Undercover Brother, The Next Best Thing, The Proposition, Starship Troopers, and Clara's Heart (Golden Globe nom.) The Best & the Brightest; The Smurfs; and the third installment in the Harold and Kumar film series, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas.

On television, Harris gained notoriety as the beloved title character in "Doogie Howser, M.D." (People's Choice Award, Golden Globe nom.), as well as the lead in the NBC comedy series, "Stark Raving Mad." Along with guest-starring roles in "Glee" (Emmy Award), "Numb3rs," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Will & Grace," and "Boomtown," Harris has also starred in several made-for-television movies, including "Yes, Virginia," "The Christmas Blessing," and "The Wedding Dress."

Next year marks the 66th anniversary of the TONY Awards, which were first held on April 6, 1947 at the Waldorf Astoria's Grand Ballroom. The ceremonies are presented by TONY Award Productions, which is a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, which founded the Tonys in 1947.

The Tonys were founded in memorial to Antoinette ("Tony") Perry, the American Theatre Wing's World War II chairperson. The winners are selected by the governing board of Actors Equity, the Dramatists Guild, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the United Scenic Artists, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, the Casting Society of America, the New York Drama Critics Circle, the American Theatre Wing and members of the Broadway League.

THE 64th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS received two Primetime Emmy(R) Awards: Outstanding Special Class Programs and Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment will return as executive producers. Also, Weiss will serve as director for the 13th consecutive year.

Photo Credit: Kabik / Retna Digital