Tony Award Countdown: 30 Years In 30 Days, Julie Larson Accepts RENT Tonys For Her Brother Jonathan, 1996

Welcome to BroadwayWorld's Tony Award Countdown: 30 Years In 30 Days, a look at some of the Tony Awards' most memorable moments from the past three decades.

It's doubtful that anyone attending the 1996 Tony Awards was unaware that the author of the musical most likely to take the evening's top honors, Jonathan Larson, would not be with them to celebrate.

Four months earlier, on the night before his rock musical about a group of contemporary East Village artist friends was scheduled to play its first Off-Broadway preview at New York Theatre Workshop, Larson died of a dissecting aortic aneurysm.

The producers of RENT were on hand to accept the Best Musical Award, but when its creator was announced as the winner for both Best Book and Best Score, it was his sister, Julie Larson-McCollum who took the stage and eloquently spoke of her brother's passion for theatre.

"It took Johnny 15 years of really hard work to become an overnight sensation. So we'd like to share this awards with all those who are out there still working in restaurants or driving taxis or doing whatever they have to do to scrape by for their art. Stay true to yourselves and to your dreams and know they can come true."

The American Theatre Wing's 70th Annual Tony Awards, hosted by Tony Award winner James Corden, will air on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, June 12, 2016 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City.