Tony Award Countdown: 30 Years In 30 Days, Michael Jeter in GRAND HOTEL, 1990

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.

"My decision to become an actor was made when I was pretty advanced with my substance problem,'' Michael Jeter explained shortly after winning the 1990 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. ''One of the reasons for getting out of the business was to find out if mine was indeed a problem-related career or whether it was something that I really needed and loved to do.''

His early acting jobs included a replacement role in the original Off-Broadway production of Caryl Churchill's CLOUD 9, directed by Tommy Tune, but it wasn't long before he accepted a full-time job as a litigation secretary for a law firm.

Then came a call from his agent, saying Tommy Tune wanted to see him for a role in his new Broadway musical, GRAND HOTEL. Jeter wasn't a dancer, but his character, Otto Kringelein, was a dying man who decided to live whatever time he had left in luxury, and the enthused quirkiness with which he dived into his show-stopping Charleston in "We'll Take A Glass Together," stopped the show eight times a week.

Sadly, leading man David Carroll, a nominee himself, was weakening with AIDS and had left the show by the time the Tony Award Ceremony came along, so Jeter performed the number on the telecast with the star's talented replacement, Brent Barrett.

When the applause finally died down, Lily Tomlin presented Jeter with his Tony, and the grateful actor gave an inspiring speech directed to anyone watching who was battling addictions.

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.