Antoinette Perry (1904)

Antoinette “Tony” Perry (June 27, 1888 – June 28, 1946) was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, the only daughter of a prominent pioneer family — her grandfather was Colorado state senator Charles L. Hall, and her family owned the Salt Works Ranch in South Park, the oldest ranch in Colorado. From her earliest years, Tony showed more interest in directing neighborhood plays than performing in them, though her theatrical instincts were unmistakable. Her aunt Mildred Hall and uncle George Wessels, both respected touring actors, ignited her passion for the stage, and at age 15 she joined her uncle’s company, learning everything from wardrobe to ticket sales to Shakespeare.

Her story, and Elitch’s story, are inseparable. Tony made her very first public appearance at the age of eleven on the Elitch stage. Mary Elitch Long herself memorialized the moment in her biography: “Her first public appearance was at the age of eleven in a small part on my stage. Today, with a brilliant career as an actress behind her, having played leading women with such great actors as David Warfield, Antoinette is a successful producer in New York City — having her own theatre.” Her official debut at Elitch came on June 12, 1904, in Olympe, billed as the “Fifth Actress.” She returned triumphantly during the 1908 season alongside the celebrated David Warfield in special productions of The Music Master and David Belasco’s The Grand Army Man — appearing on this very stage as a fully established leading lady.

In 1906 David Warfield hired her, and she remained with his company as leading lady until 1909, when she left the stage at the peak of her success to marry Denver businessman Frank W. Frueauff, president of the Denver Gas and Electric Company. After his death in 1922, Tony returned to theatre — this time as a director and producer, a bold move in an era when women offstage were typically limited to costume work. Teaming with producer Brock Pemberton, she struck gold in 1929 with Preston Sturges’s Strictly Dishonorable. Over the next 13 years they co-produced 17 Broadway plays, including their crowning achievement: Mary Chase’s Harvey (1944), a Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy that ran on Broadway for seven years and became a celebrated film starring James Stewart. Well into the 1970s, she remained the only woman director with a track record of Broadway hits.

At a time when women offstage were limited to minor positions, Tony became a stage director and producer, with a long string of hits, blazing a trail for women in theatre. Helen Hayes, the first lady of American theatre, said of her: “Tony was a gifted and versatile actress, and one of the best directors the American theater has produced.” She supervised auditions for 7,000 young hopefuls, financed the work of new playwrights alongside Actors’ Equity and the Dramatists Guild, and served as president of the National Experimental Theatre. Her dream of a national actors’ school was realized in 1946. She was, as she once put it simply: “just a fool for the theatre.”

During World War II she formed the American Theater Wing War Service, which held benefits to raise money for the war effort, while Stage Door Canteens provided hospitality to homesick servicemen. Perry personally coordinated 1,500 auditorium programs and 6,700 hospital ward entertainment units at home and abroad, and a six-figure personal contribution from Tony — combined with support from Rodgers and Hammerstein — funded USO tours for troops stationed overseas. She co-founded the American Theatre Wing to recognize her lifelong efforts to encourage young talent.

Tony Perry died of a heart attack on June 28, 1946, the day after her 58th birthday. Named for Antoinette Perry, the Tony Awards made their official debut at a dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. The medallion introduced in 1949 bears the masks of comedy and tragedy on one side and Tony Perry’s profile on the other. Every year, when theatre’s brightest stars lift that medallion, they honor a Denver girl who first stepped onto a stage right here at the Historic Elitch Theatre. In 2004, Antoinette Perry-Frueauff was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

“Antoinette Perry, a Denver native, has become one of the most obscure celebrities of the century. In ‘Notable Names in the Theatre,’ she rates a line in the biographies of her daughters, Margaret and Elaine Perry, who followed in their mother’s now-faint footsteps as actresses, directors and producers. In recent years, the rare stories about Perry that have run in the Eastern press have been mistakenly illustrated with pictures of Margaret.”

[The Denver Post, June 2, 1991.]

Here is a snapshot of little Antoinette Perry, a baby of four, who walked fearlessly into my gold fish pool…. Her first public appearance was at the age of eleven in a small part on my stage. Today, with a brilliant career as an actress behind her, having played leading women with such great actors as David Warfield, Antoinette is a successful producer in New York City — having her own theatre. Quote from Mary Elitch
[Caroline Lawrence Dier, “The Lady of the Gardens”, 1932, Hollycrofters, Inc.]

Antoinette Perry was born in Denver, Colorado in 1888. While Mary Elitch herself recalled that Perry’s first appearance on a stage was a walk-on role at Historic Elitch Theatre in 1899 when she was just 11, her first credited role on stage was five years later in 1904 when she appeared in the play Olympe as the “Fifth Actress”.
[Borrillo, p. 61]

Just one year later, “Perry was acclaimed as the youngest starring actress in the country when she made her Chicago debut in ‘Mrs. Temple’s Telegram’ in 1905, when she was 17. She went on to captivate New York as the ingenue in ‘Lady Jim’ at Weber’s Theatre the same year.”
[The Denver Post, June 2, 1991.]

Frank Frueauff, vice president and general manager of Denver Gas and Electric Co., “returned to several performances, bringing parties of friends to share his box. Before Perry left Denver, the two decided to marry.”

“She put aside her career to marry Frueauff on Nov. 30, 1909…. Perry and her husband had two daughters, Margaret, born in Denver in 1913, and Elaine, born in New York in 1921…. Frueauff was co-founder of the Cities Service Co. In time, he was directly involved with the management of more than 100 other power companies across the United States.”

“Frueauff’s death on July 31, 1922…left Perry a millionaire at the age of 35…it wasn’t long before she felt the irresistible tug of the theater. She made a triumphant return to stage as Zona Gale in ‘Mr. Pitt’ at the 39th Street Theatre on Jan. 22, 1924. Later roles included 134 performances in George S. Kaurman-Edna Ferber comedy ‘Minick.’”
[The Denver Post, June 2, 1991.]

“Perry was a pioneer….most of the theater was off limits to women in her day. In 1937, she simultaneously directed three major Broadway productions — ‘Now You’re Done It,’ ‘Chalked Out’ and ‘Red Harvest’… She directed 17 Broadway plays in 14 years, a resume seldom equaled in the theater.”
[The Denver Post, June 2, 1991.]

In 1947, the American Theater Wing established the Antoinette Perry Awards in her memory, and they have been presented annually for distinguished achievement in theater. The awards are commonly known as the “Tony” awards. The Tony award consists of a medallion depicting the masks of comedy and tragedy on one side and the profile of Antoinette Perry on the other side mounted on a black base.” [Borrillo, p. 61]

In 2004, Mary Antoinette Perry-Frueauff was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Tony had been successful in breaking down barriers to get women into the world of directing. She encouraged young talent and was in charge of 7,000 auditions for young people. She believed in investing in young talent. She worked on using theater to boost morale during WWII and did her best to help with the cause. The Tony Awards are now televised annually in her honor. [Denver Public Library Website]