Theater Hall of Fame

(Scroll down for year-by-year lists of recent inductees.)

(For Class of 2012, to be inducted Jan. 28, 2013, click here.)

Inscribed in raised gold letters on the walls of the upper rotundas of Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre are the names of the more than 400 members of the Theater Hall of Fame. It was founded in 1971 as a New York non-profit organization by Earl Blackwell, James M. Nederlander, Gerard Oestreicher and L. Arnold Weissberger. Though it initially enrolled large annual classes in order to catch up on theater history, in 2005: Inductees William Ivey Long and John Lithgow survey the wallrecent years eight inductees have been chosen annually by an electorate composed of members of the Hall of Fame, members of ATCA and selected other critics, historians and theater notables.

For information on the different activities of the Hall of Fame and a full list of members, go to its official web site.  

NOTE that the Hall of Fame is institutionally unrelated to ATCA. Our only connection is that we form a large part of the electorate and that various ATCA members have helped manage the annual election process, starting with ATCA founder Henry Hewes. Official Theater Hall of Fame logo.

The minimum requirement for the 50-60 names (actors, directors, designers, producers, playwrights and occasionally even a critic) that appear on each year’s ballot is at least five major theater credits spread over 25 or more years, although this latter requirement2000: Inductees Jon Jory, June Havoc and Mary Alice may be suspended in special cases. The ballot is drawn up by critics on the Hall of Fame board, who are always happy to receive suggestions. (Email suggestions to Terry Hodge Taylor.) Although almost all Hall members earned their fame on Broadway, selected off-Broadway or regional theater luminaries have been elected as well.

The annual result is an induction ceremony in late January, where each new Hall member is presented by another 2004: Inductees Len Cariou and Brian Murray flank mistress of ceremonies and Hall member Marian Seldestheater veteran, creating a vivid mix of humor, nostalgia and sentiment. That event as well as the Hall of Fame itself, which also sponsors other educational activities, awards and exhibits, is led by Terry Hodge Taylor, who has been Executive Producer since 1989 and provides all producing, management and fundraising.

2007: Inductees Roy Somlyo and Harvey Fierstein

Following are annual lists of recent inductees, with links to published descriptions of the induction ceremonies. Note that the class inducted each January is actually that of the year before, when it was elected. Note also that some inductions have been posthumous, and some years there are additional inductions, not listed here but included in the published articles, voted by a special veterans’ committee.

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2011: Tyne Daly, Woodie King Jr. Elliot Martin, Ann Roth, Paul Sills, Daniel Sullivan, Ben Vereen, and George White. The list of inductors was even starrier: Phylicia Rashad, Brian Dennehy, Donald Margulies, Meryl Streep, Liza Minnelli, Jane Alexander and Brian Murray, with Estelle Parsons as emcee. Theater Hall of Fame inducts 8 with reminiscence and laughter

2010: Michael Blakemore, Joseph Chaikin, Caryl Churchill, Brian Dennehy, Paul Gemignani, Jams Lapine, Linda Lavin and Fritz Weaver; also veterans Alice Childress, Henry Irving, Philip Moeller and Florence Reed. Fritz Weaver among Theater Hall of Fame inductees

2009: Roger Berlind, Jim Dale, Charles Ludlum, Ted Mann, John McMartin, Lynn Redgrave, Stephen Schwartz and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  CMU’s Stephen Schwartz, 7 others join Theater Hall of Fame

2008: Alan Ayckbourn, Emanuel Azenberg, Patricia Birch, Roscoe Lee Browne, Richard Easton, Marvin Hamlisch, Nathan Lane and Jonathan Tunick; also veterans Mordecai Gorelik. Bronson Howard, Celia Lipton, Louisa Medina and Boris Thomashevsky. Lane, Hamlisch among Theater Hall of Fame inductees

2007: Harvey Fierstein, Dana Ivey, Peter Shaffer, Joseph Stein, Jack O’Brien, John Cullum, Mel Gussow and Lois Smith.  Hall of Fame: theater veterans get a night in limelight

2006: Brian Friel, George Hearn, Willa Kim, Eugene Lee, Patti Lupone, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson and Elizabeth Wilson; also veterans Daniel Frohman, Owen Davis, Thomas Abthorpe Cooper and Sanford Meisner.  Theater Hall of Fame honors August Wilson, seven others

2005: Graciela Danielle, Ben Edwards, William Gibson, Peter Hall, John Lithgow, Dorothy Loudon, Sada Thompson and William Ivey Long.  Theater Hall of Fame inducts Thompson, Lithgow, others

2004: Len Cariou, A.R. Gurney, Gregory Hines, Santo Loquasto, Elizabeth McCann, Ian McKellen, Brian Murray and Estelle Parsons; also veterans Rachel Crothers, Susan Glaspell, Billy Rose and Diana Sands.  Stage veterans receive praise at induction

2003: Julian Beck & Judith Malina, Jane Greenwood, Madeline Kahn, Kevin Kline, Patricia Neal, Vanessa Redgrave, Peter Stone and Richard Wilbur.  Theater honors put women in the spotlight

2002: John Lee Beatty, Stockard Channing, Larry Gelbart, Bernard Gersten, Tammy Grimes, Frank Langella, David Mamet and Jean Stapleton; also veterans Dion Boucicault, Canada Lee, Jacob Adler and Cleon Throckmorton.  Role Call: New class celebrates induction into Theater Hall of Fame

2001: Robert Brustein, Alvin Colt, Peter Gennaro, George Grizzard, T. Edward Hambleton, Henry Hewes, Isabelle Stevenson and Charles Strouse.  Hall of Fame inducts ensemble of stage pioneers among friends

2000: Mary Alice, Robert Fryer, Athol Fugard, Otis Guernsey, June Havoc, Jon Jory, Nancy Marchand and Liza Minnelli.  Theater family comes together to celebrate Hall of Fame honorees

1999: Gordon Davidson, Hal Holbrook, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Robert Morse, Jerry Orbach, Frances Sternhagen, Tom Stoppard, Teresa Wright.  [No published account available.]

1998: Alexander H. Cohen, Charles Durning, Zelda Fichandler, Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt, Richard Kiley, Ellis Rabb and Robin Wagner.  Theater Hall of fame inductees reminisce about days of glory, passion