Sarah Siddons Award
The Sarah Siddons Society is an American non-profit organization founded in 1952 by prominent Chicago theatre patrons with the goal of promoting excellence in the theatre. The Society presents the Sarah Siddons Award annually to an actor for an outstanding performance in a Chicago theatrical production. The winner receives a statuette of the Welsh stage actress Sarah Siddons (1755–1831).
The award stems from the fictional award referred to in the opening scene of the 1950 Joseph L. Mankiewicz film All About Eve. The film opens with the image of an award trophy, described by character Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) as the "highest honour our theater knows: the Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement." The award was invented by Mankiewicz for the script. In 1952 a small group of eminent Chicago theater-goers, including Mrs. Loyal Davis, mother of future First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan, began to give an award physically modeled and named after the one in the film. In 1973, during the Sarah Siddons Society Anniversary Gala, an honorary Sarah Siddons award was presented to Bette Davis, even though she didn't appear in a Chicago play that year. Another All About Eve cast member, Celeste Holm, had previously won the award. Lauren Bacall, who played Davis' role in the Broadway musical version, Applause, has also won.
In addition to the award, the society also funds a number of scholarships for theatre and other performance university students in the Chicago area. Beginning in 2013, the society has partnered with the Chicago Humanities Festival to expose young students from disadvantaged backgrounds to live performances.[1]
Past winners
Actress/Actor of the Year (chronologically):[2]
- 1953 – Helen Hayes (also 1969)
- 1954 – Beatrice Lillie
- 1955 – Deborah Kerr
- 1956 – Nancy Kelly (also 1964)
- 1957 – Shirley Booth
- 1958 – Anne Rogers
- 1959 – Ruth Roman
- 1960 – Geraldine Page
- 1961 – Gertrude Berg
- 1962 – Florence Henderson
- 1963 – Julia Meade
- 1964 – Nancy Kelly (also 1956)
- 1965 – Myrna Loy
- 1966 – Carol Channing
- 1967 – Eve Arden
- 1968 – Celeste Holm
- 1969 – Helen Hayes (also 1953)
- 1970 – Barbara Rush
- 1971 – Irene Dailey
- 1972 – Lauren Bacall (also 1984)
- 1973 – Bette Davis
- 1973 – Sada Thompson (also 1988)
- 1974 – Colleen Dewhurst
- 1975 – Angela Lansbury (also 1981)
- 1976 – Julie Harris
- 1977 – Lynn Redgrave (also 1995)
- 1978 – Cloris Leachman
- 1979 – Jessica Tandy
- 1980 – Claudette Colbert
- 1981 – Angela Lansbury (also 1975)
- 1982 – Dorothy Loudon
- 1983 – Ann Miller
- 1984 – Lauren Bacall (also 1972)
- 1985 – Rita Moreno
- 1986 – Lucie Arnaz
- 1987 – Liza Minnelli
- 1988 – Sada Thompson (also 1973)
- 1989 – Lily Tomlin
- 1990 – Ellen Burstyn
- 1991 – Loretta Swit
- 1992 – Hollis Resnik
- 1993 – Stefanie Powers
- 1994 – Bernadette Peters
- 1995 – Lynn Redgrave (also 1977)
- 1996 – Julie Andrews
- 1997 – Faye Dunaway
- 1999 – Brian Dennehy
- 2000 – Heather Headley
- 2002 – Chita Rivera
- 2004 – Elaine Stritch
- 2006 – John Mahoney
- 2008 – Kathleen Turner
- 2009 – William Petersen
- 2010 – Patti LuPone
- 2011 – John O'Hurley
- 2012 – Barbara Cook
- 2013 – Audra McDonald
- 2014 – Bebe Neuwirth
- 2015 – Jessie Mueller
References
- ↑ "About Us". Sarah Siddons Society. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
- ↑ "The Sarah Siddons Society Awardees". Sarah Siddons Society. Retrieved 2014-02-27.