Brock Pemberton (December 14, 1885 - March 11, 1950) was an American theatrical producer, director and founder of the Tony Awards. He was the professional partner of Antoinette Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, and he was also a member of the Algonquin Round Table.Pemberton was born in Leavenworth, Kansas and attended the College of Emporia where he joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the University of Kansas, before becoming a press agent in New York City. Later, Pemberton directed and produced the American premiere of Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author in 1922, as well as its first Broadway revival two years later. In 1929 he produced and directed Preston Sturges' play Strictly Dishonorable, which was filmed twice, in 1931 and again in 1951.Among his other productions was Miss Lulu Bett, whose writer Zona Gale became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Personal Appearance by Lawrence Riley, which was a Broadway hit and was later turned into the film Go West, Young Man and Harvey, Mary Chase's play about a man whose best friend is a large imaginary rabbit, later made into a film starring Jimmy Stewart.Pemberton gave the Antoinette Perry Award its nickname, the Tony. As Perry's official biography at the Tony Awards website states, "At [Warner Bros. story editor] Jacob Wilk's suggestion, [Pemberton] proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting and technical achievement. At the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony. The name stuck.Months after his death in 1950, a Tony Award was given to him posthumously in recognition of his role as the founder and the original chairman of the Tony Awards.
Highly successful Broadway producer-director; active from 1920-1950. Involved in such hits as "The Ladder" (1928), "Strictly Dishonorable" (1929), "Kiss the Boys Goodbye" (1938), " "Janie" (1942) and, especially, "Harvey" (1944), which ran through 1949 with a remarkable 1775 performances.
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In 1950, awarded a Special Tony Award posthumously, identifying him as "founder of awards and its original chairman." Ironically, the Tony Award was named after his friend and protégé, Antoinette Perry.
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Strictly Dishonorable
1951
producer: stage play
Harvey
1950
producer: the stage play
Janie
1944
producer of the original play
Strictly Dishonorable
1931
producer: New York stage play / stager: New York stage play
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Stage Door Canteen
1943
Brock Pemberton
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Critic at Large
1948
TV Series
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Paramount Headliner: Broadway Highlights No. 1
1935
Short
Brock Pemberton
Known for movies
Harvey (1950) as Miscellaneous Crew
Strictly Dishonorable (1931) as Miscellaneous Crew
Janie (1944) as Miscellaneous Crew
Strictly Dishonorable (1951) as Miscellaneous Crew
$850,000
