June 2: Lon Morris College alum Tommy Tune makes Broadway history in 1991

Published 5:00 am Tuesday, June 2, 2020

At the 1991 Tony Awards held on this date, “The Will Rogers Follies” was the night’s big winner thanks to Tommy Tune.

Tune, who attended Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, received Tony Awards for his work as the director and choreographer of the popular musical.

In doing so, he became the only person to win these awards in consecutive years. In 1990, he won them for his work on “Grand Hotel.” 

In the Spotlight

— 2017: NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, of Whitehouse is a guest on the “Mike & Mike” TV show.

— 2014: Lindale native Miranda Lambert is a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

— 1980: “Arms Too Short to Box with God” opens on Broadway with Tyler native Kiki Shepard in the chorus. 

— 1979: The Oak Ridge Boys, featuring Lamar County native Duane Allen, score a No. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Sail Away.”

— 1976: Tyler native Johnny Gimble, a fiddle player, performs on the TV special “Sing Country 1976.”

— 1975: Tyler native Sandy Duncan is a guest panelist on “Hollywood Squares.”

— 1969: Audie Murphy, a native of Kingston, stars in “A Time for Dying.”

— 1962: Wood County native Ray Price’s “Big Shoes” peaks at No. 22 on the Hot Country Songs chart. 

—  1951: Whitewright native Guy Wilkerson appears in “Along the Great Divide” starring Kirk Douglas.

— 1945: Wills Point native Lee “Lasses” White stars in “Springtime in Texas.”

— 1924: Corsicana native Jacqueline Logan stars in “Code of the Sea.”