Born Thomas James Tune on the 28th February 1939, in Wichita Falls, Texas USA, Tommy is an actor, choreographer, dancer, theatre director and producer, who has won ten Tony Awards over the course of his respective careers that started in the mid- 1960s. Some of his credits include directing and choreographing “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1978), “Grand Hotel” (1989), and “The Will Rogers Follies” (1991), among many other productions.
Have you ever wondered how rich Tommy Tune is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Tune’s net worth is as high as $20 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry.
Tommy Tune Net Worth $20 Million
Tommy is the son of Jim Tune, restaurateur, oil rig worker and horse trainer, and Eva Mae Clark. Tommy went to Lamar High School, located in Houston, after which he entered the Methodist-affiliated Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. Soon he became interested in dancing, and attended dance lessons under Patsy Swayze, while also taking lessons from Kit Andree in Boulder, Colorado.
He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama from the University of Texas at Austin, and then furthered his education at the University of Houston, earning a Master of Fine Arts in Directing. After finished college, Tommy moved to New York to pursue his career.
His first ever performance was on Broadway, in the musical “Baker Street” in 1965, but until the mid- ‘70s, he just couldn’t catch a break. All that changed in 1974 when he performed in the musical “Seesaw”, for which he won his first Tony Award in the category Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. Four years later, Tommy served as director and choreographer for the musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”, and continued with the musical comedy “A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine” (1980), which garnered him new prestigious awards, including the Tony Award in category Best Choreography, and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography, among others. Two years later he was the director of the musical “Nine”, for which he won his third Tony Award, this time for Best Direction of a Musical, and the following year he was the choreographer for the musical “My One and Only”, and was also the lead actor in the musical. This won him two more Tony Awards, in categories Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, and Best Choreography. Throughout the ‘80s he was also credited as director of “Stepping Out” in 1987, and also as director and choreographer of “Grand Hotel” (1989), with the latter winning him Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Choreography, his sixth and seventh Tonys.
Tommy continued successfully into the ‘90s, firstly directing and choreographing “The Will Rogers Follies” in 1991, for which he also won two Tony Awards – Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography – which made him the only person to win Tony Awards in the same categories in consecutive years, then performed in the musical “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1992, while in 1994 he was director and choreographer of the sequel of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”, entitled “The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public”, and he was also the production supervisor of the revival of “Grease” in the same year.
Since the start of the new millennium, Tommy’s presence on the stage lessened, but he still made appearance in such productions as “Song and Dance Man” (2002), “White Tie and Tails” (2002) and “Paparazzi” (2003), while also performing in his own musical revue, entitled “Steps in Time: A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance” (2008-2009). Most recently, he made a stage return in City Center’s series “Encores”, and in 2015, he was presented with a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
Apart from stage, Tommy has also had success on the screen; he made his debut in the musical comedy “Hello, Dolly” (1969), starring Barbara Streisand, Walter Matthau and Michael Crawford, and the same year he started appearing in the Dean Martin Show, and then its replacement “Dean Martin Presents The Golddiggers”. In 1971 he had a minor role in the musical “The Boy Friend”, with Twiggy, Christopher Gable and Max Adrian in the lead roles. Until the late ‘80s, he didn’t appear again on screen, but then in 1988 made a comeback in the TV series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, as Sir Thomas. Most recently, he portrayed Argyle Austero in the sitcom “Arrested Development” (2013).
Regarding his personal life, Tommy is openly gay, and through his adult life was in a relationship with David Wolfe, a stage manager who died of AIDS in 1994, and then with Michael Stuart, who passed away in 1997.
Leave a Comment