THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040024
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 64 lines
IT WAS a big night for Roanoke Rapids, N.C., the community 90 miles south of Norfolk.
On the Roanoke River, it is primarily a textile manufacturing center - and once the home of the real Norma Rae, the character Sally Field played to an Oscar. With the opening of an envelope Sunday night, however, a native son captured the biggest theatrical award in the land - Broadway's best actor in a drama.
George Grizzard, who was born in Roanoke Rapids 67 years ago, walked away with the top award at the 50th Tony Awards ceremony. He was named ``best leading actor in a drama'' for his performance in Edward Albee's drama ``A Delicate Balance'' before a nationwide TV audience. Grizzard had been nominated for the Tony twice before this, but had never won.
He won TV's Emmy Award for playing John Adams in PBS' well-remembered ``The Adams Chronicles.''
Grizzard won over George C. Scott in ``Inherit the Wind,'' Phillip Bosco in ``Moon Over Buffalo,'' and Martin Shaw in Oscar Wilde's ``An Ideal Husband.''
After making his way to the stage, Grizzard said, ``No matter how long you do this, it's wonderful to get a pat on the back like this. Thank you all, so much.''
He paid tribute to his co-star, Rosemary Harris, who was also nominated and now lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. This is the eighth time he has co-starred with her on Broadway.
In Roanoke Rapids, his relatives were longtime operators of the Grizzard Tire Company.
The win tops a career which began when Grizzard gave up the advertising business to try acting and promptly became a Broadway star in the original cast of ``Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' and ``The Desperate Hours.''
He was summoned to Hollywood to appear in ``Advise and Consent'' and, with Paul Newman, in ``From the Terrace,'' but he resisted films to come back to Broadway. He once said, ``I don't want to be just be some movie star. I'm an actor.''
Other local Tony nominees didn't fare as well. Granby High grad Veanne Cox, who first acted at the Norfolk Little Theater, was in the running as ``best featured actress in a musical'' for ``Company'' but lost out to Ann Duquesnay in ``Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk.''
Cox's supporters received last minute encouragement when Variety, the show business newspaper, made a last-minute prediction that she was a ``close contender'' for the award. Variety, though, had forecast that her closest competition was from Idina Menzel in ``Rent,'' not Duquesnay.
Sam Shepard, the playwright who lives in Charlottesville, failed to win for ``Buried Child,'' which lost out to ``Master Class'' in the ``best play'' category. Shepard, though, can be content that he won the Pulitzer Prize for the play.
Savion Glover, a frequent visitor to Norfolk to participate in programs with the Hurrah Players, won ``best choreography'' for ``Bring in Da Noise. .
Grizzard is but the latest of regional actors to win Tony Awards. College of William and Mary graduates Glenn Close and Linda Lavin have won ``best actress'' Tony Awards. Close won twice, for ``Sunset Boulevard'' and ``The Real Thing.'' Lavin won for Neil Simon's ``Lost in Yonkers.'' Michael McGuire of Newport News is a past winner, for ``Les Miserables.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Roanoke Rapids' George Grizzard received the top award at the Tonys. by CNB