<Tr> <Th> First awarded </Th> <Td> April 6, 1947; 71 years ago (1947 - 04 - 06) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> tonyawards.com </Td> </Tr> <P> The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre . The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City . The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre . Several discretionary non-competitive awards are also given, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award . The awards are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing . </P> <P> The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document "Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards", which applies for that season only . The Tony Awards are considered the highest U.S. theatre honor, the New York theatre industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for film, the Emmy Awards for television, and the Grammy Awards for music . It also forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is, someone who has won all four awards . The Tony Awards are also considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Awards in the United Kingdom and the Molière Awards in France . </P>

Where did the tony's name come from