The legendary Tony winning performer is celebrating his birthday today and many probably don't know he was from right here in Wichita Falls.

A very Happy Birthday to Tommy Tune who is celebrating his 86th birthday today. He was born right here in Wichita Falls on February 28th, 1939. Tommy got his fame on Broadway in New York City. However, before moving to the Big Apple. He was all over the state of Texas. He went to high school in Houston. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962 and his Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the University of Houston.

Fun Fact, Tommy Tune learned to dance from Patrick Swayze's mother in Houston. Her name is Patsy Swayze and she ran the Swayze School of Dance. She is pictured below with her son back in 1997. Patsy sadly passed away back in 2013.

Tommy first started on Broadway in 1964 in production called 'Baker Street'. He has been apart of thirty Broadway productions throughout his career. He was first nominated for a Tony Award in 1974 for a production of 'Seesaw', which he would actually win on his first nomination. Throughout his career he was able to rack up ten Tony wins, but his most recent one was probably the highest honor.

Tommy Tune Wins Tony Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015

The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre is to "honor an individual for the body of their work." Tommy has been a huge part of theatre productions throughout his career, it was nice to see him get nationally recognized for all that he has done. Nowadays Tommy still lives in New York, but also has a home in New Mexico. Back in 2021, he was named the Honorary President of the American Guild of Variety Artists, the labor union for non-actor stage performers.

Happy Birthday to Tommy Tune from right here in Wichita Falls, Texas.