Tom Jones is a Texas-born lyricist and librettist. He forged a long lasting collaboration with the composer Harvey Schmidt, whom he met at the University of Texas. The duo are best known for writing The Fantastiks (1960), which ran for 42 years Off-Broadway at the Sullivan Street Playhouse. The show was awarded the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991. Jones and Schmidt came to Broadway in 1963 with 110 in the Shade, a musical based on the movie The Rainmaker. The musical earned Jones a Tony Award nomination. In 1966, Jones and Schmidt teamed up again to write the musical I Do! I Do!. Jones earned another Tony nomination and the show’s stars, Robert Preston and Mary Martin, both won Tony Awards for their performances. Jones and Schmidt’s last production on Broadway was the 1969 musical Celebration.
Jones and Schmidt continued to work together Off-Broadway, with shows such as Colette (1970), Philemon (1973), Mirette (1996), and Roadside (2001). Along with Schmidt, Jones was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.
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