Our Founder
JOHN WILLIS was the Editor-in-Chief of both Theatre World and its companion volume, Screen World, for over forty years. Theatre World and Screen World are the oldest definitive pictorial and statistical records of each American theatrical season, as well as foreign and domestic film season, and are referenced daily by industry professionals, students, and historians worldwide. Mr. Willis also served as Editor of Dance World, Opera World, A Pictorial History of the American Theatre 1860-1985, and A Pictorial History of the Silent Screen. Previously, he served as assistant to Theatre World founder Daniel Blum on Great Stars of the American Stage, Great Stars of Film, A Pictorial History of the Talkies, A Pictorial History of Television, and A Pictorial Treasury of Opera in America.
For over 40 years, he presided over the presentation of the Theatre World Awards. Begun in 1945 and presented by past winners, they are the oldest awards given to actors in a debut role on or Off-Broadway. On behalf of Theatre World, Mr. Willis received a Special Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, as well as awards from Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, the Broadway Theater Institute, National Board of Review, Marquis Who's Who Publications Board, and Milligan College. He served on the nominating committees for the Tony Awards and the New York University Hall of Fame, and was on the board of the University of Tennessee Clarence Brown Theatre.
Mr. Willis was a graduate of Milligan College and did graduate work at Indiana University, Harvard University, and the University of Tennessee, and served as an educator in the New York public school system for 20 years.
Mr. Willis, at 93 years young, passed away only a few weeks after attending the 2010 Awards Ceremony. At his memorial, Rosemary Harris (1953 Theatre World Award winner for The Climate of Eden) remarked: "The Theatre World Award he bestowed to 'newcomers to Broadway' was like a benediction; a sign, that somehow, someway, one was on the right path.” The goal of the TWA Board of Directors is to continue his legacy of "encouraging promising talent in an often challenging business."
For over 40 years, he presided over the presentation of the Theatre World Awards. Begun in 1945 and presented by past winners, they are the oldest awards given to actors in a debut role on or Off-Broadway. On behalf of Theatre World, Mr. Willis received a Special Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, as well as awards from Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, the Broadway Theater Institute, National Board of Review, Marquis Who's Who Publications Board, and Milligan College. He served on the nominating committees for the Tony Awards and the New York University Hall of Fame, and was on the board of the University of Tennessee Clarence Brown Theatre.
Mr. Willis was a graduate of Milligan College and did graduate work at Indiana University, Harvard University, and the University of Tennessee, and served as an educator in the New York public school system for 20 years.
Mr. Willis, at 93 years young, passed away only a few weeks after attending the 2010 Awards Ceremony. At his memorial, Rosemary Harris (1953 Theatre World Award winner for The Climate of Eden) remarked: "The Theatre World Award he bestowed to 'newcomers to Broadway' was like a benediction; a sign, that somehow, someway, one was on the right path.” The goal of the TWA Board of Directors is to continue his legacy of "encouraging promising talent in an often challenging business."