George Abbott

His play "The Pajama Game" was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 (1999 season) for Outstanding Musical Production.
He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for "Damn Yankees!" for Outstanding Musical Production of the 1997 season.
Won 11 Tony Awards, second only to his protégé Harold Prince's unprecedented 21-win record. Abbott's wins: in 1955, with collaborator Richard Bissell, as Best Authors (Musical) and as co-author of the book of the Best Musical winner "The Pajama Game"; in 1956, with collaborator Douglass Wallop, as Best Authors (Musical) and as co-author of the book of the Best Musical winner "Damn Yankees!"; in 1960, as Best Director (Musical), and, with collaborator Jerome Weidman, as Best Authors (Musical) and as co-author of the book of the Best Musical winner "Fiorello!"; in 1963, as Best Director (Musical) for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"; in 1976, the Lawrence Langner Award; and, in 1987, a Special Tony Award "on the occasion of his 100th birthday". He was also nominated in 1958 as author of the book of Best Musical nominee "New Girl in Town" and, in 1963, as Best Director (Dramatic) for "Never Too Late".
Won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical, "Fiorello!", collaborating with Jerome Weidman Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.
Awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1990 by the National Endowment for the Arts.

I must confess that one of my main defects as a director has always been an incurable impatience.
Many great minds have made a botch of matters because their emotions fettered their thinking.
Pace is a matter of taste. It means keeping the action alive. But that can be done with pauses as well as picking up cues. It means not having any deadwood.
It's because I love the theater so much that I thought I'd stick around.
I remember, I have a picture of them (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) sitting at a table for two, near a window, and I sent over word, "Go ahead, come join us now," and the word came back, never mind, they were already seated, they would stay there. And they stayed there for the rest of the run. It was really love at first sight.