--- title: Tonys Best Musical: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying description: In the run-up to the 69th Tony Awards, a look back at one of its biggest winners, "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." canonical: https://time.com/3860577/tonys-musical-1962/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-04T12:00:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:57.161Z og:title: See Photos From the Musical That Nearly Swept the Tonys in 1962 og:description: In the run-up to the 69th Tony Awards, a look back at one of its biggest winners, "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." og:url: https://time.com/3860577/tonys-musical-1962/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cf8e3c3d844f0c2/6987efe75f570f3155b19a02/150515-how-to-succeed-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2322 og:image:height: 1306 og:image:alt: Broadway Play: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Photos From the Musical That Nearly Swept the Tonys in 1962 twitter:description: In the run-up to the 69th Tony Awards, a look back at one of its biggest winners, "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4cf8e3c3d844f0c2/6987efe75f570f3155b19a02/150515-how-to-succeed-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Photos From the Musical That Nearly Swept the Tonys in 1962 > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Twice a week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters.  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 4, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  A scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. A scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 4, 2015 12:00 PM UTC This year’s [nominees](http://www.tonyawards.com/en%5FUS/nominees/index.html) for the Tony for Best Musical include a love story, a comedy, a revenge story and an [adaptation](http://time.com/3840307/alison-bechdel-on-fun-home-her-new-book-and-that-famous-test/) of a graphic novel. Theater critics’ predictions lean heavily in favor of the last on that list, a musical based on Alison Bechdel’s memoir _Fun Home_. Back in 1962, the contest for Best Musical also had a front-runner, and that show took home nearly all the awards available for the taking. _How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying_, based on the book of the same name, won not only Best Musical, but also Best Producer, Author, Leading Actor, Featured Actor, Direction and Musical Direction. The face of that musical’s success was Robert Morse. He’s probably better known to today’s audiences as _Mad_ _Men_‘s Bert Cooper, but of all the roles he’s taken on, during a career spanning six decades, his most remembered is _How to Succeed_’s ambitious J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer who rises to chairman of the board of the World Wide Wicket Company. Morse, LIFE wrote, “makes unfair play so outrageously funny that he should be hanged in effigy by the Boy Scouts.” A glimpse at Gjon Mili’s photos of the musical leaves little doubt as to why it collected so many awards. More than half a century later, the energy is still palpable, and Morse’s expressions chock full of, as his character would put it, impetuous youth. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. Dreaming of glory, Finch lolls in his boss's office chair and gloats, "Someday…someday" as he plots the way to usurp the old tycoon's throne. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In one of How to Succeed's comic gems, Robert Morse, the wonder boy, sings hymn of praise to himself called I Believe in You, as he peers in mirror of company washroom and shaves with electric razor. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In one of How to Succeed's comic gems, Robert Morse, the wonder boy, sings hymn of praise to himself called I Believe in You, as he peers in mirror of company washroom and shaves with electric razor. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In one of How to Succeed's comic gems, Robert Morse, the wonder boy, sings hymn of praise to himself called I Believe in You, as he peers in mirror of company washroom and shaves with electric razor. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee in a scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In publicity gag dreamed up by Finch, a treasure hunt is announced in TV show with boss's sweetheart (Virginia Martin) dolled up as a pirate. She has to swear before a preacher on the Bible that hunt is not rigged. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a young go-getter named Finch (Robert Morse) sings an idiotic football song with his boss (Rudy Vallee) in order to win his favor and get ahead in his firm. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In one of How to Succeed's comic gems, Robert Morse, the wonder boy, sings hymn of praise to himself called I Believe in You, as he peers in mirror of company washroom and shaves with electric razor. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In one of How to Succeed's comic gems, Robert Morse, the wonder boy, sings hymn of praise to himself called I Believe in You, as he peers in mirror of company washroom and shaves with electric razor. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In one of How to Succeed's comic gems, Robert Morse, the wonder boy, sings hymn of praise to himself called I Believe in You, as he peers in mirror of company washroom and shaves with electric razor. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Robert Morse in a scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. 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