Individuals who have made an outstanding and noteworthy contribution to the theatre.
| 1967 | 1968 |
| Hallie Flanagan Davis | Rosamond Gilder |
| 1969 | 1970 |
| Joseph Papp | Roger L. Stevens |
| 1971 | 1972 |
| Zelda Fichlander | Tennessee Williams |
| 1973 | 1974 |
| Ruth Mayleas | Paul Green |
| 1975 | 1976 |
| No Award | John Houseman |
| 1977 | 1978 |
| Danny Newman | Gordon Davidson |
| 1979 | 1980 |
| Douglas Turner Ward | Lloyd Richards |
| 1981 | 1982 |
| Ellen Stewart | Peter Zeisler |
| 1983 | 1984 |
| Adrian Hall | Jon Jory |
| 1985 | 1986 |
| Ming Cho Lee | Martha Coigney |
| 1987 | 1988 |
| Greg Mosher | Robert Wilson |
| 1989 | 1990 |
| Colleen Dewhurst | Wendy Wasserstein |
| 1991 | 1992 |
| Norris Houghton | Lynne Meadow |
| 1993 | 1994 |
| George Wolfe | Anna Deavere Smith |
| 1995 | 1996 |
| Terrence McNally | Zoe Caldwell & Robert Whitehead |
| 1997 | 1998 |
| Edward Albee | Jerry Bock |
| 1999 | 2000 |
| Sir Peter Hall | William Ivey Long |
| 2001 | 2002 |
| Marian Seldes | Estelle Parsons |
| 2003 | 2004 |
| John Guare | Lanford Wilson |
| 2005 | 2006 |
| Michael Kahn | Suzan-Lori Parks |
| 2007 | 2008 |
| Jack O'Brien | Lois Smith |
| 2009 | 2010 |
| Tony Kushner | August Wilson |