One year after he won an Emmy Award for hosting the 2009 Tonys, Neil Patrick Harris will return as emcee of the next Tonys, according to Deadline Hollywood. So far, Tony officials have not responded to our request for confirmation of the report.



Harris did such an impressive job hosting the Tonys in 2009 that he was tapped a few months later to preside over the Primetime Emmys telecast. Previously, he had hosted the Creative Arts Emmys and TV Land Awards, consistently receiving rave reviews. In March 2010, Harris made his next foray onto the stage of a top awards show by performing the opening musical act at the Oscars.



This year's Tonys will be held on June 12 at the Beacon Theatre in New York, telecast on CBS, which also broadcasts Harris' sitcom "How I Met Your Mother."

When the Tonys were nominated last year in the Emmys race for best special class program, Harris' name was inadvertently left off the ballot. The mistake was caught by The Envelope's forums moderator Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Harris' name was placed in competition along with the producers of the awardscast. When Harris won, he gave a shout-out of thanks to Boomer from the podium.

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Neil Patrick Harris hosting the 2009 Tony Awards. Credit: CBS