Tony-winner Walsh loved coming home

Though he won his highest honors as a choreographer and theater director, Thommie Walsh will also be remembered locally as a talented dancer by those who saw his first recitals.

Walsh, 57, died Saturday at a family home near Owasco Lake following an illness.

The Auburn native brought some glitz to the city by winning two Tony awards for directing and choreographing - the first for the play “A Day in Hollywood/Night in Ukraine” in 1980 and another for “My One and Only” in 1983.