38th Primetime Emmy Awards explained
The 38th Primetime Emmy Awards were presented on September 21, 1986, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. The Emmy ceremony was cohosted by David Letterman and Shelley Long. During the ceremony, Letterman saluted Grant Tinker, who had stepped down as chairman of NBC due to its parent company, RCA, having been acquired by General Electric. The ceremony was also memorable for the presentation of the Governors' Award to Red Skelton, presented by comedy legend Lucille Ball, who in his acceptance speech said he had missed being on TV for the previous 16 years.
This year's ceremony saw the return of the guest acting category. The top shows of the night were The Golden Girls which won Outstanding Comedy Series and two other major awards. The Golden Girls became the first series to gain three nominations in a lead acting category, they would repeat this feat multiple times. For the second straight year Cagney & Lacey won for Outstanding Drama Series, and led all shows with four major wins. With help from the guest acting category, The Cosby Show with 13 nominations broke the record for most major nominations by a comedy series of 11 set by The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1977. This record has since been surpassed.
Winners and nominees
[1]
Programs
Acting
Lead performances
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- William Daniels as Dr. Mark Craig in St. Elsewhere (NBC) (Episode: "Haunted")
| - Sharon Gless as Christine Cagney in Cagney & Lacey (CBS) (Episode: "The Gimp")
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- Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (CBS)
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Supporting performances
- John Larroquette as Dan Fielding in Night Court (NBC) (Episode: "Best of Friends")
| - Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli in Cheers (NBC)
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- John Karlen as Harvey Lacey in Cagney & Lacey (CBS) (Episode: "Mothers and Sons")
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Guest performances
- Roscoe Lee Browne as Prof. Barnabus Foster in The Cosby Show (NBC) (Episode: "The Card Game")
- Earle Hyman as Russell Huxtable in The Cosby Show (NBC) (Episode: "Happy Anniversary")
- Danny Kaye as Dr. Burns in The Cosby Show (NBC) (Episode: "The Dentist")
- Clarice Taylor as Anna Huxtable in The Cosby Show (NBC) (Episode: "Happy Anniversary")
- Stevie Wonder as himself in The Cosby Show (NBC) (Episode: "A Touch of Wonder")
| - John Lithgow as John Walters in Amazing Stories (NBC) (Episode: "The Doll")
- Whoopi Goldberg as Camille in Moonlighting (ABC) (Episode: "Camille")
- Edward Herrmann as Father McCabe in St. Elsewhere (NBC) (Episode: "Time Heals, Part 2")
- Peggy McCay as Mrs. Carruthers in Cagney & Lacey (CBS) (Episode: "Mothers and Sons")
- James Stacy as Ted Peters in Cagney & Lacey (CBS) (Episode: "The Gimp")
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Individual performances
- Whitney Houston – The 28th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
- Debbie Allen – An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (NBC)
- Patti LaBelle – Great Performances: "Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III" (PBS)
- Jon Lovitz – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
- Sarah Vaughan – The 28th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
- Stevie Wonder – An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (NBC)
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Directing
Writing
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- Late Night with David Letterman Fourth Anniversary Special (NBC)
- The 40th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)
- AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder (NBC)
- Great Performances: "Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III" (PBS)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC)
| - An Early Frost (NBC) –
- Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (PBS) – David Butler
- (ABC) – Carol Evan McKeand and Nigel McKeand
- Anne of Green Gables (PBS): "Part I" – Kevin Sullivan and Joe Wiesenfeld
- Dress Gray (NBC): "Part I" – Gore Vidal
- Love Is Never Silent (NBC) – Darlene Craviotto
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Most major nominations
Networks with multiple major nominations[2] Network | Number of Nominations |
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NBC | 79 |
CBS | 39 |
ABC | 13 | |
+! Program !! Category !! Network !! Number of
NominationsThe Cosby Show | Comedy | NBC | 13 |
St. Elsewhere | Drama | 9 |
The Golden Girls | Comedy | 9 |
Moonlighting | Drama | ABC |
Cheers | Comedy | NBC | 8 |
An Early Frost | Special |
Cagney & Lacey | Drama | CBS | 7 |
Death of a Salesman | Special | 5 |
Hill Street Blues | Drama | NBC |
Love Is Never Silent | Special |
Amos | CBS | 4 |
Family Ties | Comedy | NBC |
Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry | Special | CBS | 3 |
Newhart | Comedy |
The 28th Annual Grammy Awards | Variety | 2 |
The 40th Annual Tony Awards |
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder | NBC |
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. |
Amazing Stories | Drama |
Dress Gray | Miniseries |
Great Performances: "Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III" | Variety | PBS |
Kate & Allie | Comedy | CBS |
Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy | Miniseries | PBS |
Magnum, P.I. | Drama | CBS |
Murder, She Wrote |
Night Court | Comedy | NBC |
Peter the Great | Miniseries |
Resting Place | Special | CBS |
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Variety | NBC | |
Most major awards
Networks with multiple major awards[3] Network | Number of Awards |
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NBC | 17 |
CBS | 9 | |
Programs with multiple major awardsProgram | Category | Network | Number of Awards |
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Cagney & Lacey | Drama | CBS | 4 |
The Golden Girls | Comedy | NBC | 3 |
St. Elsewhere | Drama |
The Cosby Show | Comedy | 2 |
Death of a Salesman | Special | CBS |
Love Is Never Silent | NBC | |
- Notes
External links
Notes and References
- http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1986 Emmys.com list of 1986 Nominees & Winners
- "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.
- "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.