| Number: | 3 |
| Award: | Youth in Film Awards |
| Award Link: | Young Artist Award |
| Date: | December 1981 |
| Site: | Hollywood, California |
| Awarded For: | Achievement in the 1980—1981 season |
| Host: | Dana Hill and Henry Thomas |
| Website: | YoungArtistAwards.org |
| Last: | 2nd |
| Next: | 4th |
The 3rd Youth in Film Awards ceremony (now known as the Young Artist Awards), presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers in the fields of film, television and music for the 1980-1981 season, and took place in December 1981 in Hollywood, California.[1] [2] [3]
Established in 1978 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press Association member, Maureen Dragone, the Youth in Film Association was the first organization to establish an awards ceremony specifically set to recognize and award the contributions of performers under the age of 18 in the fields of film, television, theater and music.[1] [4] [5]
Although the Youth in Film Awards were conceived as a way to primarily recognize youth performers under the age of 21, the eldest winner in a competitive category at the 3rd annual ceremony was Lionel Richie who was 32 years old on the night he won as "Best Young Musical Recording Artist - Male" for his song "Endless Love" from the soundtrack for the motion picture Endless Love.[3]
The 3rd annual ceremony also marked the first and only time in the history of the Youth in Film Awards that a fictional character would be nominated in a competitive category, with "Little Miss Piggy" winning as "Best Young Musical Recording Artist - Female" for her song "The First Time It Happens" from the soundtrack for the motion picture The Great Muppet Caper.[3]
★ Bold indicates the winner in each category.[3]
★ Ricky Schroder - The Earthling - Filmways
★ Kristy McNichol - Only When I Laugh - Columbia
★ Scott Baio - Stoned - ABC
★ Dana Hill - Fallen Angel - CBS
★ Timothy Gibbs - Father Murphy - NBC
★ Danielle Brisebois - Archie Bunker's Place - CBS
★ Michael Damian - The Young and the Restless - CBS
★ Becky Perle - The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! - NBC
★ Scott Baio - Happy Days - ABC
★ Kim Fields - The Facts of Life - NBC
★ Lionel Richie - Endless Love - Mercury
★ Little Miss Piggy - The First Time It Happens - Atlantic
★ Raiders of the Lost Ark - Paramount
★ Clash of the Titans - M.G.M.
★ The Wave - T.A.T. Communications / ABC
★ Father Murphy - NBC
★ ABC Weekend Special: The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - ABC