The entertainment industry has long recognized the accomplishments of its members. The best movies, actors, musicians, directors, and a multitude of behind the scenes specialists are annually recognized by their peers and celebrated during live broadcasts for fans and viewers worldwide. A common feature of these award shows is the Trophy given to the winner of each category. These highly coveted awards are worth far more than the actual value of the item to their recipients, they are an embodiment of the excellence of their work and respect of their industry peers and admirers.
Here is an overview of what is considered the four major American Entertainment Awards – The Academy Awards, The Grammy Awards, The Emmy Awards, and the Tony Awards.
The Academy Award
The Academy Awards are given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony was most recently held in February 2019. Officially called the “Academy Award of Merit”, the golden statuette is more commonly referred to by its nickname “Oscar”. The first Oscar was given in 1929. The Statuette is made of gold-plated bronze on a black metal base. It is 13.5″ tall, weighs 8.5 lbs. and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.
Walt Disney has won the most Oscars with 22 along with four honorary Academy Awards. The most Oscars for acting belongs to Katharine Hepburn with 4.
The Grammy Awards
Originally called the Gramophone Award, The “Grammy” is an award presented by the Recording Academy recognizing the highest achievements in the music industry. The first presentation of the gold-plated trophy depicting a gilded gramophone was held in 1959 with the most current 61st presentation in February 2019. The four “General Fields” of awards are Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. These awards are not restricted by genre. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won Best New Artist in 2009, and the other three in 2012 and 2017.
The Emmy Awards
The Emmy Award recognizes excellence in the television industry. There are numerous annual events each honoring one of the various sectors of television industry however the two most recognized events are the Primetime Emmys and the Daytime Emmys. These awards are presented by three organizations, the Academy, National Academy, and International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. They have been awarded since 1949 and most recently celebrated the 71st presentation. The Emmy is named after “immy”, a nickname for the image orthicon tube commonly used in early TV cameras. The statuette depicts a winged woman holding an atom. The wings represent the muse of art and the atom the electron of science. The award is made of copper, nickel, silver, and gold and is 15.5 ” tall, weighing 5.5 lbs.
The late night comedy show Saturday Night Live has the most all-time Emmy wins with 65. Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus each have the most Emmys by a performer with 8 while Ed Asner has 7 awards for the most by a male performer.
The Tony Awards
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. Named after the co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, the trophy consists of a medallion portraying the comedy and tragedy masks suspended on a pewter swivel and mounted on a black acrylic base. It is 9.5″ tall and weighs 3.5 lbs. The 73rd annual ceremony took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 2019. The first awards were presented in 1947. The most Tony nominations ever received by a single production was the musical Hamilton with 16 nominations in 13 categories in 2016. The most wins by a single production is The Producers with 12 awards including Best Musical.
EGOT Winners
As of 2019, fifteen individuals have won all four of these major award called an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).
Six other artists have also received all four awards, but at least one of the awards was non-competitive, special or honorary in nature.
