Emmy nomination-snubbed TMS guest stars

[Gorgon Heap]

Hey everyone,

Sorry I've been away for a while. There was a thread I wanted to post a while back, during Emmy season, after something occurred to me.

Presumably, because there's no way Emmy voters can watch every episode of every show on the air, the powers that be determine episodes to submit for Emmy consideration. It stands to reason that that's how it's always been, and that the guest stars were submitted this way, too.

Now, only 3 guest stars were ever nominated for their appearances on TMS:
- Rita Moreno (Season One, winner)
- Bernadette Peters (Season Two, nominee)
- Peter Sellers (Season Two, nominee)

Because of the fact that TMS got nominees in both the male and female categories in Season Two, it stands to reason that they probably submitted one in each category each year the show was on, which would mean 10 total submissions that resulted in 3 nominations.

Based on that premise, who do you think the other, non-nominated 7 guest stars were?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[Gorgon Heap]

I'll start with my own guesses:

SEASON ONE:
Female nominee submission was Rita Moreno, of course, so that leaves the male nominee submission.

My guess is either Peter Ustinov (who, like Peter Sellers the following season, played multiple characters in a variety of accents) or Ben Vereen (for the dance numbers primarily; Moreno and Peters each had a dance number in their respective episodes). I could see Bruce Forsyth as a possible submission, given the variety of things he did (song & dance, stand-up comedy, piano-playing), but he runs a distand 3rd.

SEASON THREE:
- Male nominee: Danny Kaye is my guess, for the conflict scenes with Miss Piggy & for playing the Swedish Chef's uncle. James Coco, mainly for the Medium Sketch and his heavy involvement with the backstage plot, is my other guess, but a distant 2nd.
- Female nominee: much was made of Raquel Welch's appearance on the show, so I'm guessing it was her, again largely for the dance number. Leslie Uggams had a big dance number and may have been a possibility as well.

SEASON FOUR:
- Male nominee: I like to think they submitted Christopher Reeve. He was genuinely funny and demonstrated a lot of range (the Hamlet sketch, Vet's Hospital, singing & playing piano)
- Female nominee: Liza Minnelli. Does anyone think otherwise? She has a lot to do, plus "Copacabana" alone brings the show to new dramatic heights. Besides, this episode was one of their big submissions of the year, copping a nomination for Directing and a win for Editing.

SEASON FIVE:
- Male nominee: I'm torn between the madcap character comedy of Marty Feldman in the Arabian Nights episode, and Hal Linden's exasperated performance in "Fourth of July / Christmas" medley & his great vocal performance with Robin.
- Female nominee: it was probably Carol Burnett, for all the hysterics & scenes of her yelling. It was their Writing submission, to boot. If not her, it probably would've been Glenda Jackson for playing a pirate, or Loretta Swit for the whole mediating between Kermit & Piggy, then replacing Piggy, then bringing them together again at the end. But probably was Burnett.

Who are your guesses?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[David French]

Because of the fact that TMS got nominees in both the male and female categories in Season Two, it stands to reason that they probably submitted one in each category each year the show was on, which would mean 10 total submissions that resulted in 3 nominations.

Except they didn't; the category was Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. From 1974 to 1978 the award was for Outstanding Actor or Actress in a Variety Show or Special. The award was never handed out in the 1979 or 1980 ceremonies, hence the reason why no season three or four guest stars were nominated. By 1981, the category was back to being an individual performance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime...ual_Performance_in_a_Variety_or_Music_Program

 

[Gorgon Heap]

Wow, that's a horse of a different color. To think, in the decade when variety shows reached their saturation point, the Emmys decided to drop the award.

In any case, they may have still submitted a male guest star in the first season, and could've submitted some in season five.

Perhaps I should restate the original topic as "who WOULD they have submitted?"

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole