38th Primetime Emmy Awards

38th Primetime Emmy Awards
Date	September 21, 1986 ; (Ceremony); September 6, 1986 ; (Creative Arts Awards);
Location	Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted by	David Letterman ; Shelley Long
Television/radio coverage
Network	NBC
	← 37th; Primetime Emmy Awards; 39th →;

Coordinates: 34°8′38.9″N 118°8′36.4″W / 34.144139°N 118.143444°W / 34.144139; -118.143444

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, 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. This was the first season that Daniel J. Travanti or Veronica Hamel were not nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series or Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, respectively. They weren't nominated in the next and final one either.

Winners and nomineesEdit

^[1]

ProgramsEdit

Outstanding Comedy Series	Outstanding Drama Series
The Golden Girls, (NBC) Cheers, (NBC) The Cosby Show, (NBC) Family Ties, (NBC) Kate & Allie, (CBS)	Cagney & Lacey, (CBS) Hill Street Blues, (NBC) Moonlighting, (ABC) Murder, She Wrote, (CBS) St. Elsewhere, (NBC)
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program	Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, (CBS) The 40th Annual Tony Awards, (CBS) AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder, (NBC) Late Night with David Letterman, (NBC) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, (NBC)	Love Is Never Silent, (NBC) Amos, (CBS) Death of a Salesman, (CBS) An Early Frost, (NBC) Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry, (CBS)
Outstanding Miniseries
Peter the Great, (NBC) Dress Gray, (NBC) The Long Hot Summer, (NBC) Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy, (PBS) On Wings of Eagles, (NBC)

ActingEdit

Lead performancesEdit

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
*Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, (Episode: "The Real Thing"), (NBC)* Harry Anderson as Judge Harry T. Stone on Night Court, (NBC) Ted Danson as Sam Malone on Cheers, (NBC) Bob Newhart as Dick Loudon on Newhart, (CBS) Jack Warden as Harrison Fox, Sr. on Crazy Like a Fox, (CBS)	*Betty White as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, (Episode: "In a Bed of Rose's"), (NBC)* Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls, (Episode: "The Triangle"), (NBC) Shelley Long as Diane Chambers on Cheers, (NBC) Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, (Episode: "The Way We Met"), (NBC) Phylicia Rashad as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, (Episode: "Cliff In Love"), (NBC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
*William Daniels as Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere, (Episode: "Haunted"), (NBC)* Ed Flanders as Dr. Donald Westphall on St. Elsewhere, (NBC) Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum P.I., (CBS) Bruce Willis as David Addison, Jr. on Moonlighting, (ABC) Edward Woodward as Robert McCall on The Equalizer, (CBS)	*Sharon Gless as Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey, (Episode: "DWI"), (CBS)* Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey on Cagney & Lacey, (CBS) Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, (CBS) Cybill Shepherd as Madelyn Hayes on Moonlighting, (ABC) Alfre Woodard as Dr. Roxanne Turner on St. Elsewhere, (NBC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
*Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman on Death of a Salesman, (CBS)* Kirk Douglas as Amos Lasher on Amos, (CBS) Ben Gazzara as Nick Pierson on An Early Frost (NBC) John Lithgow as Major Kendall Laird on Resting Place, (CBS) Aidan Quinn as Michael Pierson on An Early Frost, (NBC)	*Marlo Thomas as Marie Balter on Nobody's Child, (CBS)* Katharine Hepburn as Margaret Delafield on Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry, (CBS) Vanessa Redgrave as Richard Radley and Renee Richards on Second Serve, (CBS) Gena Rowlands as Katherine Pierson on An Early Frost, (NBC) Mare Winningham as Margaret Ryder on Love Is Never Silent, (NBC)

Supporting performancesEdit

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
*John Larroquette as Dan Fielding on Night Court, (Episode: "Best of Friends"), (NBC)* Tom Poston as Clayton George Utley on Newhart, (CBS) John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin on Cheers, (NBC) Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, (NBC) George Wendt as Norm Peterson on Cheers, (NBC)	*Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli on Cheers, (NBC)* Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton on Family Ties, (NBC) Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, (NBC) Julia Duffy as Stephanie Vanderkellen on Newhart, (CBS) Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, (NBC) Keshia Knight Pulliam as Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show, (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
*John Karlen as Harvey Lacey on Cagney & Lacey, (Episode: "Lottery"), (CBS)* Ed Begley Jr. as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on St. Elsewhere, (NBC) John Hillerman as Higgins on Magnum, P.I., (CBS) Edward James Olmos as Martin Castillo on Miami Vice, (NBC) Bruce Weitz as Det. Mick Belker on Hill Street Blues, (NBC)	*Bonnie Bartlett as Ellen Craig on St. Elsewhere, (Episode: "Haunted"), (NBC)* Allyce Beasley as Agnes DiPesto on Moonlighting, (ABC) Christina Pickles as Nurse Helen Rosenthal on St. Elsewhere, (NBC) Betty Thomas as Sgt. Lucille Bates on Hill Street Blues, (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
*John Malkovich as Biff Loman on Death of a Salesman, (CBS)* Charles Durning as Charley on Death of a Salesman, (CBS) John Glover as Victor DiMato on An Early Frost, (NBC) Harold Gould as Dr. Marvin Elias on Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry, (CBS) Pat Morita as Tommy Tanaka on Amos, (CBS)	*Colleen Dewhurst as Barbara Petherton on Between Two Women, (ABC)* Phyllis Frelich as Janice Ryder on Love is Never Silent, (NBC) Dorothy McGuire as Hester Farrell on Amos, (CBS) Vanessa Redgrave as Sophia on Peter the Great, (NBC) Sylvia Sidney as Beatrice McKenna on An Early Frost, (NBC)

Guest performancesEdit

Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series
*Roscoe Lee Browne as Prof. Bennington Foster on The Cosby Show, (Episode: "The Card Game"), (NBC)* Earle Hyman as Russell Huxtable on The Cosby Show, (Episode: "Happy Anniversary"), (NBC) Danny Kaye as Dr. Burns on The Cosby Show, (Episode: "The Dentist"), (NBC) Clarice Taylor as Anna Huxtable on The Cosby Show, (Episode: "Happy Anniversary"), (NBC) Stevie Wonder as Himself on The Cosby Show, (Episode: "A Touch of Wonder"), (NBC)	*John Lithgow as John Walters on Amazing Stories, (Episode: "The Doll"), (NBC)* Whoopi Goldberg as Camille on Moonlighting, (Episode: "Camille"), (ABC) Edward Herrmann as Father McCabe on St. Elsewhere, (Episode: "Time Heals, Part 2"), (NBC) Peggy McCay as Mrs. Carruthers on Cagney & Lacey, (Episode: "Mothers and Sons"), (CBS) James Stacy as Ted Peters on Cagney & Lacey, (Episode: "The Gimp"), (CBS)

DirectingEdit

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
*Jay Sandrich for The Cosby Show,* (Episode: "Denise's Friend"), (NBC)** James Burrows for Cheers, (Episode: "The Triangle"), (NBC) Jim Drake for The Golden Girls, (Episode: "The Heart Attack"), (NBC) Terry Hughes, for The Golden Girls, (Episode: "A Little Romance"), (NBC) Bill Persky for Kate & Allie, (Episode: "Chip's Friend"), (CBS)	*Georg Stanford Brown for Cagney & Lacey,* (Episode: "Parting Shots"), (CBS)** Gabrielle Beaumont for Hill Street Blues, (Episode: "Two Easy Pieces"), (NBC) Will Mackenzie for Moonlighting, (Episode: "My Fair David"), (ABC) Steven Spielberg for Amazing Stories, (Episode: "The Mission"), (NBC) Peter Werner for Moonlighting, (Episode: "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"), (ABC)
Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program	Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special
*Waris Hussein for Copacabana,* (CBS)** Kirk Browning for Great Performances, (Episode: "The Gospel at Colonus"), (PBS) Dwight Hemion for Neil Diamond... Hello Again, (CBS) Marty Pasetta for The 58th Annual Academy Awards, (ABC)	*Joseph Sargent for Love is Never Silent,* (NBC)** John Erman for An Early Frost, (NBC) John Korty for Resting Place, (CBS) Daniel Petrie for The Execution of Raymond Graham, (ABC) Volker Schlöndorff for Death of a Salesman, (CBS)

WritingEdit

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
*Barry Fanaro, Mort Nathan for The Golden Girls, (Episode: "A Little Romance"), (NBC)* Peter Casey, David Lee for Cheers, (Episode: "2 Good 2 Be 4 Real"), (NBC) Susan Harris for The Golden Girls, (Episode: "Pilot"), (NBC) John Markus for The Cosby Show, (Episode: "Denise's Friend"), (NBC) Michael J. Weithorn for Family Ties, (Episode: "The Real Thing, Part II"), (NBC) Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra, John Markus for The Cosby Show, (Episode: "Theo's Holiday"), (NBC)	*Tom Fontana, John Tinker, John Masius for St. Elsewhere, (Episode: "Time Heals"), (NBC)* Glenn Gordon Caron for Moonlighting, (Episode: "Twas the Episode Before Christmas"), (ABC) Charles H. Eglee, John Tinker, Channing Gibson, John Masius, Tom Fontana for St. Elsewhere, (Episode: "Haunted"), (NBC) Debra Frank, Carl Sautter for Moonlighting, (Episode: "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"), (ABC) Dick Wolf for Hill Street Blues, (Episode: "What Are Friends For?"), (NBC)
Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program	Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special
Late Night with David Letterman, (Episode: "Fourth Anniversary Special"), (NBC) The 40th Annual Tony Awards, (CBS) Great Performances, (Episode: "Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III"), (PBS) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, (NBC) AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder, (NBC)	*David Butler for Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy, (PBS)* *Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, Sherman Yellen for An Early Frost, (NBC)* Darlene Craviotto for Love is Never Silent, (NBC) Carol Evan McKeand, Nigel McKeand for Alex: The Life of a Child, (ABC) Kevin Sullivan, Joe Wiesenfeld for Anne of Green Gables, (Episode: "Part I"), (PBS) Gore Vidal for Dress Gray, (Episode: "Part I"), (NBC)

Most major nominationsEdit

By network ^{[note 1]}

NBC – 79
CBS – 39
ABC – 13

By program

The Cosby Show (NBC) – 13
St. Elsewhere (NBC) – 10
The Golden Girls (NBC) / Moonlighting (ABC) – 9
An Early Frost (NBC) / Cheers (NBC) – 8
Cagney & Lacey (CBS) – 7

Most major awardsEdit

By network ^{[note 1]}

NBC – 17
CBS – 9

By program

Cagney & Lacey (CBS) – 4
The Golden Girls (NBC) / St. Elsewhere (NBC) – 3

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.

ReferencesEdit

^ Emmys.com list of 1986 Nominees & Winners

External linksEdit

[MW_Note-2] "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.

[Winners/Nominees-1] Emmys.com list of 1986 Nominees & Winners

[1]

[note 1]

38th Primetime Emmy Awards
Date	September 21, 1986 (Ceremony) September 6, 1986 (Creative Arts Awards)
Location	Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted by	David Letterman Shelley Long
Television/radio coverage
Network	NBC
← 37th Primetime Emmy Awards 39th →