38th Primetime Emmy Awards

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.

38th Primetime Emmy Awards
Date
  • September 21, 1986
    (Ceremony)
  • September 6, 1986
    (Creative Arts Awards)
LocationPasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California
Presented byAcademy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted byDavid Letterman
Shelley Long
Highlights
Most awardsCagney & Lacey (4)
Most nominationsThe Cosby Show (13)
Outstanding Comedy SeriesThe Golden Girls
Outstanding Drama SeriesCagney & Lacey
Outstanding MiniseriesPeter the Great
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy ProgramThe Kennedy Center Honors
Television/radio coverage
NetworkNBC
← 37th · Primetime Emmy Awards · 39th →

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

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Michael J. Fox, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series winner
 
Betty White, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series winner
 
William Daniels, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winner
 
Sharon Gless, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winner
 
Dustin Hoffman, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special winner
 
Marlo Thomas, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special winner
 
John Larroquette, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series winner
 
Rhea Perlman, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner
 
Bonnie Bartlett, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winner
 
John Malkovich, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special winner
 
Colleen Dewhurst, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special winner
 
Roscoe Lee Browne, Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series winner
 
John Lithgow, Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series winner
 
Whitney Houston, Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program winner
 
Georg Stanford Brown, Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series winner
 
Waris Hussein, Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program winner
 
Tom Fontana, Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series co-winner

[1]

Programs

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Programs

Acting

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Lead performances

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Acting

Supporting performances

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Guest performances

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  • 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")

Individual performances

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Directing

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Directing

Writing

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Writing
  • 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)

Most major nominations

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Networks with multiple major nominations[note 1]
Network Number of
Nominations
NBC 79
CBS 39
ABC 13
Programs with multiple major nominations
Program Category Network Number of
Nominations
The 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

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Networks with multiple major awards[note 1]
Network Number of
Awards
NBC 17
CBS 9
Programs with multiple major awards
Program Category Network Number of
Awards
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
  1. ^ a b "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.

References

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