1986 American television programming 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.
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 [ edit ] 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]
Acting William Daniels as Dr. Mark Craig in St. Elsewhere (NBC) (Episode: "Haunted") Sharon Gless as Christine Cagney in Cagney & Lacey (CBS) (Episode: "The Gimp")
John Larroquette as Dan Fielding in Night Court (NBC) (Episode: "Best of Friends") John Karlen as Harvey Lacey in Cagney & Lacey (CBS) (Episode: "Mothers and Sons")
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")
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 [ edit ] 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
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 ^ a b "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.