Emmy Awards begin
The Emmy Awards, established by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1946, celebrate excellence in the television industry. The name "Emmy" was derived from "Immy," a reference to an early camera technology, and the awards were symbolized by a winged figure known as the "golden girl." The inaugural Emmy ceremony took place on January 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club, highlighting local talent, with the first award going to ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale. As television evolved, so did the awards, transitioning from a local event to a national celebration of talent, particularly after the first national telecast in 1955, which aimed to bridge rivalries between Los Angeles and New York. The creation of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1955, led by prominent figures like Ed Sullivan, further formalized the awards' national recognition. By the late 1950s, the Emmy Awards became glamorous televised events, akin to the Academy Awards for film, significantly enhancing the visibility and prestige of the television industry. The introduction of color broadcasts in 1957 marked a pivotal moment in the Emmys' evolution, cementing their status as a key cultural event in American entertainment.
Emmy Awards begin
Identification Annual awards granted for outstanding achievement in the television industry
Date First awarded in 1949
The Emmy Awards signaled the growing influence of the new medium of television and became a significant public and television industry event after the ceremony’s first national telecast on March 7, 1955.
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences was founded in Los Angeles in 1946 by Syd Cassyd, an entertainment industry reporter. Like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences upon which it was modeled, the fledgling trade association sought to encourage artistic and technological excellence through an annual awards ceremony. In 1948, Charles Brown , the president of the young organization, sought suggestions for a name and symbol for the organization’s awards. “Emmy,” a derivative of “Immy,” a nickname for the then state-of-the-art image orthicon camera tube, was selected; the name was suggested by Harry Lubcke, who served as president of the academy between 1949 and 1950. For its symbol, the academy chose designer Louis McManus’s winged “golden girl,” whose outstretched hands hold the model of an atom.
When the debut Emmy ceremony was broadcast locally from the Hollywood Athletic Club on January 25, 1949, only several thousand television sets were tuned in. The first Emmy went to Shirley Dinsdale, a twenty-year-old Los Angeles ventriloquist, for most outstanding television personality. At its onset, the Emmy Awards ceremony was a distinctly local event centered on the nascent television industry then emerging in Los Angeles.
Coastal Rivalries
Television, however, was growing up in New York as well as in Los Angeles. Indeed, during the 1950’s, New York was the industry’s business and production center. Not surprisingly, as the medium rapidly evolved into the nation’s most important mass medium, professional jealousies developed between the industry’s East and West Coast elites. Seeking to reduce these rivalries, and to recognize the contributions of industry professionals on both coasts, the Los Angeles-based academy produced its first national Emmy telecast on March 7, 1955, “simulcasting” from both New York City and Hollywood.
New York television professionals still were concerned about the ability of a Los Angeles-controlled organization to represent the industry at large. Led by television personality Ed Sullivan, a “Committee of One Hundred” was formed in 1955 to create a National Television Academy; here, “national” was used to signify a New York-dominated television industry. With the backing of influential industry leaders such as Walter Cronkite , Edward R. Murrow , Neil Simon , Mark Goodson , and Carl Reiner, Sullivan established the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). Sullivan served as the New York City-based NATAS’s first president.
Because New York was the industry’s financial and production center throughout the 1950’s, the National Academy was able to effect a merger with the Hollywood-based academy in 1957. In addition to reaffirming the academy’s goal of excellence, the National Academy adopted the Emmy Awards.
Impact
The national broadcasts of the Emmy Awards during the 1950’s, like the national broadcasts of the film industry’s Academy Awards, became glamorous and star-studded television events. While boosting the visibility of the television industry itself, the Emmy Awards were soon recognized for their success-begets-success impact on individual programs and stars. The Emmys were first broadcast in color in 1957, adding even greater luster to the event’s already considerable status.
Bibliography
Barnouw, Erik. The Image Empire: A History of Broadcasting in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970.
O’Neil, Thomas, and Peter Bart. The Emmys: The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Battle of TV’s Best Shows and Greatest Stars. 3d ed. New York: Perigee, 2000. Provides a history of the awards, anecdotes from the shows, and trivia.