He Got Egot

The passing of Marvin Hamlisch got me thinking about the EGOT--winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.  It's not an official thing, of course, but that only makes it cooler.  The word was coined by Philip Michael Thomas of Miami Vice semi-fame.  He expected to have quite a career, picking up each one of these.  He didn't even get nominated for any, but he did win a People's Choice Award.  The EGOT has become much better known as a punchline on 30 Rock.  But there it is.

Hamlisch, as I noted, was only one of eleven EGOTers.  The others, in chronological order, are Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Whoopi Goldberg and Scott Rudin.  Three others--Barbra Streisand, Liza Minelli and James Earl Jones--won three of the awards and picked up the fourth as special or honorary.  They're not real EGOT people--the whole point is to make this as exclusive as possible.  For that matter, Whoopi's Emmy was a daytime one, and I'm not sure if that should count.

By my count, the eleven are two composers, five actors, two directors, one arranger and one producer. (Many of them do more than one thing, but I'm picking their primary talent.)

Artists who flourished in the first half of the 20th century don't have much chance, since the Tonys and Emmys didn't start until the late 40s, and the Grammys in the late 50s.  Of course, a lot of it is luck--being in the right place at the right time.  For that matter, some of it is about spreading yourself around.

For years, Rita Moreno was the special name, since she wasn't that big a star, yet was one of only three with the EGOT.  Few would guess she even won one of these awards. Now arranger Jonathan Tunick may be the odd man out, since not many people (outside Broadway) have even heard of him.

Richard Rodgers completed the first EGOT in 1962 (pretty fast since the earliest EGOT possible was 1959) and then we had to wait fifteen years for Helen Hayes, quickly followed by Moreno. Up until 1991, that was it.  Then we had a whole bunch over the next decade, stopping with Whoopi in 2002, until Scott Rudin started things up again when he got a Grammy this year.

There's a list of 75 people with three of the awards--the 3GOT.  About a third are dead, so that's that.  Of those left, it's interesting to see what they're missing.  For instance, those without a Tony.  Some you figure just haven't been on Broadway, but actually Julie Andrews, Burt Bacharach and Barbra Streisand are on this list--people who triumphed on the Great White Way.  Hard to believe not a single Tony between them.  There's also Peter Ustinov and Robin Williams, big names who occasionally appeared on Broadway--bad luck they never got the big prize.

The biggest missing award is the Grammy.  Not exactly surprising. It's true they give out so many you might find one in a garbage can, but before you get one you've got to record something.  Most of the Grammys are for musical people, so actors and others who aren't in that category may get stiffed.  And in fact, this category is mostly classy actors--though it also includes Liza Minelli, whom you might figure would have gotten a competitive Grammy at some point.

The smallest category is those missing Emmys, which makes sense since they give those out like candy on Halloween.  As you might guess, it's mostly composers who did little or no TV.  Still, occasionally you'd have a piece on the Tube from Oscar Hammerstein II or Stephen Sondheim--Emmy voters love big names so I'm surprised they didn't slip them one.

Then there are those without Oscars. Like a Tony, this is an award with some distinction, and even the best actors don't get the right role in the right year to take these.  Still, would it have been that hard, at some point, for someone like Leonard Bernstein, Julie Harris, James Earl Jones, Lily Tomlin or even Dick Van Dyke to pick up one of these?

I don't know if anyone has actually ever gone for an EGOT.  But if anyone wants to, here's some advice. Martin Scorsese--produce a Broadway play (maybe a musicalization of Goodfellas).  Jeremy Irons or Maggie Smith--do some classy spoken-word records that will impress the Grammy voters (roll your r's, whatever it takes).  Elton John or Andrew Lloyd Webber, write some crap for TV--they'll be so thrilled you condescended to do anything for the medium they'll give you something.  And Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman--keep doing movies with funny songs.  You already deserved an Oscar for "Blame Canada" and sooner or later the Academy will get hip to it.