35th Primetime Emmy Awards Date September 25, 1983 (Ceremony) September 18, 1983 (Creative Arts Awards) Location Pasadena Civic Auditorium , Pasadena, California Presented by Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hosted by Eddie Murphy Joan Rivers Most awards Cheers Most nominations Hill Street Blues Outstanding Comedy Series Cheers Outstanding Drama Series Hill Street Blues Outstanding Limited Series The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Network NBC
The 35th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 25, 1983. The ceremony was broadcast on NBC , from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium , Pasadena, California . It is remembered for the vulgar language during the ceremony, much of it from Joan Rivers who cohosted the ceremony with Eddie Murphy . Rivers also wore nine dresses throughout the ceremony.
Despite being one of the lowest-rated shows of the season, the critically acclaimed first season of Cheers Outstanding Comedy Series as well as three other major awards. For the third straight year, Hill Street Blues Outstanding Drama Series , it received at least 14 major nominations for the third straight year, unprecedented at the time, and also received every nomination in the Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series field. Second City Television Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program . NBC dominated the night, on the strength of the shows mentioned, it received 71 of the 128 major nominations, and won 19 of 25 major categories.
In its final ceremony, M*A*S*H M*A*S*H was nominated every year it was on the air, 11/11, winning once in 1974 , this record would be tied by Cheers a decade later when it too went 11/11, finishing with four victories.
Winners and nominees [ ] [1]
Programs [ ]
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Drama Series
Cheers NBC )Buffalo Bill ,M*A*S*H , CBS )Newhart Taxi
Hill Street Blues ,Cagney & Lacey Fame Magnum P.I. ,St. Elsewhere
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program
Outstanding Drama Special
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts Second City Television , The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson The 37th Annual Tony Awards ,
Special Bulletin , Little Gloria... Happy at Last M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers The Scarlet Pimpernel ,Who Will Love My Children? ,ABC )
Outstanding Limited Series
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby Syndicated )Smiley's People The Thorn Birds ,To Serve Them All My Days The Winds of War
Acting [ ] Lead performances [ ]
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger on Taxi , (Episode: "Alex's Old Buddy"), (NBC)Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H, (CBS)Dabney Coleman as Bill Bittinger on Buffalo Bill , (NBC)Ted Danson as Sam Malone on Cheers , (NBC)Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois on Benson
Shelley Long as Diane Chambers on Cheers , (Episode: "Give Me a Ring Sometime "), (NBC)Nell Carter as Nell Harper on Gimme A Break! Mariette Hartley as Jennifer Barnes on Goodnight Beantown Swoosie Kurtz as Laurie Morgan on Love, Sidney , (NBC)Rita Moreno as Violet Newstead on 9 to 5 Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson on The Jeffersons
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Ed Flanders as Dr. Donald Westphall on St. Elsewhere , (NBC)William Daniels as Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere , (NBC)John Forsythe as Blake Carrington on Dynasty Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum P.I. , (CBS)Daniel J. Travanti as Capt. Frank Furillo on Hill Street Blues , (NBC)
Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey on Cagney & Lacey , (Episode: "Burn Out"), (CBS)Debbie Allen as Lydia Grant on Fame , (NBC)Linda Evans as Krystle Carrington on Dynasty (ABC)Sharon Gless as Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey , (CBS)Veronica Hamel as Joyce Davenport on Hill Street Blues , (NBC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
Tommy Lee Jones as Gary Mark Gilmore on The Executioner's Song Robert Blake as Jimmy Hoffa on Blood Feud Richard Chamberlain as Ralph de Bricassart on The Thorn Birds , (ABC)Alec Guinness as George Smiley on Smiley's People , (Syndicated)Roger Rees as Nicholas Nickleby on The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby , (Syndicated)
Barbara Stanwyck as Mary Carson on The Thorn Birds , (Episode: "Part 1"), (ABC)Ann-Margret as Lucile Fray on Who Will Love My Children? , (ABC)Rosanna Arquette as Nicole Baker on The Executioner's Song , (NBC)Mariette Hartley as Candy Lightner on M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers , (NBC)Angela Lansbury as Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney on Little Gloria... Happy at Last , (NBC)
Supporting performances [ ]
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series
Christopher Lloyd as Jim Ignatowski on Taxi , (Episode: "Jim's Inheritance"), (NBC)Nicholas Colasanto as Coach Ernie Pantusso on Cheers , (NBC)Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma on Taxi , (NBC)Harry Morgan as Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , (CBS)Eddie Murphy as Various Characters on Saturday Night Live
Carol Kane as Simka Dahblitz-Gravas on Taxi , (Episode: "Scenkees From a Marriage"), (NBC)Eileen Brennan as Doreen Lewis on Private Benjamin Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston on The Jeffersons , (CBS)Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli on Cheers , (NBC)Loretta Swit as Margaret Houlihan on M*A*S*H , (CBS)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
James Coco as Arnie on St. Elsewhere , (Episode: "Cora and Arnie"), (NBC)Ed Begley Jr. as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on St. Elsewhere, (NBC)Michael Conrad as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues (NBC)Joe Spano as Det. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues , (NBC)Bruce Weitz as Det. Mick Belker on Hill Street Blues , (NBC)
Doris Roberts as Cora on St. Elsewhere , (Episode: "Cora and Arnie"), (NBC)Barbara Bosson as Fay Furillo on Hill Street Blues , (NBC)Christina Pickles as Nurse Helen Rosenthal on St. Elsewhere , (NBC)Madge Sinclair as Nurse Ernestine Shoop on Trapper John, M.D. Betty Thomas as Sgt. Lucille Bates on Hill Street Blues, (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
Richard Kiley as Paddy Cleary on The Thorn Birds , (Episode: "Part I"), (ABC)Ralph Bellamy as President Franklin D. Roosevelt on The Winds of War , (ABC)Bryan Brown as Luke O'Neill on The Thorn Birds , (ABC)Christopher Plummer as Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese on The Thorn Birds , (ABC)David Threlfall as Smike on The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby , (Syndicated)
Jean Simmons as Fiona 'Fee' Cleary on The Thorn Birds , (ABC)Judith Anderson as Nurse on Medea , (PBS )Polly Bergen as Rhoda Henry on The Winds of War , (ABC)Bette Davis as Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt on Little Gloria... Happy at Last , (NBC)Piper Laurie as Anne Mueller on The Thorn Birds , (Episode: "Part III"), (ABC)
Directing [ ]
Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
James Burrows for Cheers, (Episode: "Showdown, Part II "), (NBC)Alan Alda for M*A*S*H, (Episode: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen "), (CBS)
Jim Drake for Buffalo Bill, (Episode: "Woody Quits"), (NBC)Burt Metcalfe , for M*A*S*H, (Episode: "The Joker Is Wild"), (CBS)Tom Patchett, for Buffalo Bill, (Episode: "Pilot"), (NBC)
Bob Sweeney for The Love Boat ,
Jeff Bleckner for Hill Street Blues, (Episode: "Life in the Minors"), (NBC)Marc Daniels for Fame, (Episode: "And the Winner Is"), (NBC)Leo Penn for The Mississippi ,Robert Scheerer for Fame , (Episode: "Feelings"), (NBC)
Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program
Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or a Special
Dwight Hemion for Sheena Easton... Act One, (NBC)Emile Ardolino for Live from Lincoln Center ,John Blanchard , John Bell for Second City Television , (Episode: "Sweeps Week"), (NBC)Kirk Browning for Live from Lincoln Center, (Episode: "Zubin Mehta Conducts Beethoven's Ninth with the New York Philharmonic"), (PBS)Don Mischer for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever , (NBC)Marty Pasetta for The 55th Annual Academy Awards
John Erman for Who Will Love My Children?, (ABC)Dan Curtis for The Winds of War , (Episode: "Into the Maelstrom"), (ABC)Daryl Duke for The Thorn Birds , (Episode: "Part II"), (ABC)Simon Langton for Smiley's People , (Episode: "Part VI"), (Syndicated)Edward Zwick for Special Bulletin , (NBC)
Writing [ ]
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Glen Charles , Les Charles for Cheers , (Episode: "Give Me a Ring Sometime"), (NBC)Ken Estin for Taxi , (Episode: "Jim's Inheritance"), (NBC)Ken Levine , David Isaacs for Cheers , (Episode: "The Boys in the Bar"), (NBC)David Lloyd for Cheers , (Episode: "Diane's Perfect Date"), (NBC)Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses for Buffalo Bill , (Episode: "Pilot"), (NBC)
David Milch for Hill Street Blues , (Episode: "Trial by Fury"), (NBC)Steven Bochco , Anthony Yerkovich , Jeff Lewis , for Hill Street Blues , (Episode: "A Hair of the Dog"), (NBC)Karen Hall for Hill Street Blues , (Episode: "Officer of the Year"), (NBC)Michael I. Wagner , David Milch, Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, Jeff Lewis for Hill Street Blues , (Episode: "No Body's Perfect"), (NBC)Anthony Yerkovich, David Milch, Karen Hall, Steven Bochco, Jeff Lewis for Hill Street Blues , (Episode: "Eugene's Comedy Empire Strikes Back"), (NBC)
Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program
Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special
Second City Television, (Episode: "Sweeps Week"), (NBC)Second City Television , (Episode: "Robin Williams "), (NBC)Second City Television , (Episode: "Christmas Show"), (NBC)Second City Television , (Episode: "Joe Walsh "), (NBC)Second City Television , (Episode: "Towering Inferno"), (NBC)
Marshall Herskovitz , Edward Zwick for Special Bulletin , (NBC)Michael Bortman for Who Will Love My Children? , (ABC)
David Edgar for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby , (Episode: "Part IV"), (Syndicated)William Hanley for Little Gloria... Happy at Last , (NBC)Norman Mailer for The Executioner's Song , (NBC)
Most major nominations [ ] By network [note 1] NBC – 71
ABC – 23
CBS – 22 By program Hill Street Blues (NBC) – 14Fame (NBC) /Cheers (NBC) /The Thorn Birds (ABC) – 9Second City Television (NBC) / St. Elsewhere (NBC) – 7M*A*S*H (CBS) / Taxi (NBC) – 6Most major awards [ ] By network [note 1] By program Cheers (NBC) – 4Hill Street Blues (NBC) / St. Elsewhere (NBC) / Taxi (NBC) / The Thorn Birds (ABC) – 3Fame (NBC) – 2Notes
^ a b "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.
References [ ] External links [ ]
