41st Primetime Emmy Awards

41st Primetime Emmy Awards
Date	September 17, 1989 (Ceremony) September 16, 1989 (Creative Arts Awards)
Location	Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted by	John Larroquette
Highlights
Most awards	Cheers Murphy Brown (3)
Most nominations	L.A. Law (15)
Outstanding Comedy Series	Cheers
Outstanding Drama Series	L.A. Law
Outstanding Miniseries	War and Remembrance
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program	The Tracey Ullman Show
Television/radio coverage
Network	Fox
← 40th Primetime Emmy Awards 42nd →

The 41st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 17, 1989. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. The ceremony saw the guest acting categories double, as they were now based on gender as well as genre. Two networks, Lifetime and USA, received their first major nominations this year.

After being nominated and losing the previous four years Cheers regained the title of Outstanding Comedy Series. L.A. Law also won Outstanding Drama Series after losing the previous year. For the second straight year, L.A. Law received 15 major nominations, making it the first show ever to receive more than 14 major nominations multiple times. With nine main cast acting nominations, L.A. Law tied the record set by Hill Street Blues in 1982.

Winners and nominees[]

^[1]

Programs[]

Outstanding Comedy Series	Outstanding Drama Series
Cheers, (NBC) Designing Women, (CBS) The Golden Girls, (NBC) Murphy Brown, (CBS) The Wonder Years, (ABC)	L.A. Law, (NBC) Beauty and the Beast, (CBS) China Beach, (ABC) thirtysomething, (ABC) Wiseguy, (CBS)
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program	Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special
The Tracey Ullman Show, (Fox) The Arsenio Hall Show, (Syndicated) Late Night with David Letterman, (NBC) Saturday Night Live, (NBC) Tap Dance in America, (PBS)	Day One, (CBS) Roe vs. Wade, (NBC) David, (ABC) Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, (HBO) My Name Is Bill W., (ABC)
Outstanding Miniseries
War and Remembrance, (ABC) I Know My First Name Is Steven, (NBC) Lonesome Dove, (CBS) A Perfect Spy, (PBS) The Women of Brewster Place, (ABC)

Acting[]

Lead performances[]

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston on Empty Nest (Episode: "Pilot"), (NBC) Ted Danson as Sam Malone on Cheers (Episode: "Swear to God"), (NBC) Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties (Episode: "Alex Doesn't Live Here Anymore"), (NBC) John Goodman as Dan Conner on Roseanne (Episode: "Dan's Birthday Bash"), (ABC) Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Years (Episode: "Birthday Boy"), (ABC)	Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown on Murphy Brown (Episode: "Respect"), (CBS) Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (Episode: "Love Me Tender"), (NBC) Blair Brown as Molly Dodd on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, (Lifetime) Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls (Episode: "Yes, We Have No Havanas"), (NBC) Betty White as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (Episode: "High Anxiety"), (NBC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Carroll O'Connor as Chief Bill Gillespie on In the Heat of the Night (Episode: "A Trip Upstate"), (NBC) Ron Perlman as Vincent on Beauty and the Beast, (CBS) Michael Tucker as Stuart Markowitz on L.A. Law, (NBC) Ken Wahl as Vincent Terranova on Wiseguy, (CBS) Edward Woodward as Robert McCall on The Equalizer, (CBS)	Dana Delany as Nurse Colleen McMurphy on China Beach (Episode: "The World"), (ABC) Susan Dey as Grace Van Owen on L.A. Law, (NBC) Jill Eikenberry as Ann Kelsey on L.A. Law, (NBC) Linda Hamilton as Asst. DA Catherine Chandler on Beauty and the Beast, (CBS) Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, (CBS)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
James Woods as Bill Wilson on My Name Is Bill W., (ABC) Robert Duvall as Augustus "Gus" McCrae on Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part II"), (CBS) John Gielgud as Aaron Jastrow on War and Remembrance (Episode: "Part VIII"), (ABC) Tommy Lee Jones as Woodrow F. Call on Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part IV"), (CBS) Ben Kingsley as Simon Wiesenthal on Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, (HBO)	Holly Hunter as Ellen Russell on Roe vs. Wade, (NBC) Anjelica Huston as Clara Allen on Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part III"), (CBS) Diane Lane as Lorena Wood on Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part IV"), (CBS) Amy Madigan as Sarah Weddington on Roe vs. Wade, (NBC) Jane Seymour as Natalie Henry on War and Remembrance (Episode: "Part XI"), (ABC)

Supporting performances[]

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd on Cheers (Episodes: "Golden Boyd" + "The Gift of the Woodi" + "Call Me Irresponsible"), (NBC) Joe Regalbuto as Frank Fontana on Murphy Brown (Episodes: "Baby Love" + "It's How You Play the Game" + "The Summer of '77"), (CBS) Peter Scolari as Michael Harris on Newhart, (CBS) Meshach Taylor as Anthony Bouvier on Designing Women (Episodes: "Hard Hats and Lovers" + "Tyrone" + "One Sees, the Other Doesn't"), (CBS) George Wendt as Norm Peterson on Cheers (Episodes: "Norm, Is That You?" + "Jumping Jerks" + "Don't Paint Your Chickens"), (NBC)	Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli on Cheers (Episodes: "Swear to God" + "Those Lips, Those Ice" + "I Kid You Not"), (NBC) Julia Duffy as Stephanie Vanderkellen on Newhart, (CBS) Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood on Murphy Brown (Episodes: "Devil with a Blue Dress On" + "It's How You Play the Game" + "The Morning Show"), (CBS) Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls (Episodes: "The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo" + "Sophia's Wedding" + "Two Rode Together"), (NBC) Katherine Helmond as Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (Episodes: "Double Dump" + "Your Grandmother's a Bimbo" + "Party Double"), (ABC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Larry Drake as Benny Stulwicz on L.A. Law (Episodes: "Hey, Lick Me Over" + "I'm in the Nude for Love" + "America the Beautiful"), (NBC) Jonathan Banks as Frank McPike on Wiseguy, (CBS) Timothy Busfield as Elliot Weston on thirtysomething, (ABC) Richard Dysart as Leland McKenzie, Jr. on L.A. Law, (NBC) Jimmy Smits as Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law, (NBC)	Melanie Mayron as Melissa Steadman on thirtysomething (Episodes: "Trust Me" + "Success" + "Be a Good Girl"), (ABC) Michele Greene as Abby Perkins on L.A. Law (Episodes: "Sperminator" + "Victor/Victorious" + "America the Beautiful"), (NBC) Lois Nettleton as Joanne St. John on In the Heat of the Night (Episodes: "Stranger in Town" + "Tear Down the Walls" + "A.K.A. Kelly Kay"), (NBC) Amanda Plummer as Alice Hackett on L.A. Law (Episodes: "America the Beautiful" + "Urine Trouble Now" + "Consumed Innocent"), (NBC) Susan Ruttan as Roxanne Melman on L.A. Law (Episodes: "Romancing the Drone" + "Izzy Ackerman or Is He Not?" + "Urine Trouble Now"), (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
Derek Jacobi as The Imposter on The Tenth Man, (ABC) Armand Assante as Richard Mansfield on Jack the Ripper, (CBS) James Garner as Dr. Bob Holbrook Smith on My Name Is Bill W., (ABC) Danny Glover as Joshua Deets on Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part II"), (CBS) Corin Nemec as Steven Stayner on I Know My First Name Is Steven (Episode: "Part I"), (NBC)	Colleen Dewhurst as Margaret Page on Those She Left Behind, (NBC) Peggy Ashcroft as Miss Dubber on A Perfect Spy (Episode: "Part V") (PBS) Polly Bergen as Rhoda Henry on War and Remembrance (Episode: "Part XII"), (ABC) Glenne Headly as Elmira Boot Johnson on Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part II"), (CBS) Paula Kelly as Theresa on The Women of Brewster Place, (ABC)

Guest performances[]

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Cleavon Little as Tony Larkin on Dear John (Episode: "Stand By Your Man"), (NBC) Sammy Davis Jr. as Ray Palomino on The Cosby Show (Episode: "No Way Baby"), (NBC) Jack Gilford as Max Weinstock on The Golden Girls (Episode: "Sophia's Wedding"), (NBC) Leslie Nielsen as Jack Harper on Day by Day (Episode: "Harper And Son"), (NBC) Robert Picardo as Coach Ed Cutlip on The Wonder Years (Episode: "Loosiers"), (ABC)	Colleen Dewhurst as Avery Brown on Murphy Brown (Episode: "Mama Said"), (CBS) Eileen Brennan as Corine Denby on Newhart (Episode: "The Little Match Girl"), (CBS) Diahann Carroll as Marion Gilbert on A Different World (Episode: "For She's Only A Bird In A Gilded Cage"), (NBC) Doris Roberts as Mrs. Bailey on Perfect Strangers (Episode: "Maid to Order"), (ABC) Maxine Stuart as Mrs. Carples on The Wonder Years (Episode: "Coda"), (ABC)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Joe Spano as John Saringo on Midnight Caller (Episode: "The Execution Of John Saringo"), (NBC) Peter Boyle as J.J. Killian on Midnight Caller (Episode: "Fathers and Sins"), (NBC) Jack Gilford as The Old Gentleman on thirtysomething (Episode: "The Mike Van Dyke Show"), (ABC) Michael Moriarty as Wayne Virgil on The Equalizer (Episode: "Starfire"), (CBS) Edward Woodward as Drummond on The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Episode: "The Hunted"), (USA)	Kay Lenz as Tina Cassidy on Midnight Caller (Episode: "After It Happened..."), (NBC) Shirley Knight as Mrs. Robert McCall on The Equalizer (Episode: "Time Present, Time Past"), (CBS) Jean Simmons as Eudora McVeigh on Murder, She Wrote (Episode: "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Part 1"), (CBS) Maureen Stapleton as Auntie Sue on B.L. Stryker (Episode: "Auntie Sue"), (ABC) Chloe Webb as Laurette Barber on China Beach (Episode: "Chao Ong"), (ABC) Teresa Wright as Nina Rothman on Dolphin Cove (Episode: "The Elders"), (CBS)

Directing[]

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Peter Baldwin, for The Wonder Years (Episode: "Our Miss White"), (ABC) James Burrows for Cheers (Episode: "The Visiting Lecher"), (NBC) Michael Dinner for The Wonder Years (Episode: "How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation"), (ABC) Terry Hughes, for The Golden Girls (Episode: "Brother Can You Spare That Jacket"), (NBC) Barnet Kellman for Murphy Brown (Episode: "Pilot"), (CBS) Steve Miner for The Wonder Years (Episode: "Birthday Boy"), (ABC)	Robert Altman for Tanner '88 (Episode: "The Boiler Room"), (HBO) Thomas Carter for Midnight Caller (Episode: "Pilot"), (NBC) Eric Laneuville for L.A. Law (Episode: "I'm in the Nude for Love"), (NBC) John Pasquin for L.A. Law (Episode: "To Live and Diet in L.A."), (NBC) Scott Winant for thirtysomething (Episode: "We'll Meet Again"), (ABC)
Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program	Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special
Jim Henson for The Jim Henson Hour (Episode: "Dog City"), (NBC) Debbie Allen for The Debbie Allen Special, (ABC) Ted Bessell for The Tracey Ullman Show (Episode: "Family Therapy"), (Fox) Hal Gurnee for Late Night with David Letterman (Episode: "In Chicago"), (NBC) Don Mischer for Tap Dance in America, (PBS)	Simon Wincer for Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part IV"), (CBS) Dan Curtis for War and Remembrance (Episode: "Part XII"), (ABC) Larry Elikann for I Know My First Name Is Steven, (NBC) Gregory Hoblit for Roe vs. Wade, (NBC) Daniel Petrie for My Name Is Bill W., (ABC)

Writing[]

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Diane English for Murphy Brown (Episode: "Pilot"), (CBS) Matthew Carlson for The Wonder Years (Episode: "Pottery Will Get You Nowhere"), (ABC) Todd W. Langen for The Wonder Years (Episode: "Coda"), (ABC) David M. Stern for The Wonder Years (Episode: "Loosiers"), (ABC) Michael J. Weithorn for The Wonder Years (Episode: "Our Miss White"), (ABC)	Joseph Dougherty for thirtysomething (Episode: "First Day / Last Day"), (ABC) Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley, William M. Finkelstein, Michele Gallery for L.A. Law (Episode: "His Suit Is Hirsute"), (NBC) David E. Kelley for L.A. Law (Episode: "I'm in the Nude for Love"), (NBC) David E. Kelley, William M. Finkelstein, Michele Gallery, Judith Parker for L.A. Law (Episode: "Urine Trouble Now"), (NBC) Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz for thirtysomething (Episode: "The Mike Van Dyke Show"), (ABC)
Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program	Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special
Saturday Night Live, (NBC) The Tracey Ullman Show, (Fox) Late Night with David Letterman (Episode: "Seventh Anniversary Special"), (NBC) Not Necessarily the News, (HBO) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, (NBC)	Abby Mann, Robin Vote, Ron Hutchinson for Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, (HBO) William G. Borchert for My Name Is Bill W., (ABC) Alison Cross for Roe vs. Wade, (NBC) JP Miller, Cynthia Whitcomb for I Know My First Name Is Steven, (NBC) Bill Wyttliff for Lonesome Dove (Episode: "Part I"), (CBS)

Most major nominations[]

By network ^{[note 1]}

• NBC – 57
• ABC – 40
• CBS – 35

By program

• L.A. Law (NBC) – 15
• The Wonder Years (ABC) – 11
• Lonesome Dove (CBS) – 9
• The Golden Girls (NBC) / Murphy Brown (CBS) / thirtysomething (ABC) – 7
• Cheers (NBC) – 6

Most major awards[]

By network ^{[note 1]}

• NBC – 15
• ABC – 7
• CBS – 5

By program

• Cheers (NBC) / Murphy Brown (CBS) – 3
• L.A. Law (NBC) / Midnight Caller (NBC) / Roe vs. Wade (NBC) / thirtysomething (ABC) – 2

Notes

References[]

External links[]

• Emmys.com list of 1989 Nominees & Winners
• 41st Primetime Emmy Awards at IMDb