The 1950s – A History of Emmy

Second Annual Emmy Awards • January 27, 1950 • Ambassador Hotel

• KFI-TV broadcasts, the six other Los Angeles area stations share expense of the telecast. Total estimated show cost: $250.
• Academy drops requirement that all competing shows be produced in Hollywood; contenders now include kinescope programs out of New York, Chicago and elsewhere.
• A few hours before the ceremony, winners' names are leaked, but the majority of recipients appear surprised when announced.
• Ed Wynn is named Outstanding Live Personality; Milton Berle the Outstanding Kinescope personality.

Third Annual Emmy Awards • January 23, 1951 • Ambassador Hotel • KLAC-TV

• Best Actor and Actress categories added.
• 1,000 people attend the ceremony.
• Emmys are recognized as a major entertainment industry event.
• When Groucho Marx is named Outstanding Personality, he carries "Miss Emmy" (former Miss America Rosemary LaPlanche) offstage rather than his statuette.

Fourth Annual Emmy Awards • February 18, 1952 • Coconut Grove

• Telecast locally by ABC's KECA in Los Angeles.
• No coast-to-coast network broadcast available; winners in New York are contacted by phone.
• Special achievement award goes to Senator Estes Kefauver who investigated organized crime nationwide and opened Congressional hearings to the television audience.
• AT&T presented with special achievement award for developing micro wave relay system that enables television to be viewed nationwide.
• Awards committee is set up to develop a national awards system.

Fifth Annual Primetime Emmy Awards • February 3, 1953 • Hotel Statler • KLAC

• Art Linkletter emcees, handling with aplomb falling scenery and a mike that goes dead for 10 minutes.
• Lucille Ball accepts Emmys for Best Situation Comedy (I Love Lucy) and Best Comedienne. It is the first social function she attends since the birth of her son, Desi Arnaz Jr.
• Although Lucy is also considered a shoe-in for Outstanding Television Personality, the award goes to Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.

Sixth Annual Emmy Awards • February 11, 1954 • Hollywood Palladium • KHJ

• Ed Sullivan emcees, a move intended to diffuse his rancor towards the West Coast-based Academy.
• Ceremony almost cancelled when broadcaster KHJ-TV cannot find a sponsor.
• Year marks the beginning of the "golden age of television's" live anthology drama series such as Television Playhouse, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre and the U.S. Steel Hour.

Seventh Annual Emmy Awards • March 7, 1955 • Moulin Rouge in Hollywood/Nino's LaRue in New York • NBC

• U.S. television set ownership grows to 25 million.
• NBC pays $110,000 for the rights to air telecast across the nation; the show airs simultaneously on both coasts, adding prestige and publicity.
• Steve Allen hosts from Hollywood; Dave Garroway from New York.
• First presentation of Emmys to a full range of craft awards.

Eighth Annual Emmy Awards • March 17, 1956 • Pan Pacific Auditorium in Hollywood/Grand Ballroom Waldorf Astoria, New York • NBC

• Art Linkletter hosts from Hollywood; John Daly from New York.
• 40 awards presented; 24 presented during the 90 minute broadcast, and 16 immediately following.
• Working press arrive at 5 p.m. for cocktails and are seated at special ringside tables where space is set aside for post-award interviews.

Ninth Annual Emmy Awards • March 16, 1957 • NBC

• Awards Ceremony preceded a month earlier by novel, color telecast to announce nominees, scripted by Rod Serling and featuring Steve Allen, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Danny Thomas and songwriter Johnny Mercer (then Television Academy President).
• First nationwide color telecast from NBC's East and West Coast studios; Desi Arnaz emcees.
• According to TV Guide's March 16, 1957 issue, "…the Emmy Awards have finally achieved the stature of the Oscars. Certainly everyone in the television feels that the Emmy is the highest honor in the industry."

10th Annual Emmy Awards • April 15, 1958 • Coconut Grove in Hollywood; Seventh Regiment Armory National Guard in New York • NBC

• Hosted by Phil Silvers on the East Coast and Danny Thomas on West Coast.
• Telecast sponsors include Procter & Gamble and the Pontiac Division of General Motors.
• Lassie finally attends the show as a presenter.

11th Annual Emmy Awards • May 6, 1959 • NBC

• First time Emmys are broadcast from three locations: Hollywood (Moulin Rouge), New York (Ziegfeld Theatre) and Washington, D.C. (Mayflower Hotel) —where Vice President Richard Nixon helps present news and documentary awards.
• Fred Astaire wins an Emmy for his performance on An Evening with Fred Astaire, but Ed Sullivan contests it. Ultimately, Astaire keeps his award.
• Eligibility period stretched to 14 months one time only, allowing the switch of eligibility period from calendar year to actual TV season.
• NBC technicians strike (in tuxedos keeping with Emmy dress code); cameras and broadcast controls are manned by NBC executives. Broadcast proceeds without technical difficulty.