Not-So-Trivial Pursuits and Hot Prizes

Who won the most Emmy Awards for the same role in a series? Who was the first producer to win an Emmy in both the comedy and drama categories in the same year? Who was the first person to win an Emmy for costume design?

Knowing the answers gave nine intrepid contestants the opportunity to win two tickets to this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, when the Television Academy presented “The Ultimate Primetime Emmy Trivia Contest” in June 2008 at the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre.

The pair of Emmy tickets was the grand prize of the competition, which was held in celebration of the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Emmy Awards ceremony. Other prizes included memberships in the Academy film group, a Blu-Ray DVD player, Disneyland passes, a decorative fireplace screen and a Tiffany desk lamp.

Hosted by Marc Summers of The Food Network, the evening began with a quip from Academy chief operating officer Alan Perris, that one immediately thinks of two words – “game show” – when considering this milestone Emmy anniversary. “In fact,” Perris noted, “the first show to win a Primetime Emmy, in 1949, was a game show: Mike Stokey’s Pantomime Quiz Time.”

For the Goldenson game show, three sets of three contestants participated in three-round segments, with the winner of each segment advancing to the final championship round. Six of the nine contestants were Academy members who had been chosen based on their scores on a quiz given before the event. The other three were entertainment journalists playing on behalf of audience members: ABC7 Eyewitness News entertainment reporter George Pennacchio, People Magazine reporter Monica Rizzo and Entertainment Tonight reporter Thea Andrews.

Joining them on stage to ask questions were Jack Klugman and Kathryn Joosten, Emmy winners both, Bryan Cranston and Gary Owens. Klugman, who received a standing ovation when he appeared, reminisced about his co-star on The Odd Couple: “Tony [Randall] taught me how to improvise. Everybody thinks it’s talking. It’s not. It’s provoking [someone] into saying something funny.” Owens paid tribute to two other TV funny men, the recently deceased Dick Martin and Harvey Korman.

Trivia categories included comedy series, drama series, memorable moments, the 1960s, record breakers, one-time winners, movies and minis, presenter predicaments and award-winning pairs. In the suspenseful final round, performer Peter James Smith and Dr. Phil director Stephen Abramson tied, one question away from claiming the grand prize; daytime performer Diana Lansleen was the third finalist. Smith won, correctly naming David Letterman as the late-night host whose show features “Will It Float?” and “Stupid Pet Tricks.”

Smith, it turns out, has actually been on the Emmy Awards stage, for one of The West Wing’s four wins as drama series; he’d played White House staffer Ed. “It was so cool!” he enthused after the trivia game. Winning this contest, he added, “felt great. The competition was fantastic.” Smith attributes his TV trivia knowledge to “being a TV fan. I was a latchkey kid when I was in school, so I’d watch TV all the time.”

Throughout the evening, announcer Rich Fields of The Price is Right helped keep things lively with a raffle for prizes for non-playing audience members. The prizes were revealed via Deal or No Deal briefcase models number nine, Patricia Kara, and number twenty-two, Crystal Monte. Among the raffle offerings: restaurant lunches and dinners, People and Entertainment Weekly subscriptions and massages. •

Visit the Ultimate Primetime Emmys Trivia Gallery

Bob Boden and Shelley Herman produced the evening. Rocci Chatfield is chair and Pete Hammond vice chair of the activities committee. Robert O’Donnell is director of activities for the Television Academy.

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