Facts
Emmys are presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Louis McManus, a television engineer, created the Emmy statuette, using his wife’s image as a model.
Emmy Awards are named after “Immy,” an abbreviation for the image orthicon tube, an early camera. It was later changed to “Emmy.”
The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club and were for Los Angeles programming only. Six awards were given. Tickets to the event were $5.
The first award ever given was for outstanding personality and went to ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale, for the children’s show, “Judy Splinters.”
Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are tied for the most Emmys ever by a performer (8). Ed Asner has won the most Emmys ever by a male performer (7), as of 2021
The youngest prime time Emmy winner was Roxana Zal, 14 years, 314 days old when she won the 1984 award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or a special for “Something About Amelia.”
Betty White was the oldest winner in 2010 at 88 and the oldest nominee in 2012 at 90. She won the Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her work on “Saturday Night Live” and was nominated as outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program for “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.”
