Anastasia to Apollo 11

Amid the gaps here are some solid summaries I did of a couple of notable nominees – The Andy Griffith Show, The Andy Williams Show and The Ann Sothern Show (notice a trend here). For Griffith fans who are wondering, the show lost Best Comedy to The Jack Benny Program in 1961 and The Bob Newhart Show (not Bob’s sitcom) in 1962.

 

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna

NBC Sunday and Monday 9-11 p.m., Dec. 7 and 8, 1987

Chomsky: Attica, Billionaire Boys Club, Evita Peron, Holocaust, Inside the Third Reich, Peter the Great, Roots.

 

And Debbie Makes Six

ABC Thursday 8-9 p.m., Jan. 19, 1968

N: Visual Arts (Claude Thompson, makeup)

Guests Bobby Darin, Frank Gorshin, Bob Hope, Jim Nabors and Donald O’Connor plus hostess Debbie Reynolds did add up to six for this evening of sketches and musical numbers. Debbie performed several characters employing her well-known gift for mimickry, and Thompson’s makeup contributed in making her resemble the stars she portrayed. This was his second year in a row to be nominated, and also his last. Despite how ABC promoted the show, it was not the first TV special starring Reynolds – A Date with Debbie ran on ABC Oct. 27, 1960.

Thompson: Alice Through the Looking Glass.

 

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself

HBO

Gelbart: AfterM*A*S*H, Barbarians at the Gate, Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments, Caesar’s Hour, The Danny Kaye Show, M*A*S*H, Sid Caesar’s Chevy Show, Weapons of Mass Distraction.

 

And the Band Played On

HBO p.m., Sept. 11, 1993

 

And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story

ABC , 2000

 

Andersonville

TNT, March 3, 1996

Frankenheimer: Against the Wall, the Burning Season, Climax, George Wallace, Path to War, Playhouse 90, Startime.

 

Andre’s Mother – See American Playhouse

 

The Andy Griffith Show

CBS Mondays 9:30-10 p.m., Oct. 3, 1960-Sept. 16, 1968

W: Actor, Supporting Role (Don Knotts), 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967; Actress, Supporting Role (Frances Bavier), 1967

N: Comedy Series, 1961, 1962, (Bob Ross, P), 1967

The first series since I Love Lucy to finish in the top 10 every year and leave the air while at #1, The Andy Griffith Show has proven just as durable in reruns. This beloved sitcom starred Griffith as Andy Taylor, the easygoing sheriff of the fictional small town of Mayberry, North Carolina, who often had to bail out his overeager, overreacting Deputy Barney Fife (Knotts 1960-65). A widower, Andy lived with his son Opie (Ron Howard) and raised him with the help of his plump, gentle Aunt Bea (Bavier). This is virtually the only downhome southern comedy that did not condescend and paint most of its characters as nitwits, with humor growing from the regular cast – we laugh with them versus laughing at The Beverly Hillbillies. The failure to nominate Griffith as lead actor even once here is one of Emmy’s greatest shames, while the five given to Knotts (the last two for guest shots) seems like overkill in retrospect, particularly since he secured no nominations afterward. The series’ successor, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968-71), was bereft of Emmy nods.

 

Andy Richter Controls the Universe

Fox Tuesdays 8:30-9 p.m.*, March 19, 2002-Jan. 12, 2003

N: Writing, Comedy (Victor Fresco), 2002

Playing himself, the titular star and former sidekick on Late Night With Conan O’Brien

 

Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa

NBC Friday 8-9 p.m., Dec. 20, 1985

W: Music and Lyrics (Larry Grossman, Buz Kohan)

N: Music Direction (Chris Boardman, Ian Fraser, J. Hill, Lenny Stack)

Most of the tykes on The Cosby Show, Gimme a Break and Punky Brewster, plus Mindy Cohn from The Facts of Life and Alfonso Ribeiro from Silver Spoons, joined host Andy Williams on a quest for jolly old St. Nick in the Arctic, along with plenty of singing and dancing. One of the last Christmas specials hosted by Williams, this was no classic, yet the moppets are adorable to watch, and Andy is in good voice and full of Christmas cheer. The award-winning score by Kohan (lyrics) and Grossman (music) is serviceable but created no new holiday favorites. The nominees worked together on several other Emmy-nominated specials, as indicated below.

Grossman: Academy Awards, America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music, From the Heart, Here’s Television Entertainment, Irving Berlin’s 100th Birthday Celebration, Julie Andrews … The Sound of Christmas, The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, Shining Time Station, Shirley MacLaine … Illusions, Tony Awards, The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards, The Way They Were. Kohan: Academy Awards, America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music, Bette Midler – Ol’ Red Hair is Back, Bob Hope: The First 90 Years, Carol Burnett & Company, The Carol Burnett Show, From the Heart, Here’s Television Entertainment, Julie Andrews … The Sound of Christmas, Motown Returns to the Apollo, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, Night of 100 Stars, Sammy Davis Jr’s 60th Anniversary Celebration, Shirley MacLaine … Every Little Movement, Shirley MacLaine … Illusions, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, Tony Awards, The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards. Boardman: Christmas in Washington, Epcot Center: The Opening Celebration, Hijacking of the Achille Lauro, Johnny Ryan, Julie Andrews … The Sound of Christmas, Linda in Wonderland, Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration, Walt Disney… One Man’s Dream. Fraser: America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music, Baryshnikov on Broadway, Ben Vereen: His Roots, Christmas in Washington, Epcot Center: The Opening Celebration, Julie Andrews … The Sound of Christmas, Linda in Wonderland, Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration, The Walt Disney Company Presents the , Walt Disney… One Man’s Dream. Hill: Christmas in Washington, Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration. Stack: Disneyland’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration.

 

The Andy Williams Show

NBC Mondays 9-10 p.m.*, Sept. 27, 1962-May 7, 1967 and Sept. 20, 1969-July 17, 1971

W: Variety Program, 1963, 1966, 1967

N: Variety Program, 1964, 1965; Performance in a Variety or Music Program (Andy Williams), 1963, 1964; Directing, Variety or Music (Bob Henry), 1964, 1966, 1967; Special Classification, Individual Achievement (Nick Castle, choreographer), 1966; Art Direction (Edward Stephenson), 1966; Audio Engineering (William Cole), 1966; Lighting (John Freschi), 1966, 1967

A variety series as smooth and polished as its title star, The Andy Williams Show was much more beloved by the TV academy than viewers – despite its seven seasons on the air it never once won its time slot for a season and even sometimes came in third in its period. It’s telling that its writing never earned a nomination. Somewhat surprisingly, this was the only Emmy nomination for Nick Castle, who choreographed routines for The Dinah Shore Chevy Show and The Judy Garland Show before working here (he died at age 58 midway through the run of his next series, The Jerry Lewis Show). Williams also earned six Grammy nominations during his career.

Henry: Stephenson: Freschi:

 

Angel

Fox

 

Angels in America

HBO

 

Animal Farm

TNT

N: Sound Editing, Movie, Miniseries or Special (

 

Animated Epics

HBO 2000

 

Animated Tales of the World

HBO

 

The Ann Jillian Story

NBC p.m., 1989

 

The Ann Sothern Show

CBS Mondays 9:30-10 p.m.*, Oct. 6, 1958-Sept. 25, 1961

N: Lead Actress, Comedy (Ann Sothern), 1959

A year after Private Secretary ended, Sothern returned to TV as Katy O’Connor, a Manhattan assistant hotel manager aided by Olive Smith (Ann Tyrrell) who meddled amiably in the problems of her guests and staff in this average outing, despite more elaborate set and art direction than her earlier show. Even with a respectable #21 rating its first season, there was considerable falloff from viewers watching its lead-in, The Danny Thomas Show, so in March 1959 former Private Secretary co-star Don Porter replaced Ernest Truex (playing Jason Macauley) as her new boss, James Devery. Still, ratings fell, and running opposite My Three Sons in the fall of 1960, its doom was sealed. This series marked Sothern’s fifth and final unsuccessful Emmy try. She later voiced the title character in the 1965-66 NBC sitcom My Mother the Car (a career low), then guest starred on shows for a decade before leaving retirement for a part in the 1985 TV-movie remake of her 1949 Oscar-nominated Best Picture, A Letter to Three Wives, and grabbed her first Oscar nomination as a supporting actress in 1987’s The Whales of August.

Sothern: Private Secretary.

 

Anne Frank

ABC

 

Anne Rice’s The Feast of All Saints

Showtime

 

Annie

ABC, 2000 or 2001

 

Annie: A Royal Adventure!

ABC p.m., Nov. 18, 1995

 

Annie Get Your Gun

NBC Wednesday 8:30-10:30 p.m., Nov. 27, 1957

N: Live Camera Work

The great Irving Berlin musical came to TV with Mary Martin playing the female western sharpshooter Annie Oakley opposite John Raitt as her competitor/love interest Frank Butler. Like the overall production and Martin’s performance, the camera work (uncredited) here started off a little shaky but came together nicely by the midway point, particularly in the elaborately staged dance sequences. Director Vincent J. Donehue wisely staged the show with an eye to the home viewer, even though it did have a studio audience, with several characters having nice close-ups. Even so, unfortunately for Martin, whose husband Richard Halliday produced this special, it did not live up to the popular and critical acclaim she received the previous year with “Peter Pan” on Producers’ Showcase. The original star on Broadway in 1946 was Ethel Merman, who reprised the role on another TV version of Annie Get Your Gun in 1967.

 

Annie Lennox … In the Park

Disney, 199

 

Annie Oakley

Syndicated Weekly 30 Minutes, 1953-1956

N: Western or Adventure Series, 1954

Unlike Annie Get Your Gun, there was no breaking out in song for this Annie, played by Gail Davis in pigtails, just plenty of action and spiffy gunplay as she tracked down varmints without killing them in the town of Diablo with the help of Deputy Sheriff Lofty Craig (Brad Johnson). Craig pined for Annie, but since this was slanted for juvenile consumption, he never made overt moves, and their interaction took a back seat to Annie explaining the facts of life to her energetic prepubescent brother Tagg (Jimmy Hawkins). A decent show, if you could overlook the fact that some scripts were recycled from previous Flying A Productions, a TV western outfit headed by Gene Autry that also produced the non-nominated The Gene Autry Show (naturally), The Range Rider and Buffalo Bill Jr.

 

Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man

CBS Wednesday 9-10 p.m., Feb. 18, 1970

W: Variety or Music Program; Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music (Gary Belkin, Peter Bellwood, Thomas Meehan, Herb Sargent, Judith Viorst)

Anne Bancroft, rarely seen on TV after winning the Oscar for The Miracle Worker in 1962,

Belkin: Several. Meehan: That Was the Week That Was. Sargent: That Was the Week That Was, several more.

 

The Annihilator

NBC Monday 9-11 p.m., April 7, 1986

N: Makeup, Miniseries or Special (Michael Westmore, Zoltan Elek)

A TV-movie pilot about Earth being invaded by aliens, an unlikely human being leading the fight against them, and … well, the timeworn plot alone pretty much doomed this to no sale as a series, along with a little-known cast led by Mark David Chapman. More interesting is that nominees Westmore and Elek previously won their first Oscars for Best Makeup for Mask two weeks before this show aired.

Westmore: ABC Wide World of Entertainment, Amazing Howard Hughes, Amazing Stories, MacGyver, Babe Ruth, David, Eleanor and Franklin, Enterprise, Geppetto, Highway to Heaven, Land of the Lost, A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story, Million Dollar Ripoff, Once Upon the Brothers Grimm, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Three Wishes of Billy Grier, Why Me? Elek: Alien Nation: Dark Horizon, Amazing Stories, The Day After, Max Headroom, Roots: The Next Generation, Who Will Love My Children?

 

The Ann-Margret Show: From Hollywood With Love

CBS p.m., Dec. 6, 1969

N: Choreography (David Winters)

Looking as sensuous as ever, Ann-Margret sang a sizzling medley of “25 Miles” and “Sentimental Journey” at the start of this special while on her journey to the entertainment capitol, where she sang and did comic sketches with Lucille Ball, Dean Martin and Larry Storch.

Winters: Movin’ With Nancy.

 

Another Evening With Fred Astaire

NBC Wednesday 9-10 p.m., Nov. 4, 1959

N: Program Achievement – Variety; Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series (Fred Astaire)

As with An Evening With Fred Astaire, the network repeated this special a few months later, on May 9, 1960.

Astaire:

 

Another World

NBC Weekdays 2-3 p.m.*, May 4, 1964-June 25, 1999

W: Daytime Drama Series, 1976; Art Direction or Scenic Design, Daytime Programming (Otis Riggs, Jr.), 1974;

N: Daytime Drama Series, 1975; Achievements in Daytime Drama (John L. Coffey, technical director; Selwyn Reed, Louis Gerard, Gene Martin, cameramen), 1972; Director, Daytime Drama, Individual Episode (Ira Cirker), 1975

See also Somerset.

Costello: The Adams Chronicles, Ryan’s Hope

 

Antiques Roadshow

PBS ,

 

Any Day Now

Lifetime

 

Anything But Love

ABC Wednesdays 9:30-10 p.m.*, March 1, 1989-June 10, 1992

ABC switched its time slots. In an unprecedented decision, Fox Television head Lucy Selhaney pulled the show’s reruns out of circulation before it went into syndication on fears that it would not sell.

 

Apollo 11

Family Channel, Nov. 17, 1996