A&E Through ABC

So far the A&E network has only one entertainment show with its name in the title earn an Emmy nomination, while ABC has had around 10. The one with the most nominations in the latter category is The ABC Afterschool Special, with more than 50, including one for Madeline Kahn, believe it or not, and Pearl Bailey too.

A&E In Concert
A&E Various Weeknights Two Hours, Nov. 24, 2001-

W: Individual Performance (Sting, “Sting in Tuscany: All This Time”), 2002; Multi-Camera Picture Editing, Movie, Miniseries or Special (Scott C. Wilson, “Sting in Tuscany: All This Time”), 2002 and (Lance Cain, Zoran Jevremov, “Paul McCartney in Red Square”), 2004; Sound Mixing, Variety or Music Series or Special (Nathan Kunkel, Simon Osborne, Don Worsham, “Sting: Sacred Love”), 2004; Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video, Miniseries, Movie or Special (Mark Sanford, Ken Shapiro, Bruce Green, Marc Greenfield, Mark Johnson, David Plakos, Greg Poschman, Hector Ramirez, “Sting: Sacred Love”), 2004

N: Variety, Music or Comedy Special (Delia Fine, EP; Mark Haefeli, Emilio Nunez, P; “Paul McCartney in Red Square”), 2004; Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video, Miniseries, Movie or Special (Sanford, Shapiro, Riccardo Castellini, Luigi Dell’Elba, Fabrizio Frascadore, Luca Nonni, Matteo Passigato, Filberto Titone, Giovanni Tori, “Sting in Tuscany: All This Time”), 2002 and (Kevin Smith, Josh Worley, Dusty Cardaropoli, Redo Jackson, Jim Johnston, Dane Mustola, Mike Sienkiewicz, “Paul McCartney in Red Square”), 2004; Sound Mixing, Variety or Music Series or Special (Osborne, Andrea Moser, Claus Trelby, “Sting in Tuscany: All This Time”), 2002; Lighting Direction, VMC Programming (Stan Crocker, David Rudd, “Sting in Tuscany: All This Time”), 2002, (Crocker, Rudd, “Sting: Sacred Love”), 2004 and (Roy Bennett, Craig Braden, Wally Lees, “Paul McCartney in Red Square”), 2004; Art Direction, Variety or Music Program (Daniel Acon, Ted Berner, Dayna Lee,”Sting in Tuscany: All This Time”), 2002; Multi-Camera Picture Editing, Movie, Miniseries or Special (Scott Richter, Chris Osterhus, “Sting: Sacred Love”), 2004; Sound Mixing, Variety or Music Series or Special (Michael Brauer, Matt Foglia, “Paul McCartney in Red Square”), 2004

This infrequent series of pop-rock presentations was often splendidly mounted, with crisp visuals and excellent sound to really make a viewer feel as if he or she had a front-row seat near the artist performing, plus sometimes behind-the-scenes coverage of the artists as well. One of its more recent offerings was Bon Jovi in 2007. McCartney’s special was filmed on location in Moscow, while Sting’s first show was taped in Italy (done as scheduled on Sept. 11, 2001 despite the tragedy of the day), and his second one was a collection of rehearsals and live performances at various venues.

Fine: Dash and Lilly, Horatio Hornblower, Ike: Countdown to D-Day, Napolean, Pride, Shackleton, PT Barnum. Haefeli: McCartney in St. Petersberg Square. Nunez: Pride, Horatio Hornblower, Shackleton. Webb: American Idol, Cher: the Farewell Tour, Elton John: the Red Piano. Acon: Rome. Bennett: America: A Tribute to Heroes. Rudd: America: A Tribute to Heroes. Mark Johnson: Garth Live from Central Park. Plakos: Academy Awards, Arsenio Hall, Britney Spears: Live from Las Vegas, Cher: Live from , Cher: The Farewell Tour, Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, Eagles Hell Freezes Over, Elton John: The Red Piano, Janet: the Velvet Rope, MTV Music Awards, Robin Williams: the , Sinatra: 80 Years of. Jevremov: Paul McCartney’s Back in the U.S. Ramirez: Academy Awards, American Idol, Barbra Streisand The Concert, Bob Hope’s USO Beirut, CBS: On the Air, Cher: Live in Concert, Cher: The Farewell Tour, Comic Relief 2006, Dancing With the Stars, Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, Eagles Hell Freezes Over, Elton John: The Red Piano, Fail Safe, Garth Live from Central Park, Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, Magic of David Copperfield, MTV Movie Awards, Neil Diamond … Hello Again, Paul Simon Concert in Central Park, Sammy Davis Jr.’s 60th, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, We the People 200, Welcome Home Heroes. Shapiro: Academy Awards, America: A Tribute to Heroes, Home Improvement, Roc. Sanford: Academy Awards, American Idol, Barbra Streisand the Concert, Bob Hope’s USO Beirut, Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas, Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker, Comic Relief, Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, Eagles Hell Freezes Over Tour, Garth Live from Central Park, Jerry Seinfeld: And I’m Telling you for the Last Time, Magic of David Copperfield, Michael Jackson Talks to Oprah, MTV Movie Awards, On Stage America, Paul Simon’s Concert in Central Park, Robin Williams Live on Broadway, Roc, Rolling Stones Licks World Tour, Sinbad and Friends, Tsunami Aid. Worsham: Barbara Mandrell & Mandrell Sisters, Bette Midler: Diva Las Vegas, Cher: Live in Concert, Debby Boone One Step Closer, Eddie Rabbitt Special, Garth Live from Central Park, Grammy Awards, John Denver with Special Guest George Burns, Oldest Living Graduate, One Love: The Bob Marley, Ray Charles: A Man and His Music, Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey, Rolling Stones Tour Licks World Tour, Welcome Home Heroes With Whitney Houston

The ABC Afternoon Playbreak
ABC Various Weekdays 1:30-3 p.m., Oct. 31, 1973-Aug. 14, 1975

W: Director, Daytime Special (H. Wesley Kenney, “Miss Kline, We Love You”), 1974 and (Mort Lachman, “The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose”), 1975; Daytime Director of the Year (Kenney), 1974; Writing, Daytime Special (Lila Garrett, Sandy Krinski, “Mother of the Bride”), 1974; Daytime Writer of the Year (Garrett, Krinski), 1974; Musical Direction, Daytime Program (Richard Clements, “A Special Act of Love”), 1974; Editing, Daytime Program (Gary Anderson, “Miss Kline, We Love You”), 1974; Daytime Drama Special (”The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose,” Ira Barmak, EP, Lila Garrett, P), 1975; Actor, Daytime Drama Special (Bradford Dillman, “The Last Bride of Salem”), 1975; Actress, Daytime Drama Special (Kay Lenz, “Heart in Hiding”), 1975

N: Drama Special, Daytime (”A Special Act of Love,” John Choy, P), 1974 and (”The Last Bride of Salem,” Robert Michael Lewis, EP, George Paris, P), 1975; Actor, Daytime Special (Don Porter, “Mother of the Bride”), 1974, (Jack Carter, “The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose”), 1975 and (Bert Convy, “Oh! Baby, Baby, Baby …”), 1975; Actress, Daytime Special (Eve Arden, “Mother of the Bride”), 1974, (Diane Baker, “Can I Save My Children?”), 1975, (Julie Kavner, “The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose”), 1975 and (Lois Nettleton, “The Last Bride of Salem”), 1975; Director, Daytime Special (Lela Swift, “The Gift of Terror”), 1974 and (Walter C. Miller, “Can I Save My Children?”), 1975; Writing, Daytime Special (Ruth Brooks Flippen, “Oh! Baby, Baby, Baby …”), 1975 and (Lila Garrett, Sanford Krinski, “The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose”), 1975

In an effort to expand the normal daytime programming fare, ABC pre-empted its normal lineup roughly every two to three months - usually game shows like Let’s Make a Deal - with this series of specials, most slanted toward featuring a woman in a melodramatic dilemma. There was the mother trying to rescue herself and her son and daughter from a plane crash in a remote area (”Can I Save My Children?”), the wife daunted by being pregnant with quintuplets (”Oh! Baby, Baby, Baby …”) … you get the picture. The best probably was the atypical, genuinely amusing comedy “The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose,” with a game show winner (Julie Kavner) risking her perfect record facing off against her boyfriend, egged on by an unctuous host (Jack Carter). This effort basked in far too many Emmys (10 wins and 13 nominations) out of proportion to its minimal impact, and most of the categories vanished shortly after it last aired, probably because it competed just against itself for all its 1975 wins.

Kenney: Days of Our Lives. Lachman: All in the Family, Kate & Allie. Garrett: Julie Andrews Hour. Anderson: ABC Wide World of Entertainment, ABC Theatre, American Bandstand’s 25th Anniversary, Soap. Dillman: Alcoa Premiere. Lenz: Rich Man Poor Man. Arden. Eve Arden Show, Our Miss Brooks. Swift: Ryan’s Hope. Miller: Doug Hennings’ World of Magic, George M!, Jack Lemmon in ‘S Marvelous, ‘S Wonderful, Grammy Awards, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Here’s to You 50 Years of Charlie Brown, Irving Berlin’s 100th, Tony Awards. Convy: Tattletales. Baker: Hallmark Hall of Fame. Kavner: Rhoda. Nettleton: Golden Girls, Fear on Trial, The American Woman. Flippen: That Girl.

The ABC Afterschool Special
ABC Various Weekdays 4-5 p.m. or 4:30-5:30 p.m., Oct. 4, 1972-Dec. 5, 1996

W: Children’s Entertainment Special (Daniel Wilson, P, “Rookie of the Year”), 1974, (Wilson, EP; Fran Sears, P, “Hewitt’s Just Different”), 1978, (Wilson, EP; Linda Marmelstein, P, “The Late Great Me: Story of a Teenage Alcoholic”), 1980, (Martin Tahse, EP, “A Matter of Time”), 1981, (Diana Kerew and Patrick McCormick, P, “Starstruck”), 1982, (Jane Startz, EP; Doro Bachrach, P, “The Great Love Experiment”), 1984, (Milton Justice, EP; Joseph Feury, P, “Wanted: The Perfect Guy”), 1987, (Frank Doelger, EP; Roberta Rowe, P, “Taking a Stand”), 1989 and (Debra DiMaio, EP; Oprah Winfrey, Tod Lending, Ray Nunn, John Watkin, Eamon Harrington, P; “Shades of a Single Protein”), 1993; Individual Achievement in Children’s Programming (Jan Hartman, writer, “Hewitt’s Just Different”), 1978, (Larry Elikan, director, “Mom and Dad Can’t Hear Me”), 1979, (Hartman, writer; Maia Danziger, performer; Anthony Lover, director; Vincent Sklena, film editor, “The Late Great Me: Story of a Teenage Alcoholic”), 1980, (Butterfly McQueen, performer, “Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid”), 1980, (Robert E. Collins, “The Heartbreak Winner”), 1980, (George Alch, audio engineer, “A Special Gift”), 1980, (Danny Aiello, performer; Dorothy Weaver, costume designer, “A Family of Strangers”), 1981, (John Herzfeld, director, “Stoned”), 1981, (Claude Bonniere, art direction; Judi Cooper-Sealy, makeup and hair design, “My Mother Was Never a Kid”), 1982, (Arthur Schneider, videotape editing, “Andrea’s Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy”) and (Mary-Ange Ripka, videotape editing, “The Great Love Experiment”), 1984, (Cary White, design crafts, “Andrea’s Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy”), 1984; Performer in a Children’s Special (Pearl Bailey, “Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale”), 1986, (Madeline Kahn, “Wanted: The Perfect Guy”), 1987, and (Kate Burton, “Notes for My Daughter”), 1996; Directing, Children’s Special (Robert Mandel, “Andrea’s Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy”), 1984, (Joan Darling, “Mom’s on Strike”), 1985 and (Harrington, Watkin, “Positive: A Journey Into AIDS”), 1996; Writing, Children’s Special (Paul W. Cooper, “She Drinks a Little”), 1982, (Victoria Hochberg, “Just a Regular Kid: An AIDS Story”), 1988 and (Courtney Flavin, teleplay/story; Beth Thompson, Tracy Thompson, story, “A Question About Sex”), 1991; Music Composition/Direction in Children’s Programming (Elliot Lawrence, “The Unforgivable Secret”), 1982, (Lawrence, “Sometimes I Don’t Love My Mother”), 1983 and (Michael Franks, “Are You My Mother?”), 1986; Cinematography (Hanania Baer, “Andrea’s Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy”), 1984, (Barry Sonnenfeld, “Out of Step”), 1985; Film Sound Editing (David Gelfand, Laura Civiello, “Don’t Touch”), 1986 and (Greg Sheldon, Ira Spiegel, “The Gift of Amazing Grace”), 1987; Film Editing (Barbara Pokras, “The Perfect Date”), 1991; Single Camera Editing (David Leveen, “Shades of a Single Protein”), 1993 and (David Greenwald, “Girlfriend”), 1994; Film Sound Mixing (Tom Fleischman, Petur Hliddal, “Can a Guy Say No”), 1986; Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects (David E. Fluhr, Galen Handy, “Torn Between Two Fathers”), 1990 and (Fluhr; Mark Bovos, “A Question About Sex”), 1991

N: Performer in a Children’s Special (Don Murray, “Montana Crossroads”), 1994, (Kristen Cloke, “Long Road Home”), 1996 and (Grace Johnston, “Notes for My Daughter”), 1996

For 25 seasons young TV viewers grew up on these dramas and occasional comedies that pre-empted daytime programs roughly once a month every September through May. Though sometimes as heavy-handed and preachy as their titles indicated to the point of being camp (e.g., “Stoned” with teen heartthrob Scott Baio hooked on marijuana - oh my!), its noble intentions and efforts not to talk down to its audience generally paid off as solid entertainment. Ironically, its debut “The Last of the Curlews” was a cartoon from Hanna-Barbera Productions, a company whose domination of Saturday mornings in 1972 with their mostly mediocre output led to critics to demand better children’s programming like The ABC Afterschool Special. It really came into its own with the second season opener “Rookie of the Year,” featuring a typically great job by Jodie Foster as a girl wanting to play baseball in the boys’ league. The series soon dominated the daytime Emmys, including wins as Outstanding Children’s Informational Special Emmys in 1974, 1977 and 1978, and won all but three of the 50-plus Emmys for which it was nominated. Rather incredibly, it generated the only Emmy citations for Danny Aiello, Pearl Bailey, Madeline Kahn and Don Murray. It remained in Emmy contention every year it ran except from 1973, 1975, 1976, 1992 and 1995 before Disney, ABC’s new owners, took over and canned it unceremoniously in midseason - a loss for daytime network TV.

Kerew: Hitler: The Rise of Evil, Paris Trout. Bachrach: ABC Weekend Specials, Citizen Cohn, The Electric Grandmother, Truman. Doelger: CBS Schoolbreak Special, My House in Umbria. Di Maio: Oprah Talks to Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey Show. Winfrey: Oprah Talks to Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey Show, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Women of Brewster Place. Nunn: Oprah Winfrey Show. Elikann: I Know My First Name is Steven. Collins: Airwolf, Miami Vice, Peggy Fleming at Sun Valley. Weaver: NBC Special Treat. Herzfeld: Don King Only in America. Cooper-Sealy: The Martin Short Show. Schneider: The Greatest American Hero. Ripka: Life With Judy Garland, The Reagans. Cary White: Buffalo Girls, Lonesome Dove. Burton: Grey’s Anatomy. Darling: Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H. Cooper: CBS Schoolbreak Special. Hochberg: Sweet 15. Lawrence: The Edge of Night, Irving Berlin’s 100th Birthday Celebration, The Kennedy Center Honors, Night of 100 Stars, Night of 100 Stars II, ‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous, ‘S Gershwin. The Tony Awards. Baer: CBS Schoolbreak Special. Fleischman: Death of a Salesman. Fluhr: Alex Haley’s Queen, American Gothic, CBS Schoolbreak Special, The Cosby Show, Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232, Dolly, Dream On, Glenn Miler Band Reunion, Harvest of Fire, Kennedy Center Honors, Kenny, Dolly and Willie: Something Inside So Strong, Magic of David Copperfield, Murphy Brown, The Piano Lesson, Redwood Curtain, The Return of the Native, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: The 20th Reunion, The Titanic, 12 Angry Men, The Watcher. Bovos: CBS Schoolbreak Special, Words By Heart.

The ABC Comedy Hour
ABC Wednesdays 8:30-9:30 p.m.*, Jan. 12, 1972-Aug. 9, 1972

N: Videotape Editing (Mike Wenig, “The 20th Century Follies”)

In an effort to stem its competition’s huge ratings Wednesday nights in the 1971-72 season (The Carol Burnett Show and Medical Center on CBS and Columbo, McCloud, and McMillan and Wife rotating on NBC), ABC moved The Courtship of Eddie’s Father up a half hour and canceled The Smith Family to install this anthology of comedy specials. It was hopeless, although seven shows subtitled The Kopykats starring six top impressionists including Rich Little, Frank Gorshin, George Kirby and Marilyn Michaels did appear in syndicated reruns later in the 1970s. The nominated program was a pilot for an Alan King variety series that aired Feb. 16, 1972.

Wenig: Academy Awards, Love Is .. Barbara Eden.

ABC Matinee Today
ABC Weekdays 1:30-3 p.m., Dec. 3-7, 1973

W: Drama Special, Daytime (”The Other Woman”); Actor, Daytime Drama, Special (Pat O’Brien, “The Other Woman”); Daytime Actor of the Year (O’Brien, “The Other Woman”); Actress, Daytime Drama, Special (Cathleen Nesbitt, “The Mask of Love”); Daytime Actress of the Year (Nesbitt, “The Mask of Love”); Costume Design, Daytime (Bill Jobe, “The Mask of Love”); Makeup, Daytime (Douglas D. Kelly, “The Mask of Love”)

N: Director, Special Program, Daytime (Peter Levin, “The Other Woman”) and (Burt Brinckerhoff, “The Mask of Love”); Writing, Special Program, Daytime (Art Wallace, “Alone With Terror”); Editing, Daytime (Jerry Greene, “The Mask of Love”)

Like The ABC Afternoon Playbreak, which competed against it in most categories in the 1974 Emmys, this week-long slate of specials offered dramas crafted for feminine appeal. For example, “The Other Woman” had O’Brien as a doctor treating a woman pregnant by a married man, while “The Mask of Love” featured Nesbitt as the mistress of a deceased man who refused to give his personal papers to a biographer for fear of public shame. The fact that O’Brien and Nesbitt won the overall year “super” Emmys (discontinued after this one-year trial) rankled some daytime personnel who felt the comparison with special performances was unfair, which soon led to categories devoted solely to regular soap actors. By that time, ABC Matinee Today was merely a memory.

Jobe: Dark Secret of Harvest Home, Testimony of Two Men. Levin: Lou Grant, Love is a Many Splendored Thing. Brinckerhoff: Lou Grant. Wallace: All My Children. Greene: The Missiles of October, Once Upon the Brothers Grimm, Pinocchio.

ABC Presents a Royal Gala
ABC Wednesday 9:30-11 p.m., May 25, 1988

W: Individual Performance, Variety or Music (Robin Williams)

David Frost (who was also executive producer) and John Ritter co-hosted this special taped in Britain that lived up to its name by having Prince Charles and Princess Diana in the audience. Williams did his usual manic schtick and earned his second of two Emmys so far, the first for A Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin.

Williams: Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin, Comic Relief VII, Homicide: Life on the Street, Mork & Mindy, Robin Williams: Live on Broadway.

ABC Stage ‘67
ABC Wednesdays 10-11 p.m.*, Sept. 14, 1966-May 11, 1967

W: Single Performance, Actress, Leading Role (Geraldine Page, “A Christmas Memory”); Individual Achievements (Truman Capote, Eleanor Perry, adaptation, “A Christmas Memory”)

N: Variety Special (”A Time for Laughter: A Look at Negro Humor in America,” Phil Stein, P); Dramatic Program (”A Christmas Memory,” Frank Perry, P) and (”The Love Song of Barney Kempinski,” Marc Merson, P); Single Performance, Actor, Leading Role (Alan Arkin, “The Love Song of Barney Kempinski”)

Criticized for the perception that it favored potboilers over prestige, ABC released this anthology which unfortunately except for a few exceptions impressed no one. But the show’s scattershot approach and spotty overall qaulity discouraged regular viewers - note the nominations in both variety and drama categories. Its original competition, The Danny Kaye Show and I Spy, were much more focused in their efforts. Its most acclaimed presentation was “A Christmas Memory,” based on an autobiographical short story by Truman Capote (who narrated the show and won his only major entertainment award here) about spending the holiday season with his eccentric aunt - it aired Dec. 21, 1966. Interestingly, Page repeated a win in her category in 1969 when she played Aunt Sookie again in the special The Thanksgiving Visitor. Among the nominees, Merson earned an Oscar nomination for producing his 1969 Live Action Short Film People Soup, while Arkin is one of a handful of actors who won an Oscar (Little Miss Sunshine in 2006) and Tony (Enter Laughing in 1963) without claiming an Emmy too.

Page: Playhouse 90, The Thanksgiving Visitor. Eleanor Perry: The House Without a Christmas Tree. Frank Perry: Skag. Arkin: Escape from Sobibor.

ABC Theatre - See Consenting Adult, Eleanor and Franklin, I Will Fight No More Forever, Judgment: The Court-Martial of Lt. William Calley, Something About Amelia.

The ABC Weekend Special
ABC Saturdays Noon-12:30 p.m.*, Jan. 29, 1977-Aug. 30, 1997

W: Children’s Anthology/Dramatic Programming (Linda Gottlieb, EP, Doro Bachrach, P, “The Gold Bug”), 1980; Individual Achievement in Children’s Programming (Steve Atha, makeup and hair designer, “The Gold Bug”) and (Alex Thomson, cinematographer, “The Gold Bug”), 1980; Lighting Direction (Marc Palius, “Henry Hamilton, Graduate Ghost”), 1985; Hairstyling (Sherry Baker, “Pippi Longstocking”), 1986; Performance in Children’s Programming (Philip Bosco, “Read Between the Lines”), 1988; Directing, Children’s Special (Hank Sorayan, “William Saroyan’s the Parsley Garden”), 1994; Achievement, Single Camera Photography (Rick Siegel, “Crash the Curiousaurus”), 1995

N: Performance in a Children’s Special (Christopher Miranda, “William Saroyan’s the Parsley Garden”), 1994

A long-running anthology for children with live action stories and cartoons, mostly adaptations, this was ABC’s main regular “educational” programming for young viewers for two decades. A fine example for its genre, this also won the Emmy for children’s instructional/informational series in 1984. Among the winners, Thomson was an Oscar nominee for Best Cinematography for Excalibur (1981), and Hank Sorayan was no direct relation to author William Saroyan, one of whose short stories served as the source of an episode that won Hank one of his two Emmys (the other was for Muppet Babies).

Bochrach: Citizen Cohn, The Electric Grandmother, Truman. Gottlieb: Citizen Cohn, The Electric Grandmother, NBC Special Treat, Summer of My German Soldier. Atha: NBC Special Treat. Palius: Academy Awards, American Music Awards, Cheryl Ladd Special: Souvenirs, Happy 100th Birthday Hollywood, I Love Liberty. Sorayan: Muppet Babies.

ABC Wide World of Entertainment
ABC Weeknights 11:30 p.m.-Conclusion, Jan. 1, 1973-Jan. 9, 1976

W: Technical Direction and Electronic Camerawork (Gerry Bucci, technical director; Kenneth Tamburri, Dave Hilmer, Dave Smith, Jim Balden, Ron Brooks, cameramen, “In Concert With Cat Stevens”), 1974

N: Makeup (Michael G. Westmore, Marvin Westmore, “Frankenstein”), 1973; Special Classification, Outstanding Program Achievement (”Warner Bros. Movies - A 50-Year Salute”), 1974 and (”That’s Entertainment: 50 Years of MGM”), 1975; Special Classification of Outstanding Individual Achievement (Bette Davis, hostess, “Warner Bros. Movies - A 50-Year Salute”), 1974; Directing, Variety or Music (Joshua White, “In Concert With Cat Stevens”), 1974; Technical Director and Electronic Camerawork (Phil Fontana, “Goodnight America”), 1974; Film or Tape Sound Mixing (Doug Nelson, Norm Schwartz, “California Jam”), 1975; Videotape Editing (Nick V. Giordan, George Gurunian, “California Jam”), 1975

ABC competed in late nights during the mid-1970s with this potpourri of dramas, comedies, variety programs, and information specials, plus a few weeks with Dick Cavett hosting his talk show that previously occupied the slot. With such varying offerings, the series naturally never attained regular audiences, so ABC followed what CBS was doing and canned it after three years to show mostly reruns of nighttime shows until it created the news program Nightline in 1980. Emmy voters favored mostly its movie studio retrospectives and rock music shows, which were subtitled In Concert (”California Jam” was an In Concert program). One interesting note is that Michael and Marvin Westmore vied against another member of their esteemed family of makeup specialists, Frank C. Westmore for Kung Fu, for their work on a two-part version of “Frankenstein.” See also The Dick Cavett Show.

Michael Westmore: Amazing Howard Hughes, Amazing Stories, The Annihilator, 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?. Marvin Westmore: Elvis, The Rat Pack, Space Rangers, V. Davis: Little Gloria … Happy at Last, Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter, White Mama.