Alan Menkin is a "real" EGOT now!

Prolific composer Alan Menken has won an astonishing eight Oscars, 11 Grammys and a Tony Award, but the Emmy that would make him only the 13th member of the exclusive EGOT club — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner — has been surprisingly elusive. In fact, he has only been nominated twice, including this year.

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Updated On: 6/2/21 at 12:45 AM

I mean there's not EGOT committee that sets rules, but traditionally only competitive awards count.

raddersons said: "I mean there's not EGOT committee that sets rules, but traditionally only competitive awards count."

Well, someone better not let Streisand know this. Her Tony Award is an honorary one. She was nominated twice competitively but lost both times.

everythingtaboo said: "Barbra and Liza are EGOT by honorary award, and technically so is Whoopi. But I would allow it, because it's usually recognizing their bodies of work."

Whoopi has won competitive awards for all four.

BrodyFosse123 said: "raddersons said: "I mean there's not EGOT committee that sets rules, but traditionally only competitive awards count."

Well, someone better not let Streisand know this. Her Tony Award is an honorary one. She was nominated twice competitively but lost both times."



The closest thing we have to an "EGOT committee" (lol) is whoever runs the Wikipedia page. And whoever made this list decided to create a separate section for people who have won an EGOT through 1 or more honorary awards. Streisand is on that separate list, along with Liza, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, and Harry Bellafonte.



"My real issue is with the recent influx of EGT winners like Cynthia and Ben who got three-quarters of the way there playing the same role. If they ever do get an Oscar, I would always put a huge asterisk next to their EGOT."



I agree with you, but I think this just speaks to how the EGOT concept as a whole just isn't the best way of measuring someone's talent or even necessarily their career achievement. There are wildly talented, incredibly accomplished artists who aren't even close to getting an EGOT. And then there are people who win these awards partly on a technicality, whether that's because the Emmys and the Grammys both have so many categories that leave room for the kind of situation your describing, or because people can win by co-producing something without really putting in any effort.

Even songwriters (who make up all 5 of the most recent EGOT additions) don't necessarily have to do a lot of work to get their Oscar or their Emmy, depending on the situation. I often think about how Pasek and Paul both have Oscars because of the song "City of Stars" - which is basically a simple little ditty, for which each of them presumably wrote HALF of the JUST the lyrics, not even the music. Also, because Pasek & Paul seem to always share credit, it's even possible one of them didn't participate in writing those simple lyrics, and still won an Oscar regardless. I'm not trying to bash Pasek & Paul (though I do think that Oscar should have gone to LMM for Moana) I'm just saying that certain situations allow for people to win awards without putting in much effort, and that's part of the reason awards are a bad measure of people's accomplishments.

John Legend has the EGOT the same way Whoopi does (Tony and Emmy for Producing). I hate to be the one to point this put, BUT there was also a time when winning a Daytime Emmy wasn't considered to be a real "E" in the EGOT. I say screw 'em!

Also, as mentioned above, the Ben Platt's of the "EGOT" community who won most of their awards for the same thing are kind of ridiculous. I mean the Grammy and Emmy he, Cynthia Erivo, etc. are (to me) just happened to be in the biggest musical of that year. I mean, how many times have those awards been given to the show that didn't win Best Musical/Revival or Best Actor/Actress?

Updated On: 7/27/20 at 04:22 PM

^Just looked at the 1970 Tony Awards page, and I see that her special Tony is listed as "Star of the Decade" - I guess they felt that her emergence as an artist from her Broadway performance was impactful enough to earn her that "title."

Also, on a separate note:

The great irony of the whole "non-competative awards don't count" idea is that special awards are arguably more prestigious; you have to really make an impact, really achieve something, really stand out in a significant way. You can't just be the best in that category in that year. Plus, by sheer numbers, special Tonys are more difficult to earn. Especially Lifetime Achievement awards; a Lifetime Achievement award at the Tonys or the Oscars is undoubtedly more meaningful in spirit than an award for a single performance. ESPECIALLY when you consider everything I said in my last post about circumstantial awards, and everything people have been saying about TV performances and cast albums, etc.

Playbill_Trash said: "I’m sorry, but winning an Emmy for just doing a press performance to promote your broadway show should not even be eligible. All Ben and Cynthia did was fill the press obligations in their contract. And frankly the same for being on their albums. They only deserve their Tonys. "

I’m not sure if you mean eligible for the Emmy or for the EGOT. If it’s the former, the award was “Best Musical Performance in a Daytime Program.” The Emmys have a bajillion categories and for some reason that was one of them and Erivo and Platt clearly fell in that category so I don’t see a problem. If you mean the latter, they can’t be eligible for an EGOT because that’s not a thing.

Updated On: 7/27/20 at 09:54 PM

The Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program Emmy no longer exists, and it was only given out from 2016-2019. Regardless, does anyone really care that Cynthia Erivo, Ben Platt, Rachel Bay Jones, Katrina Lenk, and Ari'el Stachel only need the Oscar to achieve the EGOT? Echoing what hork said, it's not a real award, and it only exists in the ether of pop culture, so does it matter how anyone gets it?

nealb1 said: "When Barbra received her special Tony Award, she was under no obligation to do another Broadway show. It was an award, not a bargaining chip. Then the same can be said of many other Tony winners after they have received their Tony."

I never said she was obligated to do another show, I’m just pointing out how her honorary award is quite weird given her limited involvement with Broadway.