Will Stephen Sondheim Ever Win The EGOT?

[Timon3]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 4:08pm

Maybe a bit late, but wouldn’t be wonderful if Stephen won it still post humorous.

For the record he needs the Emmy.

Neither has Alan Jay Lerner, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Losser and Benj Pasek/Justin Paul & Jule Styne.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 4:10pm

“post humorous”?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 5:12pm

The ship has sailed.

He is not alive to compose, write, narrate, or produce any new work for a telecast. And archival work wouldn't be eligible. If Here We Are premiered as a television film, for example, or if he had specifically written a song for a TV series, then he would have been eligible.

During his lifetime, someone could have thrown his name on a telecast as an executive producer even if he had no official involvement (such as the '02 Sweeney concert which won Lonny Price and its producers an Emmy). But that didn't happen.

Updated On: 1/20/24 at 05:12 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 5:44pm

Maybe an unpopular opinion but the EGOT status has lost a lot of its “prestige” (for lack of a better word coming to mind) as of late since anyone who wants to put some cash in and have their name associated with a project can do so. 

[Marlothom]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 6:06pm

Particularly those "producer" Tony winners.  

[JoeW4]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 7:01pm

I don't know much about Emmy rules, but both the Oscars and the Tonys have given posthumous nominations for writing, in cases where the creators of the adaptation decided to give the source author writing credit. TS Elliott for the "book" of Cats, and August Wilson for the "adapted" screenplay of the Fences film.

It's trickier with Sondheim because he generally wrote songs, not scripts. But what if someone did a word-for-word remake of Last of Sheila as a TV movie, or turned Getting Away With Murder into a TV Movie? Would the Emmys have a rule against him being eligible then?

Incidentally, I'd happily watch either of those.

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 9:31pm

I have always believed that if Sondheim had wanted the EGOT he would have writing a song for TV to get the Emmy.

The fact that he didn't ever bother speaks volumes.

 

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 10:19pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Maybe an unpopular opinion but the EGOT status has lost a lot of its “prestige” (for lack of a better word coming to mind) as of late since anyone who wants to put some cash in and have their name associated with a project can do so."

It's nothing but an acronym coined by the less-famous "Miami Vice" actor and popularized by a sitcom. It's amazing anyone's ever taken it too seriously.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 10:20pm

As for the topic at hand, if the Emmys can justify giving all the "Hamilton" actors nominations for filmed versions of their Broadway performances, anything is possible.

[NightMusic3]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 10:36pm

It's not out of the question. Along with The Last of Sheila, he and Anthony Perkins wrote treatments/scripts for two additional murder mysteries, The Chorus Girl Murder Case (a musical) and Crime and Variations. According to an interview with Sondheim from the 90s, the latter is/was owned by HBO. 

http://www.sondheim.com/features/stephen_sondheim.html

I'm not sure how complete either script is. There's been a lot of interest in Sondheim since his death and an increase in popularity in whodunnits and murder mysteries (Knives Out, Branagh's Poirot, etc). You'd think there would be some interest in producing them for TV or film. 

Updated On: 1/20/24 at 10:36 PM

[John Adams]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 10:51pm

RUkiddingme said: "I have always believed that if Sondheim had wanted the EGOT he would have writing a song for TV to get the Emmy.

The fact that he didn't ever bother speaks volumes.
"

He bothered...  "Evening Primrose" was written for TV and aired on ABC on November 16, 1966.

Updated On: 1/20/24 at 10:51 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/20/24 at 10:54pm

MemorableUserName said: "Jordan Catalano said: "Maybe an unpopular opinion but the EGOT status has lost a lot of its “prestige” (for lack of a better word coming to mind) as of late since anyone who wants to put some cash in and have their name associated with a project can do so."

It's nothing but an acronym coined by the less-famous "Miami Vice" actor and popularized by a sitcom. It's amazing anyone's ever taken it too seriously."

100% agree.  Some recent adds are a joke.  

If he had even cared, I imagine Sondheim would have been more pleased with his Pulitzer and Kennedy Center Honors, in addition to all the other ones that I am not thinking about right now.

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 1/21/24 at 12:18am

John Adams said: "RUkiddingme said: "I have always believed that if Sondheim had wanted the EGOT he would have writing a song for TV to get the Emmy.

The fact that he didn't ever bother speaks volumes.
"

He bothered... "Evening Primrose" was written for TV and aired on ABC on November 16, 1966."

I'm pretty sure when he sat down to write Evening Primrose it wasn't to win an EGOT.

[ggersten]

Posted: 1/21/24 at 12:52pm

Marlothom said: "Particularly those "producer" Tony winners."

and the Emmys for singing a song from a show the person is performing on Broadway on a talk show -  Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program  - although that category seems to have been discontinued. .

Broadway winners were: Cynthia Erivo & Cast of The Color Purple

Cast of The Band's Visit

Ben Platt and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen