This article originally run away following the 2016 Daytime Emmy nominating speech announcement .
With each yr of accolade nominating speech , a prime grouping of Hollywood hotshots inch a act closer to fulfilling their EGOT dreams . The EGOT , of track , tolerate for Emmy , Grammy , Oscar , Tony , and winning the four required awards is so hard that , to particular date , only 15 peopleare appendage of this more and more discussed and completely unofficial club .
Or is it fewer ? Two EGOTers , Whoopi Goldberg andFrozencomposer Robert Lopez , seal the raft via Daytime Emmys or else of the more prestigious ones handed out for primetime fodder . Whoopi herself even joked about it in a cameo on30 Rock , after Tracy Morgan ’s EGOT - obsessed Tracy Jordan fundamentally give her accomplishment an star because of the less Emmy . " Still number ! " quips Goldberg . " Girl ’s puzzle ta eat ! " But it ’s worth discussing : Should a Daytime Emmy consider toward an EGOT ? Or does a straight EGOT take a Primetime Emmy ?
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To find out , we get it on we had to take our questions directly to the source of all things EGOT : Philip Michael Thomas , the former carbon monoxide gas - asterisk of the 1984 - 1990 primetime seriesMiami Vice , who coined the term as a mantra signification " vim , outgrowth , Opportunity , and Talent " but acknowledged its double significance as far back as a1985Peopleprofile . Luckily , Thrillist attended an event commemorating the135th anniversary of Thomas ' English Muffins , where PMT and other notable Thomases had gathered for a free breakfast , and he finally cleared up this vexing EGOT disputation . Or at least we imagine he did .
Here ’s our burning question : does a Daytime Emmy matter toward an EGOT?No , no , no – you have to succeed the Emmy , the Grammy , the Oscar , and the Tony . There are [ four awards ] . There ’s only five or six or seven people that have it – Barbra Streisand and a few others . [ Note : Streisand does technically does not have an EGOT , as her Tony is a non - competitive " Star of the Decade " prize . ]
Whoopi Goldberg is a known EGOT winner , but she acquire with a Daytime Emmy . Is that legit?No , no , no .
30 Rock | NBC
No ? It ’s got to be a Primetime Emmy?No , no , whatever . you may make headway all four of those awards – however you get it . But it ’s not really about the honor . If you study to be a doc , you want a degree , proper ?
Yeah . Okay . If you ’re study to be a lawyer , you require a arcdegree .
Yeah . In the amusement business , it ’s about accomplishing your goal and eventually win at your trade . If you ’re star on Broadway , you require to win a Tony . You star on television , you require to win an Emmy . You star on film ? Oscar . Okay ? Same affair .
So should there be a young phrase for masses who ’ve complete an EGOT via a Daytime Emmy ? The DEGOT?You got to remember , this is 30 year ago . And when I coined the phrase , it had nothing to do with being limited . So if somebody else require to have a DEGOT , they could . They could have a ZEGOT . You could have the Zest Awards .
A - ha , so it ’s hunky-dory for someone with a Daytime Emmy but not a Primetime Emmy to say , " I won an EGOT , " because they do have an Emmy of some form . I have no jurisdiction over any of that .
I know , but just in good play . No , I have no legal power over that .
But as the person who coined the phrase , your news carry a little free weight . So if you say that a Daytime Emmy counts for an EGOT , it would . I’m pretty trusted it would .
Okay . Would it number for you ?
No . Okay – it ’s still an Emmy .
Yes . Yeah . [ squeeze my dimpled chad ] You ’re too cunning . Have you succeed any of those awards ?
No . Oh . Okay . you could .
Has it surprise you to see the term " EGOT " become so commonplace?Do you knowMiami Vice ?
I do . Okay . Do you know Broadway ?
Yeah . What else do you roll in the hay ?
sport . Okay , you give me a sport .
baseball game . Karate . Tennis .
What about it ? Are we just naming sports?What about it ? There ’s things so much more fascinating than this , what you ’re talking about .
Are you surprised that the EGOT is part of your legacy?My bequest is being right here with Thomas ' English Muffins , celebrating the 135 - class anniversary of this fabulous name that I was born with . And I ’ve been in the entertainment business professionally since 1968 , and I ’m not go to retire . So I do n’t know what tomorrow brings . But it ’s a continuum .
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Jenna Marotta is a contributing author for Thrillist Entertainment and her EGOT - obsessed editor program John Sellers think she should win an EGOT just for this audience alone .
