BetteBack September 18, 1978: Bette Midler Wins Her First Emmy

Altoona Mirror
September 18, 1978

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PASADENA, Calif. (UPI) – The miniseries “Holocaust” and situation comedy “All in the Family” captured six awards each to lead winners at the 30th Annual Television Academy Emmy Awards presentations Sunday night.

But the big winner of the night was President Carter, whose 30-minute nationwide news conference announcing a Middle
East peace pre-empted the awards ceremony.

CBS already had been grumbling earlier that the television industry’s biggest night of self-congratulation was being sabotaged by the two other networks, who were accused of upstaging the extavaganza with big-draw programs.

In opposition to the Emmy program, NBC scheduled “Dumbo” and “King Kong” while ABC debuted its space opera “Battlestar Gaiactica.”

Ironically, NBC won 21 Emmys to lie with CBS in the network battle of the awards. ABC, which led in the Nielson ratings lor the 1977-78 season, was third with 19 and PBS won seven Emmys.

Carter’s half-hour bite into the telecast lengthened the Emmys show to more than four long hours. During President
Carter’s news conference, carried on monitors Inside the huge Pasadena Civic Auditorium, most of the 2,900 spectators and celebrities left their seats for a cigarette break outside.

“Holocaust,” the minseries about Jews caught up in the Nazi atrocities of the 1930s and ’40s, captured the Emmy for
outstanding limited series and its stars, Meryl Streep and Michael Moriarty, won for best actress and best actor.

The show also won for outstanding director, Marvin Chomsky, best supporting actress, Blanche Baker, and best writing, Gerald Green. “Holocaust” also won two Kraft awards for editing and costume design.

The 8-year-old show “All in the Family” won the Emmy for best comedy series. Its stars, Carroll O’Conner, Jean Stapleton and Rob Reiner captured best acting awards and Paul Bogart won for best director.

During the show, winner Carrol O’Connor suffered a nose bleed and had to leave the presentations.

Old-timer Fred Astaire won the award for outstanding actor in a drama-comedy special for his performance in “A family
Upside Down.” Astaire, the only performer to receive a standing ovation during the marathon program, still holds the
all-time’record when he got 11 Emmys more than a decade ago for a television special.

Joanne Woodward won the Emmy for best actress in a drama-comedy special for her performance in “See How She Runs.”

Weekly series winner for best drama was “The Rockford Files,” but honors went to Sada Thompson of “Family” and Edward Asner of “Lou Grant” for best performances In a dramatic series.

The children’s special award was won by “Halloween is Grinch Night” and the outstanding comedy-variety-music series award was won by “The Muppets Show.”

There were a total of 348 nominations In 75 categories, but only 42 awards were presented.

Outstanding special drama-comedy award went to “The Gathering” and best special comedy-variety-music show went to “Bette Midler – 01′ Red Hair is Back.” Winner for best information special was “The Great White Whales.”

Rita Moreno won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a single performance in “The Rockford Files,” and Barnard
Hughes won the best lead actor in a single appearance for “Lou Grant.”

Winner for the outstanding classical program in the performing arts was American Ballet Theater’s “Geselle: Live from
Lincoln Center.”

The special program achievement award went to ‘”The Tonight Show.”

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