People are humorous little creatures. We love making lists, collaborating in oddball competitions, and creating weirdly particular metrics to be happy with — all quirks that be part of collectively within the annual EGOT watch, when followers and file keepers alike obsess over who would be the subsequent creator to snag not one, not two, however all 4 of the leisure trade’s most prestigious awards: the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony.
To EGOT (as a result of this acronym will be each a noun and a verb) is a genuinely uncommon accomplishment and in addition a curious one. In any case, loads of of us have the Emmy and the Oscar, however together with the Grammy and the Tony makes issues actually attention-grabbing. It’s the distinctive entertainer who’s booked and busy, not simply on screens large and small, however within the music studio and onstage. In different phrases, it actually is, as 30 Rock put it, “a superb aim for a proficient loopy individual!”
Regardless of the lengthy odds, no fewer than 19 proficient creators have pulled it off — 25 for those who rely “honorary” awards (although whether or not these ought to rely is a topic of heated debate). The latest entry into the clubhouse? Elton John, who snagged the EGOT title in January after garnering an Emmy for his glitzy farewell live performance. Discuss going out on prime!
EGOT watchers and betting rings are already paying detailed consideration to who’s up subsequent within the EGOT lineup. 2024’s greatest shot most likely goes to the songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who might nab a few Emmys this fall. The upcoming Grammy awards gained’t see any winners crossing the EGOT threshold, however the infamously lengthy record of nominees might push a number of entertainers one award nearer to the coup.
The subsequent actual shot anybody has at snagging the EGOT arrives in June, when hip-hop artist Frequent might win a producer Tony for this season’s revival of The Wiz — although if that occurs, it gained’t be with out ruffling the feathers of those that suppose producer credit shouldn’t rely towards the EGOT.
Why a lot drama over an acronym? Can we actually connect goal which means and worth to successful 4 pretty disparate awards? And why is the EGOT subject so crowded with musical theater composers?
We’re glad you requested! Learn on — we’ve acquired solutions to all this and extra.
How do you pronounce “EGOT”?
This isn’t probably the most urgent concern, however the common consensus is that it’s “E-Acquired.” That’s additionally the pronunciation used within the 30 Rock episodes that popularized the entire notion.
Nonetheless, we’d be remiss to not level out the alternate and much more appropriate pronunciation, “ego,” with the appropriately pretentious silent “T.” That’s “ego,” as within the factor that expands proportionately with every ticked merchandise on the EGOT guidelines. Clearly, that is the truest pronunciation, and we is not going to be taking questions at the moment.
Who got here up with the concept of the EGOT?
Miami Vice star Philip Michael Thomas will get credited with the unique concept, due to his willpower to win all 4 awards, manifested in a gold necklace he wore, engraved with the letters “EGOT.”
However it’s actually Tracy Morgan’s 30 Rock character Tracy Jordan, and his hilarious quest to attain the EGOT for himself all through the fourth and fifth seasons of the present, that put the idea on the cultural panorama beginning in 2009. Tracy sees Thomas’s necklace someday in a jewellery retailer, and when he learns what the acronym means, he makes it his mission to drag off the feat. His quest leads him to do every thing from juicing up a script for Garfield to starring in a North Korean propaganda film reverse Kim Jong-Il.
As for Thomas, whereas he snagged a Golden Globe nomination for Miami Vice, he by no means achieved any of the 4 coveted wins. He as soon as instructed Individuals that the acronym actually stood for “vitality, development, alternative, and expertise,” and far later instructed Vox sister website Thrillist, “There’s issues a lot extra fascinating than this, what you’re speaking about,” when questioned about his response to the time period’s legacy.
And he’s not improper!
Who’re some well-known EGOT winners?
One attention-grabbing factor concerning the EGOT sweep is that whereas the acronym seems skewed towards actors over musicians, extra EGOTs have gone to musical theater composers than to anybody else. A take a look at the lists of names among the many EGOT and “EGOT-minus-one” winners presents one a broad swath of musical theater historical past, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Pasek and Paul.
That’s undoubtedly as a result of musical composers so typically get tapped to do scores for different mediums. Musical composers additionally achieve Grammy wins extra simply than, say, actors — normally for Finest Musical Theater Album, an award that’s modified names a number of occasions however which has been a Grammy mainstay since 1959.
The truth is, Richard Rodgers, composer of Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, and lots of different beloved musicals, was the primary individual to attain all 4 EGOT awards. And of all EGOT winners, solely Rodgers and one other musical composer, Marvin Hamlisch, have gained the coveted Pulitzer “PEGOT” extension. Rodgers gained for South Pacific; Hamlisch for A Refrain Line.
The record of different EGOT winners contains performing legends like Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, and Viola Davis, who exclaimed, “I simply E-GOT!” upon successful the Grammy in 2023. Mel Brooks is the one EGOT winner so far who gained no less than certainly one of his awards for writing.
The variety of people who find themselves only one award away from an EGOT makes for an equally attention-grabbing record. Stephen Sondheim sadly missed out on the EGOT by an Oscar (although he additionally gained a Pulitzer); Kate Winslet’s son needs her to win an EGOT, however she’ll have to come back to Broadway to get it. Different one-aways like Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese aren’t prone to make it to Broadway to get that remaining trophy, however producing might give them a means in — although some individuals, who take the EGOT recreation very critically certainly, argue that taking such “shortcuts” taints the entire recreation.
And folks take the EGOT recreation very critically, certainly.
Individuals take very critically the query of what does and doesn’t rely in an EGOT
Though the EGOT gained popular culture cred as a working sitcom joke, individuals had been actually intrigued by the concept — sufficient in order that they combat over what “counts” as an EGOT win, what shouldn’t rely, and what does rely however shouldn’t.
For instance, many individuals have noticed that the quickest solution to an EGOT is for a Hollywood sort in any other case uninvolved with theater to signal on as last-minute producer of a Broadway musical with large Tony prospects — not in contrast to the aforementioned Frequent with The Wiz. Many EGOT watchers take into account this transfer “dishonest.” TheatreMania’s Zachary Stewart opined final 12 months over “brazen EGOT-hunters” who’ve crowded the Broadway producer subject within the hope of scoring an award; in any case, if anybody can win a Tony for producing, does the Tony itself imply as a lot because it used to?
“In case your expertise is the flexibility to write down a big verify, it shouldn’t actually be thought-about in the identical league,” Stewart lamented, as a win by somebody whose cultural contributions are arguably a lot bigger, like lots of the musical theater composers who’ve EGOT’d over time. Nonetheless, if EGOT chasers assist get extra exhibits to the Nice White Manner in a beleaguered theater panorama, I say: Right here’s your carrot, go chase it, reside your dream.
It additionally bears noting that cultural impression varies wildly; one individual’s Richard Rodgers might be one other individual’s Frequent. Not solely that, however typically dishonest your solution to an EGOT is perhaps thought-about a superbly legitimate transfer relying on who’s doing the dishonest. Prime working example: Barbra Streisand, who regardless of being inarguably the best musical theater diva of the twentieth century, has by no means truly gained a efficiency Tony. (She was nominated twice however misplaced each occasions; her 1964 nomination for Humorous Lady, a job for which she later gained the Oscar, misplaced out to Carol Channing in Hiya, Dolly!.)
Streisand was ultimately given a particular Tony Award in 1970 for Star of the Decade, which instantly sealed her EGOT, since by that time she’d already gained an Oscar, an Emmy, and a number of Grammy awards. But she’s not typically included as an “official” EGOT winner, however moderately as a aspect notice “non-competitive EGOT winner,” together with six different performers and producers who gained particular awards.
As Billboard’s Paul Grein places it, that’s as a result of “the entire level is to have gained the awards in competitors.” Is that the purpose, although? Who’s gonna inform Babs she didn’t actually earn an EGOT? Who’s on the market gatekeeping residing legend Quincy Jones, one other “honorary” EGOT winner, simply because his 29 Grammy wins don’t stack as much as one lacking aggressive Oscar?
All of this nitpicking actually underscores how arbitrary a lot of that is, how a lot the EGOT is biased towards stage and display performers, and the way a lot of it appears to be about gatekeeping what’s and isn’t a “legitimate” award.
Take the Emmys. One other path extensively derided as a “shortcut” was the short-lived Emmy honor for Excellent Musical Efficiency in a Daytime Program, a slot that allowed a slew of Broadway performers to choose up nominations and awards only for stopping by a chat present and singing a music or two.
The record of people that might quickly EGOT simply from this trick alone contains musical stars Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Katrina Lenk, who, as Grein identified, all acquired their Emmys only for selling their hit musicals. Ought to that rely? The Emmys in the end determined the reply was no; the award lasted simply three years earlier than it was eradicated in 2019. (Noting that Platt et al. get to maintain their awards, Grein added, “It’s not their fault that the Daytime Emmys made it too straightforward for them.” Too straightforward! You attempt performing a Broadway present eight occasions per week after which serving a aspect efficiency so good it will get Emmy consideration, sir!)
Then once more, many individuals imagine that the Daytime Emmys themselves shouldn’t “rely” towards an EGOT. This was additionally an concept 30 Rock floated, in a well-known episode the place Tracy Jordan tells Whoopi Goldberg her EGOT isn’t reliable as a result of she solely gained her Emmy — twice — for her work in daytime tv.
In fact, when 30 Rock did it, it was a joke. The extra severe consideration given to the query appears to be primarily based on the sensation that the Daytime Emmys are much less prestigious and even much less demanding of the creatives and journalists who do daytime TV work.
Maybe there’s a kernel of reality to that; in any case, Eminem, who solely has one letter to go, the “T,” gained his Daytime Emmy for a Chrysler industrial. Nonetheless, that form of win would appear to indict the awards system, moderately than the pursuit of an EGOT itself.
That brings us to the fuzziest EGOT-related query of all: What else can we stack onto it?
What’s a PEGOT?
A “PEGOT” is an EGOT with both a Pulitzer or a Peabody award tacked on to it.
What? No one is certain which it’s?
The individuals who imagine the “P” stands for “Peabody” embrace Rita Moreno followers, who notice she grew to become the primary Latina EGOT-plus-Peabody winner in 2017, and the Peabody Awards themselves, which congratulated Moreno on her PEGOT win and at one time declared the sweep “the last word showbiz coup.”
Figuring out Peabody winners as “PEGOT” contenders appears to have caught on lately, maybe partially as a result of the Peabody Awards are given to a broad number of media and inventive works. Nonetheless, it ain’t precisely straightforward to drag off a PEGOT by way of the Peabody: If South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone ever win an Oscar, they’ll be simply the fourth and fifth individuals to have performed it.
That stated, most individuals appear to lean towards the concept the “P” stands for the way more prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Successful a Pulitzer alongside the EGOT is a far rarer distinction as a result of the Pulitzer rewards literary and journalistic advantage — therefore why to date solely two musical theater composers have PEGOT’d on this course. As soon as Lin-Manuel Miranda lastly wins an Oscar, he’ll grow to be the third Pulitzer PEGOT winner.
Miranda, regardless of not having truly EGOT’d but, additionally has the excellence of getting one other EGOT hybrid coined round him: the “MacPEGOT,” which incorporates successful a famend MacArthur Genius Grant. Miranda even has some followers going for the “MacPEGOTO” — the MacArthur fellowship, the Pulitzer, the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, the Tony, and London’s Olivier Award, which Miranda has additionally gained. Twice.
One needn’t let the absence of a Peabody or a Pulitzer cease their acronymic ascendence, both. Mel Brooks declared himself an “EGOTAK” winner after he gained recognition from each the American Movie Institute and the Kennedy Middle Honors. Some EGOT-lytes have proposed tacking on the Golden Globes to create the “EGGOT.”
Plus, there are all the time different prestigious meta-awards you possibly can monitor. There’s the Appearing Triple Crown, or books and authors which have gained each the Hugo and the Nebula, or my private favourite, the decennial Sight and Sound High 10 record, which polls critics for his or her prime 10 movies, then compiles and ranks the votes. Certain, it might be much less action-packed than the yearly EGOT watch, however nothing says dedication like ready many years for every other film to unseat Citizen Kane. (That lastly occurred in 2012, first with Vertigo, after which once more in 2022 with Jeanne Dielman.)
See? Everybody wants a gratuitous record of completely arbitrary standards to really feel passionately about. The EGOTs might have solely ascended within the popular culture panorama 15 years in the past, however spiritually, they’ve all the time been with us.
