The Emmys are right around the corner, and this year, it’s Army versus Marines in a full-on veteran showdown. Before we get into our predictions and recap of this year’s military-centric award season, let’s take a look at the history of the Emmys – it might surprise you!
The Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards Fun Facts
The Emmy is named after the word “immy,” which is an informal term for the image orthicon tube common in the earliest iteration of television cameras. If you have no idea what an orthicon tube is, don’t worry – we didn’t either, but we weren’t surprised to find out it has military roots.
The image orthicon (IO) was used in television for about 20 years. It’s a combination of the image dissector and the orthicon. The IO was developed by RCA and was considered a huge advancement in the way images are transmitted. The National Defense Research Committed had a contract for RCA to help fine-tune the IO. By 1943, RCA was in a contract with the Navy as part of the war effort to transmit images. The first tubes were delivered to the Navy in 1944, and production for the civilian sector began shortly afterward.
But calling the award an Emmy almost didn’t happen. It was almost called the Ike, a nickname for the iconoscope tube. But Ike also happened to be the name of WWII hero and future president Dwight Eisenhower.
Keeping with its scientific history, the Emmy statue shows a winged woman holding an atom. The statue was designed by a television engineer who used his wife as the model. After it was decided to name the award after the IO, it was “feminized” to Emmy to be in line with the statue.
Emmys are divided into different categories relating to different television sectors, and this year, it’s all about the military.
Army vs. Marines
This year, Army veteran and comedic genius Fred Willard is up against Marine Corps veteran Adam Driver. Both are nominated in the Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Willard is nominated for his rendition of Frank Dunphy on the final season of Modern Family. Adam is up for the award for his hosting of Saturday Night Live.
Both actors have given stellar performances in their roles, but neither is a sure win. The category is studded with other stars like Eddie Murphy (SNL host), Brad Pitt (SNL host), along with Like Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Dev Patel (Modern Love). The group has collectively earned eight Oscar nominations and two wins, along with nine Emmy nominations and one win.
Last year, Luke Kirby won an Emmy for playing Lenny Bruce, so he may get a repeat performance this year. However, Brad Pitt is definitely on a winning streak. He’s won every single award connected to his “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” so there’s a good chance he’ll walk away with the victory.
But, since Eddie Murphy has never won an Emmy, lots of Hollywood insiders think he’s overdue.
Speaking of overdue, Adam Driver has never won an Emmy either. He’s been nominated three times for his role on “Girls” and two Oscar nominations, so he’s definitely due his props.
Here at We Are The Mighty, we’re going to place our bets on Fred Willard’s Modern Family performance. The late great had four previous Emmy nominations (one for playing Frank Dunphy and three for playing Hank on Everybody Loves Raymond), and he’s never won. It’s almost difficult to believe, especially given his extended and storied Hollywood career.
Of course, there are no posthumous-specific awards, but Hollywood is all about honoring the recently deceased. Chances are pretty good that Fred’s performance might win him the Emmy after all. His Modern Family role was one of the best things about a show that’s lost some of its staying power.
Other military-centric nominations include:
Chasing the Moon, a PBS documentary about the NASA program and the moon landing, has been nominated for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.
The Plot Against America, HBO’s WWII alternate history series, has been nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie.