In news– On winning an Emmy for his narration of the Netflix nature documentary, Our Great National Parks, former US president Barack Obama has recently achieved half ‘EGOT’ status.
What is it?
- EGOT is the acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – arguably the highest honours in popular performing arts given in America, in the fields of TV, music, acting and theatre, respectively.
- Those who have won at least one award from each category are deemed as having achieved EGOT status and are often regarded as some of the greatest artists in the West.
- TEGOT can be achieved in a person’s entire career and there is no time frame for it.
- A genuine EGOT means a competitive category award, such as Best Actor or Album of Year, and not awards that are there to honour certain individuals, like a career achievement award.
- Only two people ever have received an EGOT along with the Pulitzer prize, awarded for work in newspapers, magazines, online journalism, literature, and musical composition – US composers Richard Rodgers and Marvin Hamlisch.
- Only one person has ever achieved double EGOT status, American songwriter Robert Lopez, who was also the youngest-ever recipient at the age of 39.
- Similar concepts are popular in tennis, related to the four Grand Slams or the biggest tournaments that happen in a year, in which tennis is played on a range of surfaces, like grass (Wimbledon) and clay (French Open).
- Winning a career grand slam means winning all four tournaments at least once in a career.
- A calendar slam means winning all four in a single year, while a career golden slam means winning a gold Olympics medal in your career as well. Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the only golden slam winners.
- Some popular EGOTs are Audrey Hepburn, playwright Andrew Lloyd Webber and musician John Legend.
Emmy award-
- Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit (mainly Excellence in the television industry)in United States television.
- It was first awarded in 1949.
- An Emmy is considered one of the four major American awards for performing arts and entertainment.
- The Emmy statuette, depicting a winged woman holding an atom, is named after “immy”, an informal term for the image orthicon tube that was common in early television cameras.
Grammy award-
- It is an award presented by the Recording Academy to recognize “Outstanding Achievement in the music industry” of the United States.
- The trophy depicts a gilded gramophone.
- Presented by The Recording Academy, the Grammy was first awarded in 1959.
Oscar award-
- The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry.
- It was first awarded in 1929.
- Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership.
- The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the “Academy Award of Merit”, although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the “Oscar”.
- The statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style.
Tony award-
- The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre.
- It was first awarded in 1947.
- The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan.
Note: All the mentioned awards belong to the US.
Source: The Indian Express
