The 29th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 11, 1977. The ceremony was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. It was hosted by

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

and Robert Blake. The top shows of the night were ''

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

'', which, in its final season, won its third consecutive Outstanding Comedy Series Award, it also became the first comedy series to gain eleven major nominations (since broken). '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', also in its final season, won its third Outstanding Drama Series Award in four years (it competed as a miniseries in 1976, and won that category too). But the overwhelming champion of the ceremony was the miniseries ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

''. ''Roots'' set several milestones and broke multiple records during the night. It became the first show to receive at least twenty major nominations (21). Adding its nominations in

Creative Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...

categories, its total expands to 37. Both records still stand for all shows. It was the first show to gain every nomination in an acting category. Its thirteen acting nominations tied the record set the previous year by '' Rich Man, Poor Man''. ''Roots'' became the first miniseries, and second show overall, along with ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, to win six of seven major categories. All but one of ''Roots'' eight episodes were nominated for major awards (Part VII). Other distinctions included Mary Kay Place winning a Major Acting award for a TV show ('' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'') that had no major network, only broadcast in Syndication - the first time this rare feat has occurred. Also, with actress

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...

's win for her guest appearance on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'', she became the third person after

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

and

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

to achieve all four major entertainment awards (

EGOT EGOT, an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, is the designation given to people who have won all four of the major performing art awards in the United States. Respectively, these awards honor outstanding achievements in telev ...

). With this ceremony, the Primetime Emmys began a long residency at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium that would continue until 1997.

Winners and nominees

Emmys.com list of 1977 Nominees & Winners
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Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Single performances

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

;By network "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.

Most major awards

;Notes

References

External links

* at Emmys.com * {{Authority control 029 1977 television awards 1977 in California September 1977 in the United States