EGOT

About

EGOT is an acronym for the four major awards given in entertainment (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) and has become an unofficial achievement for members of the entertainment community.

Origin

In 1984, during an interview with the Associated Press, actor Philip Michael Thomas, who had just taken a leading role on the television series Miami Vice, said that he planned on winning an EGOT.^[1] He said, "That stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Hopefully in the next five years I will win all those awards." Thomas would later have the letter engraved onto a necklace (shown below).

Spread

On November 1st, 1985, in an interview with Playboy,^[2] Thomas and co-star Don Johnson were asked about their relationship on set. Thomas responded, " We also trained with each other. I told Don about my goal, EGOT, which stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony – I want to win or be nominated for each award in the next five years. And he told me about dreams he wanted to develop."

However, Thomas later retracted what the acronym stood for, telling the Miami Herald^[1] in 1986, "It means Energy, Growth, Opportunity, and Talent. It’s also a character I’ve created. A mythical space character that I’m going to put in one of my videos. He’s an angel of light that comes from outer space. On the way … he passes E.T. going home."

On December 3rd, 2009, EGOT returned to the public consciousness in an episode of 30 Rock entitled "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001."^[3] In the episode, Tracy Jordan (portrayed by Tracey Morgan) finds Thomas' EGOT necklace in a jewelry store and makes winning "an EGOT" his personal goal. He wears the necklace throughout the episode (clip below).

According to the Atlantic, following the episode, the acronym became a commonly used term for people in Awards circles. They write, "In January 2010, less than a month after the episode aired, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a listing noting that Marvin Hamlisch had 'an EGOT.’ That same month, the Palm Springs Desert Sun ran an interview with Lily Tomlin, describing how 'Tomlin, who turned 70 in September, is one Oscar short of joining 10 performers who have won the showbiz grand slam known as the EGOT.'"

In 2016, Thrillist^[4] spoke with Thomas about history's few EGOT winners, delineating between real winners and incomplete EGOT recipients.

Here's our burning question: does a Daytime Emmy count toward an EGOT?
No, no, no -- you have to win the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony. There are [four awards]. There's only five or six or seven people that have it -- Barbra Streisand and a few others. [Note: Streisand does [sic] technically does not have an EGOT, as her Tony is a non-competitive "Star of the Decade" award.]

Whoopi Goldberg is a known EGOT winner, but she won with a Daytime Emmy. Is that legit?
No, no, no.

On February 21st, 2019, The Ringer^[6] published "'Who’s an EGOT?': How ‘30 Rock’ Made a Fake Award Into a Real-Life Goal," a history and summation on 30 Rock's role in the history of the EGOT.

Various Examples

External References