Most exclusive awards club in the entertainment world
Whoopi Goldberg
When stars win prestigious awards for excellence, they are lionized by the arts and show biz community and hailed as the best of the best.
But, a few truly exceptional luminaries have done even better than that, and managed to get into the most exclusive awards “club” in the entertainment world, “acronymically” named “EGOT.”
No, it doesn’t allude to the ego, that drives many determined artists to excel and leave the competition far behind.
The four capital letters refer to the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards that standout and over-achieving artists have to clinch before they can join the ultra-exclusive “EGOT” club.
The rare feat is extremely difficult, because artists have to be truly versatile to accomplish it. Emmy means TV, Grammy means music, Oscar involves the movies, and Tony is the prized award for theater—imagine being able to excel in all those disciplines? Formidable.
No wonder, only 12 luminaries to date have made it to the “EGOT” club.
The first to win all four awards was composer Richard Rodgers in 1962, followed by actresses Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno in 1977.
How did Rodgers manage to win all four honors? He started way back in 1945, when he won an Oscar for best song for “It Might As Well Be Spring” in the film version of “State Fair.”
Audrey Hepburn
In 1962, he won an Emmy for his music for “Winston Churchill: The War Years.” In 1960, he capped a Grammy for the show album of “The Sound of Music.” And, in 1950, he won a Tony for “South Pacific!”
After an uneventful number of years, the original “EGOT” club members were joined in 1991 by John Gielgud, in 1994 by Audrey Hepburn, in 1995 by Marvin Hamlisch, and in 1997 by Jonathan Tunick.
The year 2001 saw the inclusion of Mel Brooks and Mike Nichols. Whoopi Goldberg followed in 2002, Scott Rudin in 2012, and Filipino-American Robert Lopez in 2014.
Who’s about to “graduate” next? The grapevine has it that John Legend could be “it.” At the recent Tony awards rites, he clinched an award for co-producing the Broadway production of August Wilson’s “Jitney.”
Prior to that, he’d already clinched numerous Grammys, and an Oscar for best original song for “Glory” in the film, “Selma.” He could be nominated for an Emmy for the song “In America,” and for acting in “Underground” on TV, so he’s “got ‘EGOT’” in his stellar sights this year. Hope springs!
John Legend
