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The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program was an annual award given to performers in a variety/music series or specials. The award has been retired; it was last presented in 2008 .
Winners and nominations
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
Year
Performer
Program
Network
1981 (33rd)
Sarah Vaughan [note 5]
Rhapsody and Song – A Tribute to George Gershwin (Great Performances )
PBS
1982 (34th) [note 5]
Nell Carter
Ain't Misbehavin'
NBC
André De Shields
Gregory Hines
I Love Liberty
ABC
1983 (35th)
Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price, Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic (Live from Lincoln Center )
PBS
Carol Burnett
Texaco Star Theater... Opening Night
NBC
Michael Jackson
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti and the New York Philharmonic (Live from Lincoln Center )
PBS
Richard Pryor
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
NBC
1984 (36th)
Cloris Leachman
Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration
CBS
Debbie Allen
Live... And in Person
NBC
George Burns
George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business
Eddie Murphy
Saturday Night Live
Joe Piscopo
Lily Tomlin
Live... And in Person
1985 (37th)
George Hearn
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Great Performances )
PBS
Billy Crystal
Saturday Night Live
NBC
Gregory Hines
Motown Returns to the Apollo
Patti LaBelle
Angela Lansbury
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Great Performances )
PBS
1986 (38th)
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
Whitney Houston
The 28th Annual Grammy Awards
CBS
Debbie Allen
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
NBC
Patti LaBelle
Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III (Great Performances )
PBS
Jon Lovitz
Saturday Night Live
NBC
Sarah Vaughan
The 28th Annual Grammy Awards
CBS
Stevie Wonder
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
NBC
Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming [1] [note 6]
Plácido Domingo
Cavalleria Rusticana (Great Performances )
PBS
1987 (39th)
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
Robin Williams
A Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin
ABC
Billy Crystal
The 29th Annual Grammy Awards
CBS
Julie Kavner
The Tracey Ullman Show
Fox
Angela Lansbury
The 1987 Tony Awards
CBS
Jon Lovitz
Saturday Night Live
NBC
Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Performing [2] [note 7]
Leonard Bernstein
Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening
CBS
Isaac Stern
1988 (40th)
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
Robin Williams
ABC Presents a Royal Gala
ABC
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Celebrating Gershwin (Great Performances )
PBS
Ray Charles
Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration
CBS
Billy Crystal
An All-Star Toast to the Improv
HBO
Julie Kavner
The Tracey Ullman Show
Fox
Individual Achievement - Classical [3] [note 8]
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Dance in America: David Gordon's Made in U.S.A. (Great Performances )
PBS
Plácido Domingo
Aida: From the Houston Grand Opera (Great Performances )
Individual Achievement - Special Events [4] [note 9]
Billy Crystal
The 30th Annual Grammy Awards
CBS
1989 (41st)
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
Linda Ronstadt
Canciones de Mi Padre (Great Performances )
PBS
Dana Carvey
Saturday Night Live
NBC
Julie Kavner
The Tracey Ullman Show
Fox
Thom Fountain, Sandey Grinn, Maurice LaMarche , John Lovelady , Steve Sherman, Van Snowden , Fred Spencer, Allan Trautman and Todd Walcott
Sid and Marty Krofft's D.C. Follies (Episode 202)
Syndicated
Thom Fountain, Sandey Grinn, John Lovelady , John Roarke, Steve Sherman, Van Snowden , Fred Spencer, Allan Trautman and Todd Walcott
Sid and Marty Krofft's D.C. Follies (Episode 211)
Individual Performance in Classical Music/Dance Programming [5]
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Dance in America: Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine (Great Performances )
PBS
Performance in Special Events
Billy Crystal
The 31st Annual Grammy Awards
CBS
1990s
2000s
Total awards by network
CBS – 21
NBC – 12
HBO – 7
ABC – 5
PBS – 5
A&E – 2
Fox – 2
Syndicated – 1
Performers with multiple awards
4 awards
3 awards
2 awards
Performers with multiple nominations
14 nominations
9 nominations
7 nominations
6 nominations
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations
Notes
^ Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category
^ Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category
^ Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category
^ Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category
^ a b Awarded as "Special Classification – Individuals."
^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominees did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
^ In 1995, Dennis Miller was nominated for his HBO talkshow Dennis Miller Live . His nomination was belatedly rescinded after the Academy said it discovered rules do not allow the host of a variety or music series to be nominated for the same program if the host's name is in the title. Sixth place finisher Rosie O'Donnell was named as the replacement nominee.
References
1959–1975 1976–1990 1991–2008
Programs Performance Directing Writing Animation Casting Choreography Cinematography Commercials Costume Design Hairstyling Lighting Main Title / Motion Design Makeup Music Picture Editing Production Design Sound Editing Sound Mixing Special Effects Stunts Technical Direction Engineering Retired