Golden Globe Awards 1981

The 38th Golden Globe Awards ceremony took place on January 31, 1981 .

Film winners and nominees

Statistics (films with more than one nomination are listed) N = nomination; G = Won
Movie	N	G
A perfectly normal family	8th	5
Like a wild bull	7th	1
The long death of stuntman Cameron	6th	1
Nashville Lady	4th	2
Tess	4th	2
Fame - the way to fame	4th	1
Melvin and Howard	4th	1
The elephant man	4th	0
The Ninth Configuration	3	1
The jazz singer	3	0
Why actually ... don't we kill the boss?	3	0
Idolmaker - The dirty business of show business	2	1
Urban cowboy	2	0

Best film - drama

Ordinary People (Ordinary People) - Director: Robert Redford

• Der Elefantenmensch (The Elephant Man) - Director: David Lynch
• The Long Death of Stuntman Cameron (The Stunt Man) - Director: Richard Rush
• The Ninth Configuration - Director: William Peter Blatty
• Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull) - Director: Martin Scorsese

Best Film - Musical / Comedy

Nashville Lady (Coal Miner's Daughter) - Director: Michael Apted

• The Incredible Journey in a Crazy Airplane (Airplane!) - Directed by Jim Abrahams , David Zucker , Jerry Zucker
• Fame - The Road to Fame (Fame) - Director: Alan Parker
• Idol Maker - The dirty business of show business (The Idol Maker) - Director: Taylor Hackford
• Melvin and Howard (Melvin and Howard) - Director: Jonathan Demme

Best director

Robert Redford - Ordinary People (Ordinary People)

• David Lynch - The Elephant Man (The Elephant Man)
• Roman Polanski - Tess
• Richard Rush - The Long Death of Stuntman Cameron (The Stunt Man)
• Martin Scorsese - Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull)

Best Actor - Drama

Robert De Niro - Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull)

• John Hurt - The Elephant Man (The Elephant Man)
• Jack Lemmon - A Summer in Manhattan (Tribute)
• Peter O'Toole - The Long Death of Stuntman Cameron (The Stunt Man)
• Donald Sutherland - Ordinary People (Ordinary People)

Best Actress - Drama

Mary Tyler Moore - Ordinary People (Ordinary People)

• Ellen Burstyn - The Strong Will (Resurrection)
• Nastassja Kinski - Tess
• Deborah Raffin - Touched by Love
• Gena Rowlands - Gloria, the gangster bride (Gloria)

Best Actor - Musical / Comedy

Ray Sharkey - Idolmaker - The Dirty Business of Show Business (The Idolmaker)

• Neil Diamond - The Jazz Singer (The Jazz Singer)
• Tommy Lee Jones - Nashville Lady (Coal Miner's Daughter)
• Paul Le Mat - Melvin and Howard (Melvin and Howard)
• Walter Matthau - Agent Poker (Hopscotch)

Best Actress - Musical / Comedy

Sissy Spacek - Nashville Lady (Coal Miner's Daughter)

• Irene Cara - Fame - The Road to Fame (Fame)
• Goldie Hawn - Sagittarius Benjamin (Private Benjamin)
• Bette Midler - Divine Madness
• Dolly Parton - Why actually ... don't we kill the boss? (Nine to Five)

Best supporting actor

Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People (Ordinary People)

• Judd Hirsch - An Ordinary Family (Ordinary People)
• Joe Pesci - Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull)
• Jason Robards - Melvin and Howard (Melvin and Howard)
• Scott Wilson - The Ninth Configuration

The best supporting actress

Mary Steenburgen - Melvin and Howard (Melvin and Howard)

• Beverly D'Angelo - Nashville Lady (Coal Miner's Daughter)
• Lucie Arnaz - The Jazz Singer (The Jazz Singer)
• Cathy Moriarty - Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull)
• Debra Winger - Urban Cowboy

Best young actor

Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People (Ordinary People)

• Christopher Atkins - The Blue Lagoon (The Blue Lagoon)
• William Hurt - The Hell Trip (Altered States)
• Michael O'Keefe - The Great Santini (The Great Santini)
• Steve Railsback - The Long Death of Stuntman Cameron (The Stuntman)

Best Young Actress

Nastassja Kinski - Tess

• Nancy Allen - Dressed to Kill
• Cathy Moriarty - Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull)
• Dolly Parton - Why actually ... don't we kill the boss? (Nine to Five)
• Debra Winger - Urban Cowboy

Best script

William Peter Blatty - The Ninth Configuration

• Eric Bergren , Christopher De Vore - The Elephant Man (The Elephant Man)
• Lawrence B. Marcus - The Long Death of Stuntman Cameron (The Stuntman)
• Mardik Martin , Paul Schrader - Like a Wild Bull (Raging Bull)
• Alvin Sargent - Ordinary People (Ordinary People)

Best film score

Dominic Frontiere - The Long Death of Stuntman Cameron (The Stuntman)

• John Barry - A Deadly Dream (Somewhere in Time)
• Michael Gore - Fame - The Road to Fame (Fame)
• Giorgio Moroder - A Man for Certain Hours (American Gigolo)
• Lalo Schifrin - The Grand Finale (The Competition)
• John Williams - The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back)

Best movie song

" Fame " from Fame - The Road to Fame (Fame) - Michael Gore , Dean Pitchford

• “ Call Me ” from A Man for Certain Hours (American Gigolo) - Deborah Harry , Giorgio Moroder
• "Love on the Rocks" from The Jazz Singer (The Jazz Singer) - Gilbert Bécaud , Neil Diamond
• "Nine to Five" from Why actually ... don't we kill the boss? (Nine to Five) - Dolly Parton
• "Yesterday's Dreams" from Midlife Crisis (Falling in Love Again) - Carol Connors , Michel Legrand

Best foreign language film

Tess , France - Director: Roman Polański

• The Fall of Lieutnant Morant (Breaker Morant) , Australia - Director: Bruce Beresford
• The Last Metro (Le dernier Métro) , France - Director: François Truffaut
• Kagemusha - The Shadow of the Warrior (影武者) , Japan - Director: Akira Kurosawa
• My brilliant career (My Brilliant Career) , Australia - Director: Gillian Armstrong
• Special treatment (Poseban tretman) , Yugoslavia - Director: Goran Paskaljević

Television winners and nominees

Statistics (series with more than one nomination are listed) N = nomination; G = Won
series	N	G
Snack with a bite	5	2
taxi	5	1
Dallas	4th	0
Shogun	3	3
Hard but warm	3	0
Lou Grant	3	0
One day at a time	2	2
M * A * S * H	2	1
Soap - sweet home	2	1
Flo	2	0
House calls	2	0
Love Boat	2	0
Vegas	2	0

Best Television Series - Drama

Shogun

• Dallas
• Hard but warm (hard to hard)
• Lou Grant
• Vegas (Vega $)

Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Richard Chamberlain - Shogun

• Edward Asner - Lou Grant
• Larry Hagman - Dallas
• Robert Urich - Vegas (Vega $)
• Robert Wagner - Hard but warm (Hart to Hart)

Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Yōko Shimada - Shogun

• Melissa Gilbert - Our Little Farm (Little House on the Prairie)
• Barbara Bel Geddes - Dallas
• Linda Gray - Dallas
• Stefanie Powers - Hard but warm (hard to hard)

Best TV Series - Comedy / Musical

taxi

• Snack with a bite (Alice)
• Love Boat (The Love Boat)
• M * A * S * H
• Soap - Sweet Home (Soap)

Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy / Musical

Alan Alda - M * A * S * H

• Judd Hirsch - Taxi
• Hal Linden - Barney Miller
• Gavin MacLeod - Love Boat (The Love Boat)
• Wayne Rogers - House Calls

Best Actress in a Television Series - Comedy / Musical

Katherine Helmond - Soap - Sweet Home (Soap)

• Loni Anderson - WKRP in Cincinnati
• Polly Holliday - Flo
• Linda Lavin - Snack with a Bite (Alice)
• Lynn Redgrave - House Calls

Best mini-series or best TV movie

Terminal Malibu (The Shadow Box)

• The Auschwitz Girls Orchestra (Playing for Time)
• The Diary of Anne Frank (The Diary of Anne Frank)
• A Tale of Two Cities (A Tale of Two Cities)
• The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie

Pat Harrington Jr. - One Day at a Time
Vic Tayback - Snack with a Bite (Alice)

• Danny DeVito - Taxi
• Andy Kaufman - Taxi
• Geoffrey Lewis - Flo

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie

Valerie Bertinelli - One Day at a Time
Diane Ladd - Snack with a bite (Alice)

• Marilu Henner - Taxi
• Beth Howland - Snack with a Bite (Alice)
• Linda Kelsey - Lou Grant

Cecil B. De Mille Award

Elizabeth Taylor

Miss Golden Globe

Lisabeth Shatner

Web links

• Golden Globe Awards 1981 in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Official website of the HFPA