31st Primetime Emmy Awards

The 31st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 9, 1979. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC. It was hosted by Henry Winkler and Cheryl Ladd. This ceremony is remembered for problems with the Pasadena Civic Auditorium's air-conditioning, as well as for Taxi's Outstanding Comedy Series victory.

The top shows of the night were Taxi, which pulled an upset in the Outstanding Comedy Series field when it beat All in the Family's final season. Lou Grant received 12 major nominations, which, it won two awards including Outstanding Drama Series.

For the first time, most of the miniseries and Television movie categories were merged into one, this would become the standard for later ceremonies, culminating with the TV Movie and Miniseries program categories combining in 2011. For this year only, the comedy and variety categories were combined in acting, directing, and writing. This combination would not stick, and the traditional categories returned the next year.

Winners and Nominees

Programs

Outstanding Comedy Series	Outstanding Drama Series
Taxi, (ABC) All in the Family, (CBS) Barney Miller, (ABC) M*A*S*H, (CBS) Mork & Mindy, (ABC)	Lou Grant, (CBS) The Paper Chase, (NBC) The Rockford Files, (NBC)
Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series	Outstanding Drama or Comedy Special
Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin, (NBC) Arthur Fiedler: Just Call Me Maestro, (PBS) The Muppet Show, (Syndicated) Saturday Night Live, (NBC) Shirley MacLaine at the Lido, (CBS)	Friendly Fire, (ABC) Dummy, (CBS) First, You Cry, (CBS) The Jericho Mile, (ABC) Summer of My German Soldier, (NBC)
Outstanding Limited Series
Roots: The Next Generations, (ABC) Backstairs at the White House, (NBC) Blind Ambition, (CBS)

Acting

Lead performances

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Carrol O'Connor as Archie Bunker on All in the Family, (CBS) Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H, (CBS) Hal Linden as Capt. Barney Miller on Barney Miller, (ABC) Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger on Taxi, (ABC) Robin Williams as Mork on Mork & Mindy, (ABC)	Ruth Gordon as Dee Wilcox on Taxi, (Episode: "Sugar Mama"), (ABC) Katherine Helmond as Jessica Tate on Soap, (ABC) Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt on Alice, (CBS) Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker on All in the Family, (CBS) Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson on The Jeffersons (CBS)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Ron Leibman as Martin Kazinsky on Kaz, (CBS) Edward Asner as Lou Grant on Lou Grant, (CBS) James Garner as Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files, (NBC) Jack Klugman as Dr. Quincy on Quincy, M.E., (NBC)	Mariette Hartley as Dr. Caroline Fields on The Incredible Hulk, (Episode: "Married"), (CBS) Barbara Bel Geddes as Eleanor Southworth Ewing Farlow on Dallas, (CBS) Rita Moreno as Rita Capkovic on The Rockford Files, (Episode: "Rosendahl and Gilda Stern are Dead"), (NBC) Sada Thompson as Kate Lawrence on Family, (ABC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
Peter Strauss as Larry "Rain" Murphy on The Jericho Mile, (ABC) Ned Beatty as Gene Mullen on Friendly Fire (ABC) Louis Gossett, Jr. as Houseman Levi Mercer on Backstairs at the White House, (NBC) Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley on Elvis, (ABC)	Bette Davis as Lucy Mason on Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter, (CBS) Carol Burnett as Peg Mullen on Friendly Fire, (NBC) Olivia Cole as Maggie Rogers on Backstairs at the White House, (NBC) Katharine Hepburn as Miss Lilly Moffat on The Corn is Green, (CBS) Mary Tyler Moore as Betty Rollin on First, You Cry, (CBS)

Supporting performances

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series
Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois on Soap, (ABC) Gary Burghoff as Radar O'Reilly on M*A*S*H, (CBS) Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma on Taxi, (ABC) Max Gail as Det. Stan Wojciehowicz on Barney Miller, (ABC) Harry Morgan as Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H, (CBS)	Sally Struthers as Gloria Bunker-Stivic on All in the Family, (Episode: "California, Here We Are"), (CBS) Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham on Happy Days, (CBS) Polly Holiday as Florence Jean Castleberry on Alice. (CBS) Loretta Swit as Margaret Houlihan on M*A*S*H, (CBS)
Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Stuart Margolin as Evelyn "Angel" Martin on The Rockford Files (NBC) Mason Adams as Charlie Hume on Lou Grant, (CBS) Noah Beery, Jr. as Joseph Rockford on The Rockford Files, (NBC) Joe Santos as Det. Dennis Becker on The Rockford Files, (NBC) Robert Walden as Joe Rossi on Lou Grant, (CBS)	Kristy McNichol as Letitia Lawrence on Family, (ABC) Linda Kelsey as Billie Newman on Lou Grant, (CBS) Nancy Marchand as Margaret Pynchon on Lou Grant, (CBS)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
Marlon Brando as George Lincoln Rockwell on Roots: The Next Generations, (Episode: "Part VII"), (ABC) Ed Flanders as President Calvin Coolidge on Backstairs at the White House, (Episode: "Book Two"), (NBC) Al Freeman, Jr. as Malcolm X on Roots: The Next Generations, (Episode: "Part VII"), (ABC) Robert Vaughn as President Woodrow Wilson on Backstairs at the White House, (Episode: "Book One"), (NBC) Paul Winfield as Dr. Horace Huguley on Roots: The Next Generations, (Episode: "Part V"), (ABC)	Esther Rolle as Ruth on Summer of My German Soldier, (NBC) Ruby Dee as Queen Haley on Roots: The Next Generations, (ABC) Colleen Dewhurst as Mrs. O'Neil on Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story, (CBS) Eileen Heckart as Eleanor Roosevelt on Backstairs at the White House, (NBC) Celeste Holm as Florence Harding on Backstairs at the White House, (NBC)

Directing

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series	Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Noam Pitlik for Barney Miller, (Episode: "The Harris Incident"), (ABC) Alan Alda for M*A*S*H, (Episode: "Dear Sis"), (CBS) Paul Bogart, for All in the Family, (Episode: "California, Here We Are, Part II"), (CBS) Charles S. Dubin for M*A*S*H, (Episode: "Point of View"), (CBS) Jay Sandrich for Soap, (Episode: "Episode #27"), (ABC)	Jackie Cooper for The White Shadow, (Episode: "Pilot"), (CBS) Burt Brinckerhoff for Lou Grant, (Episode: "Schools"), (CBS) Mel Damski for Lou Grant, (Episode: "Murder"), (CBS) Gene Reynolds for Lou Grant, (Episode: "Prisoner"), (CBS)
Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or a Special
David Greene for Friendly Fire, (ABC) Lou Antonio for Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story, (CBS) Glenn Jordan for Les Misérables, (CBS)

Writing

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series	Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Alan Alda for M*A*S*H, (Episode: "Inga"), (CBS) Milt Josefsberg, Phil Sharp, Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf for All in the Family, (Episode: "California, Here We Are, Part II"), (CBS) Michael Leeson for Taxi, (Episode: "Blind Date"), (ABC) Ken Levine, David Isaacs for M*A*S*H, (Episode: "Point of View"), (CBS) Saturday Night Live, (Episode: "Host- Richard Benjamin"), (NBC)	Michele Gallery for Lou Grant, (Episode: "Dying"), (CBS) James Bridges, for The Paper Chase, (Episode: "The Late Mr. Hart"), (CBS) Gene Reynolds for Lou Grant, (Episode: "Marathon"), (CBS) Leon Tokatyan for Lou Grant, (Episode: "Vet"), (CBS)
Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special
Patrick J. Nolan, Michael Mann for The Jericho Mile, (ABC) Gwen Bagni, Paul Dubov for Backstairs at the White House, (Episode: "Book One"), (NBC) Jane-Howard Hammerstein for Summer of My German Soldier, (NBC) Fay Kanin for Friendly Fire, (ABC) Ernest Kinoy for Roots: The Next Generations, (Episode: "Part I"), (ABC)

Most major nominations

By network

• CBS – 46
• ABC – 30
• NBC – 23

By program

• Lou Grant (CBS) – 12
• M*A*S*H (CBS) – 9
• Backstairs at the White House (CBS) – 8
• All in the Family (CBS) / The Rockford Files (NBC) / Roots: The Next Generations (ABC) – 6

Most major awards

By network

• ABC – 11
• CBS – 9
• NBC – 3

By program

• All in the Family (CBS) / Friendly Fire (ABC) / The Jericho Mile (ABC) / Lou Grant (CBS) / Roots: The Next Generations (ABC) / Taxi (ABC) – 2

Notes

External links

• Emmys.com list of 1979 Nominees & Winners
• 1979 Emmy Awards at the Internet Movie Database