There have been many record-breaking nominations and wins within the history of the Emmy Awards. From Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus holding the most wins for a performance and Game of Thrones beating its own record for most wins in a single season. One more record that holds a place in the history of the Emmys is that of the most nominated individual. Similar to Walt Disney's reign as the most nominated person in Academy Award history, a person's long list of award accolades and nominations is a signifier of their influence in the entertainment industry. Very few have had as much influence on entertainment as this particular television powerhouse.
Lorne Michaels' Early Emmy History Doesn't Involve 'SNL'
And the man of the hour? Lorne Michaels. For the uninitiated, Michaels is best known as the executive producer for the long-running variety sketch show Saturday Night Live. For almost 50 years, Michaels has been the captain of this American television and comedy institution. The starting line-up on October 11, 1975 included then-unknowns Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner, among other "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." Saturday Night Live was the beginning of Lorne Michaels' reign. Through ups, downs, tragedies, triumphs, firings, and controversies, his creative baby has remained in the American public consciousness and blazed his path to Emmy glory.
Michaels' Emmy and television history began a little before the inception of Saturday Night Live. Before being the big boss in 30 Rock, he was a comedy writer on variety shows of the time. His career in American television comedy began in 1968 when he was hired as a writer for the sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin Laugh-In. While Rowan and Martin were part of the long tradition of vaudevillian television sketch shows, what's noticeable is how they tackled the topics of the day and acknowledged the counterculture movement that was happening. Although, its most infamous moment was having presidential candidate Richard Nixon appear and say the show's catchphrase: "Sock It To Me." Hold on a minute...a sketch comedy show that tackles topical and political subjects of the day, with appearances from celebrities, even presidential candidates? That sounds familiar. This is where Lorne Michaels would get his first taste of Emmy recognition. In 1969, Rowan & Martin was nominated for its writing.
After Rowan & Martin ended, Michaels went to write for a number of specials. Specifically, he wrote for fellow Rowan & Martin Laugh-In alum Lily Tomlin's specials. For writing on three Lily Tomlin specials as well as producing a few of them from 1973-1975, Michaels was nominated for five Emmy nominations and his first win in 1973 for writing on the first Tomlin special. This would be the first of many accolades that the great Lorne Michaels could expect. And when Saturday Night Live was in its first Emmy year, he won two awards for both writing and producing, and another for Lily Tomlin's special.
'Saturday Night Live' Continues to Rack Up Nominations
With two Emmys in its first season, Saturday Night Live would continue to gain more nominations and wins for decades to come. Now, at the conclusion of Season 48, it has been the most nominated television program in Emmys history, with 82 Emmy wins from a staggering 305 nominations. Much of its accolades are recognitions for its amazing make-up team, music, set design, and of course, the performers and writing. Folks like Tina Fey, Kate McKinnon, Seth Meyers, and other SNL acolytes received the golden angel for their work on the show, as well as various guest hosts such as SNL alum Eddie Murphy, Justin Timberlake, and Dave Chappelle receiving Emmys for their work in Studio 8H. However, all those parts work well together because of the guiding hand of Michaels who is, year after year, either nominated or winning. Since 2017, SNL has been on a winning streak for Best Variety Show along with past Emmy wins throughout the decades.
Lorne Michaels Is Also an Impressive Producer
Saturday Night Live is not the only show that Michaels is involved in. He also has extended himself to be an executive producer for many other television shows. One of the things that makes SNL an American comedy institution is the amount of talent that has come from Studio 8H. Jason Sudeikis, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig, Conan O'Brien, Andy Samberg, and Bill Hader are just some of the mega-names to emerge. The skills they sharpened at SNL have translated over to many of their own shows post-SNL. If you were to have a discussion about some of the greatest sitcoms of the 21st century, 30 Rock is certainly a modern one that will become a classic. Created by Tina Fey, 30 Rock was based on her experience as a head writer for SNL. What makes the connection even more substantial is that Michaels is one of the executive producers. Just as 30 Rock was nominated for and won Emmys, Michaels receive accolades and nominations as executive producer.
Likewise, he also helped produce other SNL alum projects such as the Portland-based sketch show Portlandia from alum Fred Armisen and the mockumentary-styled Documentary Now! from Armisen, Seth Meyers, and Hader. Michaels also had an imprint on late-night talk shows as well. In 1993, after David Letterman left the Late Night franchise and NBC for his CBS show, Lorne Michaels was brought on to help the show reconfigure after Letterman's departure and suggested that former SNL writer, Conan O'Brien go for the host position. As a result, it was the birth of, not just Conan O'Brien's late-night career, but also Michaels' influence on late-night talk shows. Lorne Michaels did it again with the Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers eras of Late Night, and he would later be the executive producer for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Because of this, he started to add nominations for Best Variety Talk series as another feather in his cap.
The Legacy of Lorne Michaels Continues
All these accolades and nominations are a testament to the impact that Lorne Michaels has from shaping decades of comedy. From the nearly hundred nominations and his inclusion in the Television Academy Hall of Fame, Lorne Michaels has a hand in a litany of programs. A generation of late-night comedy from Saturday Night Live to the Late Night and the Tonight Show franchises as well as comedies such as 30 Rock, Documentary Now!, and Portlandia are the result of Michaels' imprint on television.
His influence is only matched by the works of Norman Lear, Steven Bocho, and Aaron Spelling. Michael is responsible for shaping the DNA of modern American comedy all due to his talents. Not just his talents as a producer and writer, but his talent of finding excellent performers and providing his guiding hands to showcase their own talent to the world. All of these reasons and more are why he gained the number of nominations and accolades that he has acquired over the years.