Emmy Awards - The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences annual award for honoring excellence in television performance and production. The first Emmy's were awarded at the Hollywood Athletic Club on January 25, 1949 amidst an audience of 600 personalities. A special Emmy was awarded to Louis McManus, the man who designed the Emmy statuette, which resembled a gold-plated winged female (on her tiptoes) holding aloft a spherical object. It was once described as a woman trying to put a box on a top shelf. Pioneer TV engineer Harry Lubcke suggested the name for the Emmy trophy. It was derived from the word "Immy," a nickname for the image orthicon tube (the name of the TV camera tube). The first coast-to-coast telecast of the Emmy awards hosted by Steve Allen occurred on NBC on March 7, 1955. One rumor reports that the Emmy was named for Faye Emerson, one of television's earliest personalities. The Emmy is made of pewter with gold plating and costs $150.

TRIVIA NOTE: The Emmy awards were originally the domain of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences founded in October 1946 by Syd Cassyd and other industry executives. In 1955 the Hollywood division of the ATAS merged with the New York division to become the NATAS. In 1977, however, a dispute among the membership on both coasts caused the formation of two separate entities. The New York members formed The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and retained the rights to present the daytime (Soap Operas) and sports Emmy Awards; and The Hollywood chapter became the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) which kept the right to present the prime time Emmy awards. The NATAS is located at 111 West 57 Street at Suite 1020 in New York, NY 10019. The ATAS is located at 5220 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, CA 91601. 

             

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