Primetime Emmys Fast Facts

September 22, 2019 - The 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place.

September 17, 2018 - The 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony takes place.

Facts:
Emmys are presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Louis McManus, a television engineer, created the Emmy statuette, using his wife's image as a model.

Emmy Awards are named after "Immy," an abbreviation for the image orthicon tube, an early camera. It was later changed to "Emmy," which seemed more feminine.

The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club and were for Los Angeles programming only. Six awards were given. Tickets to the event were $5.

The first award ever given was for outstanding personality and went to ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale, for the children's show, "Judy Splinters."

Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are tied for the most Emmys ever by a performer (8). Ed Asner has won the most Emmys ever by a male performer (7), as of 2018.

HBO's "Game of Thrones" holds the record for the most wins by a fictional series: 38.

Betty White was the oldest winner in 2010 at 88 and the oldest nominee in 2012 at 90. She won the Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her work on "Saturday Night Live" and was nominated as outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program for "Betty White's Off Their Rockers."

The youngest Primetime Emmy winner was Roxana Zal, 14 years, 314 days old when she won the 1984 award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or a special for "Something About Amelia."

"The Handmaid's Tale," which premiered on Hulu in 2017, was the first online streaming service series to win an Emmy for outstanding drama.

In 2018, the Amazon Prime Video series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" won an Emmy for outstanding comedy. It was the first time a streaming network show won the comedy award. In another first, the streaming service Netflix ended the night with 23 trophies, tying with HBO for the total number of wins.

2018 Winners (in selected categories):
Outstanding comedy series:
"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" - Amazon Prime Video

Outstanding lead actor - comedy series:
Bill Hader - "Barry" - HBO

Outstanding lead actress - comedy series:
Rachel Brosnahan - "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" - Amazon Prime Video

Outstanding supporting actor - comedy series:
Henry Winkler - "Barry" - HBO

Outstanding supporting actress - comedy series:
Alex Borstein - "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" - Amazon Prime Video

Outstanding drama series:
"Game of Thrones" - HBO

Outstanding lead actor - drama series:
Matthew Rhys - "The Americans" - FX Networks

Outstanding lead actress - drama series:
Claire Foy - "The Crown" - Netflix

Outstanding supporting actor - drama series:
Peter Dinklage - "Game of Thrones" - HBO

Outstanding supporting actress - drama series:
Thandie Newton - "Westworld" - HBO