The 29th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 11, 1977. The ceremony was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. It was hosted by

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

and

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

. The top shows of the night were ''

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

'', which, in its final season, won its third consecutive Outstanding Comedy Series Award, it also became the first comedy series to gain eleven major nominations (since broken). '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', also in its final season, won its third Outstanding Drama Series Award in four years (it competed as a miniseries in 1976, and won that category too). But the overwhelming champion of the ceremony was the miniseries ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

''. ''Roots'' set several milestones and broke multiple records during the night. It became the first show to receive at least twenty major nominations (21). Adding its nominations in

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categories, its total expands to 37. Both records still stand for all shows. It was the first show to gain every nomination in an acting category. Its thirteen acting nominations tied the record set the previous year by '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', however all of ''Roots'' nominations came in the miniseries category, while ''Rich Man, Poor Man'' had nominations cross over into the drama series field. ''Roots'' became the first miniseries, and second show overall, along with ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, to win six of seven major categories. All but one of ''Roots'' eight episodes were nominated for major awards (Part VII). Other distinctions included

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy ...

winning a Major Acting award for a TV show (''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

'') that had no major network, only broadcast in Syndication - the first time this rare feat has occurred. Also, with actress

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

's win for her guest appearance on ''

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'', she became the third person after

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

and

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

to achieve all four major entertainment awards ( EGOT). With this ceremony, the Primetime Emmys began a long residency at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium that would continue until 1997.

Winners and nominees

Emmys.com list of 1977 Nominees & Winners
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Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Single performances

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

;By network "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. * ABC – 59 * CBS / NBC – 48 * PBS – 14 ; By program * ''Roots'' (ABC) – 21 * ''Mary Tyler Moore'' (CBS) – 11 * ''M*A*S*H'' (CBS) – 9 * ''Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years'' (ABC) – 8 * ''Family'' (ABC) / ''Raid on Entebbe'' (NBC) – 6

Most major awards

;By network "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. * ABC – 13 * CBS – 11 * NBC – 9 * PBS – 2 ; By program * ''Roots'' (ABC) – 6 * ''Sybil'' (NBC) – 3 ;Notes

References

External links

Emmys.com list of 1977 Nominees & Winners
* {{EmmyAwardsbyYear 029 1977 television awards 1977 in California September 1977 events in the United States