The ''TV Guide'' Award was an annual award created by the editors of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' magazine, as a readers poll to honor outstanding programs and performers in the American television industry. The awards were presented until 1964. The ''TV Guide'' Award was revived 1999–2001.

1950s

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...

'' won a ''TV Guide Award'' in 1950 for Best Mystery Show on Television. The

Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating ...

ads of the early 1950s won the first ''TV Guide award'' as commercial of the year. The trophy was a bronze statuette of a heroic figure holding a filigree globe. The 1952 ''TV Guide Magazine award'' was given to ''Zoo Parade'', which also won the 1950 ''George Foster Peabody Award'' and the 1951 ''Look TV Award''. ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

'' was featured on its second anniversary in the Philadelphia issue of ''TV Guide'', which said it was "the people's choice" for a 1954 ''TV Guide'' award. The magazine had been founded the year before by Walter Annenberg, owner of ''American Bandstand''.

1960–64

In 1961 the ''TV Guide'' Award was cited by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

as one of the three important entertainment awards, together with the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards. Ballots were printed in a single issue of the magazine. Completed ballots were submitted by U.S. Mail and tabulated by direct-mail specialists Cassidy-Richlar, Inc.

1960 awards

The ''TV Guide Award Show'' was broadcast in color on March 25, 1960, on NBC. Robert Young hosted a series of skits featuring

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

and

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

. Seven awards were presented in the final ten minutes of the show. Recipients were chosen based on 289,000 ballots submitted by readers of ''TV Guide''.

1961 awards

Broadcast on NBC, the second annual ''TV Guide Award Show'' was presented June 13, 1961. The hour-long program was hosted by

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the s ...

, with comedy sketches featuring

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

and Nanette Fabray.

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

was recognized for its 1960 election night coverage, and the following awards were presented.

1962 awards

The third annual ''TV Guide Award Show'' was broadcast June 24, 1962, on NBC. Hosted by Dave Garroway, the program included sketches featuring

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...

and special guest Judy Holliday. In a brief concluding segment, awards in eight categories were presented.

1963 awards

The fourth ''TV Guide'' Award presentation was made during the NBC special, ''The Bob Hope Show Presenting the TV Guide Awards'', broadcast April 14, 1963. The 45-minute comedy and variety portion of the show featured

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored ...

. Eight awards were presented in the concluding segment of the show, with live pickups in New York and Hollywood.

1964 awards

The fifth ''TV Guide'' Award presentation was made on a special presentation of Bob Hope's NBC-TV show on April 17, 1964.

1999–2001

The ''TV Guide'' Award was revived in 1999. Categories included traditional awards like Favorite Actor in a Comedy, Favorite Actor in a Drama Series, Favorite Star in a New Series, Favorite Drama Series, and Favorite Comedy Series, to more off-beat categories which differed by year and are listed below. The winners were voted on by readers via magazine ballots and on-line voting. Each of these three award ceremonies were broadcast on Fox. The first award ceremony was televised on February 24, 1999 with 1.2 million fans voting. The second ceremony was aired on March 6, 2000, with 1.6 million fans voting. The third and final ceremony was aired on February 24, 2001, with 1.5 million fans voting, at which point the award was discontinued. Among the winners were

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/ ...

Roma Downey Roma Burnett (née Downey) is an actress, producer, and author from Derry, Northern Ireland. She produced the mini-series ''The Bible'' for the History Channel and also appeared in it as Mary, mother of Jesus. For nine seasons she played Moni ...

Jenna Elfman Jennifer Mary Elfman (née Butala, born 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Televi ...

, David James Elliott,

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...

, Sean Hayes, and

Noah Wyle Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Carter in the television series '' ER'' (1994–2009), which earned him nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emm ...

Select categories

* Favorite Sportscaster * Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show * Favorite TV Pet * Favorite Teen Character * Scariest Villain * Best Kiss * Sexiest Male * Sexiest Female * Best Dressed Male * Best Dressed Female * Favorite Teen Show * Favorite Comeback * Favorite Music Show * Favorite Men's Hair-Do * Favorite Women's Hair-Do * Favorite TV Theme Song

References

External links

* (1999) * (2000) * {{IMDb title, 0870070, 3rd Annual TV Guide Awards (2001) 1999 establishments in the United States 2001 disestablishments in the United States American television awards Awards disestablished in 1964 Awards established in 1999 Awards disestablished in 2001