8th Primetime Emmy Awards

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Short descriptionTemplate:Template other The 8th Emmy Awards, later referred to as the 8th Primetime Emmy Awards, were held on March 17, 1956, to honor the best in television of the year. The ceremony was held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Hollywood, California and was hosted by Art Linkletter and John Charles Daly. All nominations are listed, with winners in bold and series' networks are in parentheses.

The top shows of the night were The Phil Silvers Show, and Producers' Showcase. Each show won a record four major awards. Producers' Showcase, with its twelve major nominations, became the first show to receive over ten major nominations. (Both of these records were subsequently passed by multiple shows).

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

Programs

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Template:Award category The Phil Silvers Show (CBS)Template:Double dagger The Bob Cummings Show (CBS) Caesar's Hour (NBC) The George Gobel Show (NBC) The Jack Benny Program (CBS) Make Room for Daddy (ABC)	Template:Award category Producers' Showcase (NBC)Template:Double dagger Climax! (CBS) Goodyear Television Playhouse (NBC) Studio One (CBS) The United States Steel Hour (CBS)
Template:Award category The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)Template:Double dagger The Dinah Shore Show (NBC) Ford Star Jubilee (CBS) The Perry Como Show (NBC) Shower of Stars (CBS)	Template:Award category The $64,000 Question (CBS)Template:Double dagger I've Got a Secret (CBS) People Are Funny (NBC) What's My Line? (CBS) You Bet Your Life (NBC)
Template:Award category Disneyland (ABC)Template:Double dagger Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS) Dragnet (NBC) Gunsmoke (CBS) The Lineup (CBS)	Template:Award category Lassie (CBS)Template:Double dagger Ding Dong School (NBC) Kukla, Fran and Ollie (ABC) The Mickey Mouse Club (ABC) The Pinky Lee Show (NBC) Puppet Playhouse (NBC)
Template:Award category Omnibus (CBS)Template:Double dagger Meet the Press (NBC) Person to Person (CBS) See It Now (CBS) Wide Wide World (NBC)	Template:Award category A-Bomb Coverage (CBS)Template:Double dagger 7th Primetime Emmy Awards (NBC) 27th Academy Awards (NBC) Rose Bowl (NBC) World Series (NBC)
Template:Award category Your Hit Parade (NBC)Template:Double dagger Coke Time with Eddie Fisher (NBC) The Dinah Shore Show (NBC) The Perry Como Show (NBC) The Voice of Firestone (CBS)	Template:Award category Matinee Theatre (NBC)Template:Double dagger The Bob Crosby Show (CBS) The Garry Moore Show (CBS) Home (NBC) Today (NBC)
Template:Award category Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" (NBC)Template:Double dagger Disneyland: "Davy Crocket and the River Pirates" (ABC) Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" (CBS) Make Room for Daddy: "Peter Pan Meets Rusty Williams" (ABC) Producers' Showcase: "The Sleeping Beauty" (NBC) The United States Steel Hour: "No Time for Sergeants" (CBS) Wide Wide World: "The American West" (NBC)

Acting

Lead performances

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Template:Award category Phil Silvers – The Phil Silvers Show as MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko (CBS)Template:Double dagger Robert Cummings – The Bob Cummings Show as Bob Collins (CBS) Jackie Gleason – The Honeymooners as Ralph Kramden (CBS) Danny Thomas – Make Room for Daddy as Danny Williams (ABC) Robert Young – Father Knows Best as Jim Anderson (CBS)

Template:Award category Lucille Ball – I Love Lucy as Lucy Ricardo (CBS)Template:Double dagger Gracie Allen – The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as Gracie Allen (CBS) Eve Arden – Our Miss Brooks as Connie Brooks (CBS) Ann Sothern – Private Secretary as Susie McNamara (CBS)

Supporting performances

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Template:Award category Art Carney – The Honeymooners as Ed Norton (CBS)Template:Double dagger Ed Begley – Kraft Television Theatre: "Patterns" as Andy Sloane (NBC) William Frawley – I Love Lucy as Fred Mertz (CBS) Carl Reiner – Caesar's Hour as various characters (NBC) Cyril Ritchard – Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" as Mr. Darling / Captain Hook (NBC)

Template:Award category Nanette Fabray – Caesar's Hour as various characters (NBC)Template:Double dagger Ann B. Davis – The Bob Cummings Show: "Schultzy's Dream World" as Charmaine Schultz (CBS) Jean Hagen – Make Room for Daddy as Margaret Williams (ABC) Audrey Meadows – The Honeymooners as Alice Kramden (CBS) Thelma Ritter – Goodyear Television Playhouse: "The Catered Affair" as Aggie Hurley (NBC)

Single performances

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Template:Award category Lloyd Nolan – Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" as Capt. Queeg (CBS)Template:Double dagger Ralph Bellamy – The United States Steel Hour: "The Fearful Decision" as the Father (CBS) José Ferrer – Producers' Showcase: "Cyrano de Bergerac" as Cyrano (NBC) Everett Sloane – Kraft Television Theatre: "Patterns" as the President (NBC) Barry Sullivan – Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" as Defense Attorney Greenwald (CBS)

Template:Award category Mary Martin – Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" as Peter Pan (NBC)Template:Double dagger Julie Harris – The United States Steel Hour: "A Wind from the South" as Shevawn (CBS) Eva Marie Saint – Producers' Showcase: "Our Town" as Emily (NBC) Jessica Tandy – Producers' Showcase: "The Fourposter" as the Wife (NBC) Loretta Young – The Loretta Young Show: "Christmas Stopover" as Sadie (NBC)

Directing

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Template:Award category The Phil Silvers Show – Nat Hiken (CBS)Template:Double dagger Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "The Case of Mr. Pelham" – Alfred Hitchcock (CBS) The Bob Cummings Show – Rod Amateau (CBS) Dragnet – Jack Webb (NBC) Make Room for Daddy – Sheldon Leonard (ABC) You Are There – Bernard Girard (CBS)

Template:Award category Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" – Franklin Schaffner (CBS)Template:Double dagger Climax!: "Portrait in Celluloid" – John Frankenheimer (CBS) Producers' Showcase: "Our Town" – Delbert Mann (NBC) Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" – Clark Jones (NBC) The United States Steel Hour: "No Time for Sergeants" – Alex Segal (CBS)

Producing

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Template:Award category Disneyland – Walt Disney (ABC)Template:Double dagger The Bob Cummings Show – Paul Henning (CBS) Medic – Frank LaTourette (NBC) The Phil Silvers Show – Nat Hiken (CBS) You Are There – James D. Fonda (CBS)

Template:Award category Producers' Showcase – Fred Coe (NBC)Template:Double dagger Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse – Herbert Brodkin (NBC) Climax! – Martin Manulis (CBS) The George Gobel Show – Hal Kanter (NBC) The United States Steel Hour – The Theatre Guild (CBS) Wide Wide World – Barry Wood (NBC)

Writing

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Template:Award category Kraft Television Theatre: "Patterns" – Rod Serling (NBC)Template:Double dagger Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse: "A Catered Affair" – Paddy Chayefsky (NBC) Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse: "Thunder over Washington" – David Davidson (NBC) The Philco Television Playhouse: "A Man is Ten Feet Tall" – Robert Alan Aurthur (NBC) The United States Steel Hour: "Fearful Decision" – Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum (CBS)

Template:Award category Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" – Paul Gregory and Franklin Schaffner (CBS)Template:Double dagger The 20th Century Fox Hour: "Miracle on 34th Street" – John Monks (CBS) The 20th Century Fox Hour: "The Ox-Bow Incident" – David Dortort (CBS) Climax!: "The Champion" – Rod Serling (CBS) Producers' Showcase: "Our Town" – David Shaw (NBC)

Template:Award category The Phil Silvers Show – Arnold Auerbach, Barry Blitzer, Vincent Bogert, Nat Hiken, Coleman Jacoby, Harvey Orkin, Arnold Rosen, Terry Ryan and Tony Webster (CBS)Template:Double dagger Caesar's Hour – Mel Brooks, Selma Diamond, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller and Mel Tolkin (NBC) The George Gobel Show – Everett Greenbaum, Hal Kanter, Howard Leeds and Harry Winkler (NBC) I Love Lucy – Bob Carroll, Jr., Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh Davis, Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf (CBS) The Jack Benny Program – George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin (CBS)

Best Specialty Act – Single or Group

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Template:Award category Marcel Marceau Harry Belafonte Victor Borge Sammy Davis Jr. Donald O'Connor

Most major nominations

Networks with multiple major nominations

Network	Number of Nominations
CBS	61
NBC	54
ABC	11

Programs with multiple major nominations

Program	Category	Network	Number of Nominations
Producers' Showcase	Drama	NBC	12
The United States Steel Hour		CBS	7
Ford Star Jubilee	Variety		6
The Bob Cummings Show	Comedy	CBS	5
Make Room for Daddy		ABC
The Phil Silvers Show		CBS
Caesar's Hour		NBC	4
Climax!	Drama	CBS
Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse		NBC	3
Disneyland	Action/Adventure	ABC
The George Gobel Show	Comedy	NBC
The Honeymooners		CBS
I Love Lucy
Kraft Television Theatre	Drama	NBC
Wide Wide World	Documentary
The 20th Century Fox Hour	Drama	CBS	2
Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Action/Adventure
The Dinah Shore Show	Music/Variety	NBC
Dragnet	Action/Adventure
Goodyear Television Playhouse	Drama
The Jack Benny Program	Comedy	CBS
The Perry Como Show	Music/Variety	NBC
You Are There	Documentary	CBS

Most major awards

Networks with multiple major awards

Network	Number of Awards
CBS	14
NBC	8
ABC	2

Programs with multiple major awards

Program	Category	Network	Number of Awards
The Phil Silvers Show	Comedy	CBS	4
Producers' Showcase	Drama	NBC
Ford Star Jubilee	Variety	CBS	3
Disneyland	Action/Adventure	ABC	2

Notes

External links

• Emmys.com list of 1956 Nominees & Winners
• Template:IMDb event