Sunday night, one Oscar nominee will have the chance — well, two chances — to become the 16th member of a very exclusive club, whose cost of membership demands winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Only 15 people have ever achieved "EGOT" status: winning all four major annual American entertainment awards, which honor outstanding achievements across television, music, film and theater. But American composer Marc Shaiman could become the next person to earn this accolade with his nominations for Best Original Score for "Mary Poppins Returns" and Best Original Song for "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from the same film.
Winning the "grand slam" of show business is a hard feat. Shaiman has been close to nabbing the elusive title of EGOT winner before, having been nominated for an Oscar five times previously for his songwriting in "Sleepless in Seattle" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut," and for his original scores of "The American President," "The First Wives Club" and "Patch Adams."
Shaiman's route toward EGOT glory began in 1992 when he won an Emmy as part of the writing team behind Billy Crystal's performances at the 64th annual Academy Awards. But it was his work creating the music and co-writing the lyrics to the Broadway musical adaptation of the John Waters film "Hairspray" that earned him both a Tony for Best Original Score and a Grammy as a producer of the musical's cast album.
None of the 15 people who've earned an EGOT have won the awards in the acronym's order, and two have won only the daytime Emmy, not the primetime Emmy award, as actor Philip Michael Thomas intended when he coined the term while pursuing his own EGOT collection in 1984, according to People.
Composer Richard Rogers was the first to achieve EGOT status in 1962 with his Emmy for the original music he composed for television's "Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years," starting a tradition of composers being among the most frequent kinds of entertainment professionals to win all four awards. Actors and producers have also historically been better positioned to complete an EGOT collection.
Last year alone, three people joined the EGOT club: John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice, who each nabbed an Emmy in 2018 to cap off their quartet of awards.
The full list of EGOT winners are listed below in the order in which they achieved such status.
1. Richard Rodgers
The composer best-known for his work with Oscar Hammerstein, wrote more than 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals and became the first EGOT winner at the age of 59 in 1962. It took him 17 years to collect all four accolades. As if that wasn't enough, he also earned a Pulitzer Prize, making him a PEGOT winner technically.
2. Helen Hayes
The first woman and actor to earn an EGOT, Hayes received her fourth type of award, a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording for Great American Documents, in 1977 at the age of 76. It took her the longest time to become an EGOT winner — 45 years from her Oscar award in 1932.
3. Rita Moreno
This Puerto Rican actress and singer is best-known for her roles in "The King and I" and "West Side Story," but she completed her EGOT collection in 1977 with her Emmy win for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program thanks to her appearance on "The Muppet Show."
4. John Gielgud
The oldest person to compete an EGOT, English actor and director Gielgud won his final award of the four in 1991 at the age of 87. As well as being a rare EGOT member, he was also knighted in 1953.
5. Audrey Hepburn
The Hollywood icon best known for her roles in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Roman Holiday" achieved EGOT status but not within her lifetime. She received her final award, a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, posthumously.
6. Marvin Hamlisch
The American composer and conductor is the only other person, besides Richard Rodgers, to win an EGOT as well as a Pulitzer Prize.
7. Jonathan Tunick
American composer and orchestrator Tunick is well-known for his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim and his orchestral work on the film "Titanic." He completed his EGOT collection in 1997 with a Tony award.
8. Mel Brooks
A man of many talents, Brooks worked as a comedian, filmmaker, actor and composer over the course of his career. He created the hit comedy television series "Get Smart" and directed several popular films in the 1970s such as "The Producers" and "Blazing Saddles." He achieved EGOT status in 2001 at the age of 74.
9. Mike Nichols
Another director/comedian combo, Nichols directed the film adaptation of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" as well as cult classic "The Graduate." He became an EGOT winner in 2001 at the age of 70 for his directing of an adaptation of "Wit" for television.
10. Whoopi Goldberg
TV host, comedian and actress Goldberg may be most recognizable today for her work on "The View" but before that she starred in films like "The Color Purple" and "Sister Act." She is currently the last woman to become an EGOT winner, earning the title in 2002.
11. Scott Rudin
A film and theater producer whose worked on several recent popular films like "Lady Bird," "No Country for Old Men," and "Moonrise Kingdom" as well as Broadway musicals like "The Book of Mormon" and "The Humans," Rudin become an EGOT winner in 2012.
12. Robert Lopez
This composer whose best-known for co-creating "The Book of Mormon" and "Avenue Q" is the youngest person to ever achieve EGOT status at just 39 years old, beating John Legend for the title by just a couple months. He also nabbed the four awards in the shortest time-span, taking only 10 years.
13. John Legend
Famous for his vocals and songwriting, Legend also works as a producer, and it was in this role that he completed his EGOT collection, nabbing a Primetime Emmy award as a producer of the NBC adaptation of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar."
14. Andrew Lloyd Weber
The English composer is a juggernaut of the musical theater world with several of his productions running for more than a decade on Broadway and the West End. He too completed his EGOT collection with an Emmy win for his work on "Jesus Christ Superstar."
15. Tim Rice
Like Weber and Legend, English lyricist and producer Rice joined the EGOT club thanks to an Emmy win for his work on "Jesus Christ Superstar." He has previously worked on Disney projects including "The Lion King," "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast."
Six other artists have also received all four awards, but at least one was given in a non-competitive category, such as a special or honorary award. Barbra Streisand received a Special Tony Award, Liza Minnelli a Grammy Legend Award, James Earl Jones an Academy Honorary Award, Alan Menken a Special Emmy Award, and Harry Belafonte and Quincy Jones each have a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
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