Last night at the Emmy Awards, big names walked away with big prizes. But not every winner is Al Pacino or Tom Hanks. Here’s a look at a few not-so-famous Emmy winners.
Last night at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, big shows (Mad Men, Modern Family) and big names (Tom Hanks, Al Pacino) went home with big prizes. At times, it felt like the Oscars with Academy Award winners like Hanks, Pacino, Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, and Susan Sarandon contending for Emmys. But, even though there weren’t many knock-your-socks-off surprises, there were a few less-familiar faces grinning giddily from behind the podium.
My very funny and very un-famous friend, Rob, has often been one of those giddy grinners; he’s won four (or is it five?) Emmys for comedy writing over the past few years. You haven’t heard of him. I promise. He’s just a guy who went to college with my husband — no offense, Rob — and has found success as a writer in an industry that happens to broadcast its annual awards on national television.
But Rob, with his many past podium appearances, and all those unfamiliar folks happily accepting their awards on Sunday night got me thinking. There must be lots of Robs out there, lots of people who are not famous, who have never been famous, but who’ve won one or two or ten Emmys in their careers. A quick search of our database of newspaper obituaries revealed hundreds of not-so-famous Emmy winners who have died in the past few years.
Here are just a few of those folks. They may have different backgrounds, interests and passions (one was a pilot, another a flamenco dancer), but they have a couple of things in common — they all won Emmys, and you’ve probably never heard of them. Until now.
I don’t watch many NFL games, and I’m not sure what a “location sound engineer” does exactly. But you don’t have to know much about either topic to be impressed by Scott Scharf: “During a career spanning more than 25 years, Scott won 10 Emmy Awards engineering location sound for some of NFL Films most popular television shows and specials as well as National Football League game coverage. He provided location sound for 22 Super Bowl games.” And he was a devoted father. Quite a set of accomplishments. Scott died July 23, 2010, at the age of 50. He is survived by his son, daughter and fiancée. More at CourierPostOnline.com.
As Dallas bureau producer for ESPN, Leah Siegel won three Emmys. Then in August 2008, after the birth of her third child, she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. Over the past two years, through her battle with cancer, Leah’s blog on CaringBridge.com received more than 47,000 visits. Sadly, Siegel lost her battle. She died July 26, 2010 at age 43. More at dallasnews.com.
Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, David Dick… The first two names are legendary. The third, not so much. Nevertheless, like his more famous contemporaries, David Dick was a CBS news reporter when being so was “the epitome of broadcast stardom.” He covered the aftermath of the Jonestown mass suicide, civil wars in Latin America, and the attempted assassination of George Wallace (for which he won his Emmy), and later had a successful career as a writer in his native Kentucky. David Dick died July 16 at the age of 80 after a long battle with cancer. More at Kentucky.com.
Edward Joseph Caputo began his career in broadcasting at U. Conn where he helped found the college radio station. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army and served first in Korea where he specialized in Public Affairs and Public Information, and later in Vietnam where he directed military radio and television programming and acted as liaison to ABC, CBS and NBC reporters. For his service in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star. Not long after he went to work for the Pentagon and won the first Emmy ever awarded to an Army production. He later received two more Emmy nominations. Mr. Caputo died July 21, 2010, “at home, in the arms of his family.” More at news-journalonline.com.
Before winning her first Emmy, flamenco dancer Gaby Jacoby performed on Broadway, marched on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and helped produce an Academy Award-winning short film. She went on to write and produce documentaries for television, winning several Emmys. Gaby died October 31, 2009 after a long illness. More at nytimes.com.
Broadcast engineer, United Airlines pilot, Gulf War veteran, Air Force captain, Eagle Scout, Cub Scout leader, Indian Princess Chief, avid mechanic, Mustang aficionado, cookware collector, Emmy winner. Renaissance man Kenneth Heidt died Jan. 18, 2010, at the age of 46. He received his Emmy for coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kenneth is survived by his wife and two children. More at GoErie.com.
Carbondale, Illinois, resident John Boyd was an artist, art instructor and producer for more than three decades. His video and television production credits include Emmy Award-winning The Rainbow Trail, an instructional television program for children. Boyd died at age 60 on July 31, 2010. He is survived by his wife of 40 years. More at thesouthern.com.
For more Emmy winners and nominees, including a few famous ones, visit our Emmy memorial site.
