Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com Entertainment Weekly EW.com Entertainment Weekly
  • TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • TV Recaps
    • Fall TV
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Mystery
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music
    • Music Reviews
  • Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Awards
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Order Past Issues this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com Entertainment Weekly EW.com Entertainment Weekly
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Here are all 70 puppies competing in Puppy Bowl XVII

      Read More Next
    • The best books to keep you warm this January

      Read More Next
    • The Masked Dancer revealed: Every unmasked celebrity on season 1

      Read More Next
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • TV Recaps
    • Fall TV
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Mystery
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Awards

    Awards

    See All Awards
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Order Past Issues this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Gallery Chevron Right
  3. Emmys: 20 Who Never Won

Emmys: 20 Who Never Won

Amy Poehler hopes 2015 is her year, but for now she's part of a distinguished group outside the winners circle
By Jeff Labrecque
Updated September 14, 2015 at 02:52 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet

1 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Amy Poehler

Credit: Justin Lubin/NBC

Emmy-Worthy Role: Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation

After two nominations for Saturday Night Live, Poehler quickly picked up five more as Pawnee's earnest government bureaucrat. Her character knows a little bit about close votes, so perhaps she'll be off this list come Monday....

1 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Jon Hamm

Credit: Jordin Althaus/AMC

Emmy-Worthy Role: Don Draper, Mad Men
Since taking on the role of the dapper 1960s ad man in 2007, Hamm has been nominated for Best Actor every year. But things have broken bad for him each time, with Bryan Cranston dominating and The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels pulling off an upset last year. He might have to wait until Mad Men's swan song next year to take home the hardware.

2 of 20

3 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Angela Lansbury

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Jessica Fletcher, Murder, She Wrote
How Lansbury was overlooked for an Emmy on 18 occasions — including nine times as your grandparents' favorite sleuth — is a mystery. Was the show too square? Was Lansbury too Broadway? (She owns five Tonys.) At least the Golden Globes had a clue, crowning her four times in the same category.

3 of 20

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Desi Arnaz

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Ricky Ricardo, I Love Lucy
Arnaz was the only series regular who never received a nomination, and Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance each took home trophies. It was the girls' show, yes, but someone was setting up Lucy for all those great punchlines.

4 of 20

Advertisement

5 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Phylicia Rashad

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Claire Huxtable, The Cosby Show
Rashad earned two nominations as Bill Cosby's better, smarter, stronger half — and another for 2008's A Raisin in the Sun — but, as Desi Arnaz learned, being the responsible grown-up opposite a comedian is hardly Emmy bait.

5 of 20

6 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Andy Griffith

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Sheriff Andy Taylor, The Andy Griffith Show
To be fair, official Best Actor in a Comedy Emmys weren't presented for the first half of Griffith's run in Mayberry, but these are the facts: He was nominated only once, and it was for a 1981 TV miniseries. Yet Don Knotts won five statuettes while on The Andy Griffith Show. Where's the justice?

6 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Courteney Cox

Credit: Jon Ragel/NBC

Emmy-Worthy Role: Monica Geller, Friends
A quick list of all Friends' Emmy nominees: Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Christina Applegate, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Susan Sarandon, Tom Selleck, Gary Oldman, Marlo Thomas, Hank Azaria, Danny DeVito. That is all.

7 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Hugh Laurie

Credit: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Emmy-Worthy Role: Gregory House, House
Did you notice how House grew more irritable every year? It's perhaps understandable when you remember that Emmy voters failed to call his name each of the six years that he was nominated, a shame because Laurie would've delivered the evening's most memorable speech. His two funny—and delightfully English—Golden Globe acceptance speeches were instant classics.

8 of 20

Advertisement

9 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Larry Hagman

Credit: CBS

Emmy-Worthy Role: J.R. Ewing, Dallas
Primetime soaps are typically second-class citizens on Emmy night, but, when Dallas was TV's biggest show in the early '80s, Hagman claimed the throne of TV's most notorious villain and got invited to the ball twice.

9 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Steve Carell

Credit: Byron Cohen/NBC

Emmy-Worthy Role: Michael Scott, The Office
Carell never took home the top prize, despite being nominated for six straight years. But if voters penalized him because he was simultaneously a box-office star, they failed to properly credit a man who ably filled the unfillable shoes of Ricky Gervais.

10 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Elizabeth Montgomery

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Samantha Stephens, Bewitched
Montgomery earned nine Emmy nominations, including five in a row for her role as TV's favorite undercover witch. She was so solid that no one seemed to mind when the show even recast her husband midstream.

11 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

George Clooney

Credit: Sven Arnstein/NBC

Emmy-Worthy Role: Dr. Doug Ross, ER
Clooney was nominated twice for his dashing turn as a heroic pediatrician, but when Hollywood beckoned, he lost his underdog status. Fortunately, he has Oscars to keep him warm at night.

12 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Gracie Allen

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Host of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Allen can take pride in clobbering Burns in nominations during the run of their hit show: 6-zip. (He was finally honored for a TV special in 1990.) But she could always say goodnight early on Emmy night, losing to the likes of Lucille Ball and Dinah Shore.

13 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Michael Landon

Credit: NBC

Emmy-Worthy Role: Charles Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie
Answer: 426, 187, 111, 0. Question: What is the number of episodes Landon starred in of Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven, respectively, followed by the number of his career Emmy nominations? That's just cruel, Emmy.

14 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Cybill Shepherd

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Maddie Hayes, Moonlighting
Shepherd later earned three more nominations for her show Cybill, but it was her one nod for Moonlighting that reestablished her as a star. Before the show's romance overheated, she and Bruce Willis (who would ultimately win) were both recognized in the drama category but would the show have had better luck categorized as a comedy?

15 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Jason Alexander

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: George Costanza, Seinfeld
Alexander was nominated seven consecutive times in the 1990s for his pathetic Lord of the Idiots, but fans of the show were forced to choose between him and Michael Richards' wacky Kramer. Final score: Richards, 3; Alexander, 0.

16 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Calista Flockhart

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Ally McBeal, Ally McBeal
Was the show a drama or a comedy? Maybe that's why Flockhart came up short, despite three nominations for her role as a millennial Mary Tyler Moore. McBeal didn't quite fit the quippy sitcom gal that Emmy preferred at the time, but she carried a great dramedy for five solid seasons.

17 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

18 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Steve Allen

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Host of The Steve Allen Show
As the pioneer of the original Tonight Show on NBC, Allen helped invent a format, and his primetime variety show, for which he was nominated twice, showcased the likes of Elvis Presley and a young Johnny Carson.

18 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

19 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Nancy Walker

Credit: Everett Collection

Emmy-Worthy Role: Ida Morgenstern, Rhoda
After three semi-dramatic nominations for co-starring in McMillan & Wife, Walker landed four more nods playing Valerie Harper's wisecracking, overbearing Jewish mother in this Mary Tyler Moore spinoff. It was the role she was born to play, but Emmy never came through.

19 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

20 of 20

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Jackie Gleason

Credit: CBS

Emmy-Worthy Role: Ralph Kramden, The Honeymooners
The Great One was nominated for five Emmys, three of which were for The Jackie Gleason Show, where he originated the character of New York's loudest bus driver. Co-star Art Carney, who won five Emmys for the role of Ralph's sidekick Ed Norton, soon learned to hide his trophies whenever his pal visited.

20 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Jeff Labrecque @JeffLabrecque

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 20 Amy Poehler
2 of 20 Jon Hamm
3 of 20 Angela Lansbury
4 of 20 Desi Arnaz
5 of 20 Phylicia Rashad
6 of 20 Andy Griffith
7 of 20 Courteney Cox
8 of 20 Hugh Laurie
9 of 20 Larry Hagman
10 of 20 Steve Carell
11 of 20 Elizabeth Montgomery
12 of 20 George Clooney
13 of 20 Gracie Allen
14 of 20 Michael Landon
15 of 20 Cybill Shepherd
16 of 20 Jason Alexander
17 of 20 Calista Flockhart
18 of 20 Steve Allen
19 of 20 Nancy Walker
20 of 20 Jackie Gleason

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
EW.com Entertainment Weekly

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
© Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

View image

Emmys: 20 Who Never Won
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.