Summary

Live coverage of the sixteenth annual Emmy awards for outstanding achievement in television, hosted by Joey Bishop from the Hollywood Palladium, and by E.G. Marshall from the Music Hall of the Texas Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York.

A running topic of comment by Bishop, some presenters, and some winners is the CBS and ABC boycott of the awards, due to controversy over the news division awards procedures (see note below).

Entertainment highlights include the following segments: Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke carry on a comic dialogue as the human embodiments of "Emmy" and "Oscar"; Danny Kaye appears in a previously filmed segment in which he portrays various characters who introduce the program; a compilation of clips of humorous moments from the previous fifteen years of awards broadcasts; Carl Reiner plays straight-man to Mel Brooks's "Two Thousand Year-Old Man"; and David Frost, Elliott Reid, Patsy Englund, and vocalist Nancy Ames of "That Was the Week That Was" perform a biting overview of the past year in television.

Presenters include: Hugh Downs, Rod Serling, Patty Duke, Jane Wyatt, David Janssen, Shirley Booth, Garry Moore, Dina Merrill, Jonathan Winters, Vincent Edwards, Nat "King" Cole, Johnny Carson, Milton Berle, Lorne Greene, and Jack Benny. Emmy winners for the 1963-1964 season include the following, among others: "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" (Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of News Reports and Public Affairs), accepted by Chet Huntley; Carl Reiner, Sam Denoff, and Bill Persky for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy or Variety); "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (Outstanding Program Achievement in Comedy); writer Theodore H. White and producers David L. Wolper and Mel Stuart for "The Making of the President, 1960" (Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Documentary Programs); Tom Gries for "East Side/West Side: Who Do You Kill?" (Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama); Rod Serling for "Bob Hope Presents Chrysler Theater: It's Mental Work" (Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Adaptation); Ernest Kinoy for "The Defenders" (Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Original); "The Defenders" (Outstanding Dramatic Program); Dick Van Dyke for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series - Lead); Mary Tyler Moore for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Series - Lead); Jack Klugman for "The Defenders: Blacklist" (Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role); Shelley Winters for "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater: Two Is the Number" (Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role); "The Bell Telephone Hour" (Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Music), accepted by executive producer Barry Wood; "The Danny Kaye Show" (Outstanding Program Achievement in Variety), accepted by producer Perry Lafferty; Danny Kaye (Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Series); and "The Making of the President 1960" (Outstanding Program of the Year), accepted by producers David L. Wolper and Mel Stuart. Includes commercials and promos.

(Note: ABC and CBS withdrew their support of the event two weeks before this broadcast, and suggested their employees boycott the show as well. CBS News president Fred W. Friendly called for the boycott, questioning the validity of the news division awards procedures and the credentials of the Academy voters for this division. ABC president Thomas W. Moore supported Friendly's boycott. NBC's "Huntley-Brinkley Report" took most of the Emmy news awards during the early 1960s, and this is cited as a main cause of suspicion of unfair practices.)