Gorshin--Emmy nom?

[Greg Cox]

Okay, here we go again. It's widely reported that Frank Gorshin got an Emmy nomination for his performance in "Let that Be Your Last Battlefield." So how come I can't find it listed in the official Emmy database? Is this a fannish myth or this just a glitch in the database?

 

[PvtKtara]

I heard him say himself during a radio interview that he got an Emmy nom for that role, but yeah, nothing on the Emmy website to confirm it.

 

[Christopher]

The only actor I know of who ever got an Emmy nomination for Star Trek was Leonard Nimoy. And I really don't see Bele as an Emmy-worthy performance.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Okay, here we go again. It's widely reported that Frank Gorshin got an Emmy nomination for his performance in "Let that Be Your Last Battlefield." So how come I can't find it listed in the official Emmy database? Is this a fannish myth or this just a glitch in the database?

Probably Paramount put him up for the award, but he didn't make the nomination list. Over time, one's proposals, nominations (and wins) would probably blur.

Wikipedia says "he was nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy) for his best remembered role as The Riddler in the Batman live action television series" but then goes on to mention the Trek one. However, that info is not footnoted.

Another thought: was the episode he appeared in used as the official entry for one of the technical awards that year?

 

[Greg Cox]

It's weird. This factoid is all over the net, and even appears on the "official" Frank Gorshin website. But are all these sites just citing each other?

 

[Christopher]

^Sounds like it. That kind of encyclopedic error is quite common on the net. For instance, there was that one guy who straight-up guessed that the human form of Isis in "Assignment: Earth" was played by Victoria Vetri (a guess that I'm convinced is wrong, because Vetri's face is different, her eyes are a different color and she has a speck on the white of one of her eyes that the Isis portrayer lacked), and even though there was never any confirmation of that speculation, some websites such as IMDb started reporting it as fact, and other websites copied them, and so on.

 

[Greg Cox]

^Sounds like it. That kind of encyclopedic error is quite common on the net. For instance, there was that one guy who straight-up guessed that the human form of Isis in "Assignment: Earth" was played by Victoria Vetri (a guess that I'm convinced is wrong, because Vetri's face is different, her eyes are a different color and she has a speck on the white of one of her eyes that the Isis portrayer lacked), and even though there was never any confirmation of that speculation, some websites such as IMDb started reporting it as fact, and other websites copied them, and so on.

For what it's worth, my girlfriend, who is a professional sculptor who specializes in character likenesses, doesn't think Vetri is Isis. She says the faces are subtly different and she has a good eye for that kind of thing.

Back to Gorshin: even most of his obituaries cite this elusive nomination, but the NYT one does not. An omission--or better fact-checking?

 

[Christopher]

^I think their faces are very different. Vetri in the '60s had a much more innocent, Dawn Wells-ish look, not nearly as vampy as "Isis" -- and considerably prettier. Beyond a broadly similar bone structure and hair color, I don't see much resemblance to "Isis" at all.

As for Gorshin, I'd trust the New York Times over the Internet any day.

 

[Greg Cox]

As for Gorshin, I'd trust the New York Times over the Internet any day.

I'm inclined to agree, although the NYT obit doesn't say he didn't get an Emmy nom for Star Trek. It just conspicuously fails to mention it--unlike every other article out there!

 

[Christopher]

Actually Gorshin won the Emmy, but he refused to show up since he was protesting discrimination against people who were white on the right side.

 

[Greg Cox]

Actually Gorshin won the Emmy, but he refused to show up since he was protesting discrimination against people who were white on the right side.

Of course! That makes sense!

And he sent Miramanee to refuse the award . . . .

 

[Elder Knight]

In those segregated days, he could only get half a nomination . . .

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

My understanding is that Gorshin was hesitant to take the role on Star Trek but met Martin Luther King at a fundraiser and King pleaded with him to do it.

I don't have a footnote or citation for that, but one must exist somewhere.

 

[T'Bonz]

My mother went to school with Gorshin (actually true) and said he was a jagoff (Pittsburghese for a jerk).

But perhaps only half of him was a jerk. I'll have to ask her.

 

[M'Sharak]

It's weird. This factoid is all over the net, and even appears on the "official" Frank Gorshin website. But are all these sites just citing each other?

^Sounds like it. That kind of encyclopedic error is quite common on the net.

Common enough, even before there was an internet.

 

[Christopher]

^Sounds like it. That kind of encyclopedic error is quite common on the net.

Common enough, even before there was an internet.

Yes, but at least then most published works had editors who at least understood there was a difference between a speculation and a verified fact. They made mistakes, but at least there was a mechanism in place to minimize the number of mistakes made. That filter doesn't exist on most of the Internet, at least not reliably.

 

[Greg Cox]

Once a bad piece of data gets into print, the error tends to perpetuate itself. Years ago, when I was working at William Morrow, an early document mistakenly identified an author's agent as her co-author. The error was corrected quickly, but kept resurfacing for years thereafter. Every time I thought it was dead, it would pop up again in some new backlist catalog or something . . . .

 

[Elder Knight]

My understanding is that Gorshin was hesitant to take the role on Star Trek but met Martin Luther King at a fundraiser and King pleaded with him to do it.

I don't have a footnote or citation for that, but one must exist somewhere.

Truth is that Rev. King was indifferent, so Gorshin only went halfway.

 

[Ssosmcin]

This is actually the first time I heard this. I didn't believe it for a second. If his hammy, over the top hysterics were Emmy worthy, then Shatner should have been nominated for And the Children Shall Lead or Day of the Dove. Don't get me wrong, I thought Gorshin was plenty of fun in the role and he really helped make an otherwise dull outing worth watching. But Emmy nominated? Please. There should be a TV series called "BS in Trek Lore."

I want Mythbusters to tackle the MLK story, too…

"I'm sorry, Ms. Nichols, Dr. King can't come to the phone. He's in with Mr. Cosby congratulating him on breaking down the racial barries with three conescutive emmy wins."

 

[PvtKtara]

I'll pass that suggestion on to Captain Robert April, so he can include a small section in the new Concordance.