The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program was an annual award given to performers in a variety/music series or specials. The award has been retired; it was last presented in 2008.
Winners and nominations
1950s Year Performer Program Network 1959(11th) Perry Como The Perry Como Show NBC Steve Allen The Steve Allen Show NBC Jack Paar Tonight Starring Jack Paar Dinah Shore The Dinah Shore Chevy ShowNBC Patti Page The Patti Page Show ABC
1960s Year Performer Program Network 1960(12th) Harry Belafonte The Revlon Revue: Tonight with BelafonteCBS Fred Astaire Another Evening with Fred Astaire NBC Dinah Shore The Dinah Shore Chevy Show 1961(13th) Fred Astaire Astaire TimeNBC Harry Belafonte Belafonte N.Y. CBS Dinah Shore The Dinah Shore Chevy Show NBC 1962(14th) Carol Burnett The Garry Moore ShowCBS Edie Adams Here's Edie ABC Perry Como The Kraft Music Hall NBC Judy Garland The Judy Garland Show CBS Yves Montand Yves Montand on Broadway ABC 1963(15th) Carol Burnett Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall An Evening with Carol BurnettCBS Edie Adams Here's Edie ABC Merv Griffin The Merv Griffin ShowNBC Danny Kaye The Danny Kaye Show Andy Williams The Andy Williams Show 1964(16th) Danny Kaye The Danny Kaye ShowCBS Judy Garland The Judy Garland Show CBS Barbra Streisand Burr Tillstrom That Was the Week That Was NBC Andy Williams The Andy Williams Show 1967(19th)Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category Art Carney The Jackie Gleason ShowCBS— 1968(20th)Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category Art Carney The Jackie Gleason Show CBS Pat Paulsen The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour— 1969(21st)Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category Arte Johnson Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC Harvey Korman The Carol Burnett ShowCBS Ruth Buzzi Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC Goldie Hawn
1970s Year Performer Program Network 1971(23rd)Awarded under the "Special Classification – Individuals" category Harvey Korman The Carol Burnett Show CBS Arte Johnson Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC Lily Tomlin 1972(24th) Harvey Korman The Carol Burnett Show CBS Ruth Buzzi Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC Lily Tomlin 1973(25th) Tim Conway The Carol Burnett ShowCBS Harvey Korman The Carol Burnett Show CBS Liza Minnelli A Royal Gala Variety Performance ABC Lily Tomlin Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC 1974(26th) Harvey Korman The Carol Burnett Show CBS Foster Brooks The Dean Martin Show NBC Tim Conway The Carol Burnett ShowCBS Brenda Vaccaro The Shape of ThingsNBC Ruth Buzzi The Dean Martin Show NBC Lee Grant The Shape of Things Vicki Lawrence The Carol Burnett Show CBS 1975(27th) Jack Albertson Cher CBS Tim Conway The Carol Burnett Show CBS John Denver Doris Day Today Cloris Leachman CherCBS Vicki Lawrence The Carol Burnett Show CBS Rita Moreno Out to Lunch ABC 1976(28th) Chevy Chase NBC's Saturday NightNBC Tim Conway The Carol Burnett Show CBS Harvey Korman Vicki Lawrence The Carol Burnett Show CBS Cloris Leachman Telly... Who Loves Ya, Baby?CBS 1977(29th) Tim Conway The Carol Burnett ShowCBS John Belushi Saturday Night Live NBC Chevy Chase Harvey Korman The Carol Burnett Show CBS Ben Vereen The Bell Telephone Jubilee NBC Rita Moreno The Muppet Show Syndicated Vicki Lawrence The Carol Burnett Show CBS Gilda Radner Saturday Night Live NBC Helen O'Connell Miss Universe Beauty Pageant CBS 1978(30th) Tim Conway The Carol Burnett ShowCBS Dan Aykroyd Saturday Night Live NBC John Belushi Louis Gossett Jr. The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots ABC Peter Sellers The Muppet Show Syndicated Gilda Radner Saturday Night Live NBC Beatrice Arthur Laugh-In NBC Jane Curtin Saturday Night Live NBC Dolly Parton Cher... Special ABC Bernadette Peters The Muppet Show Syndicated Mikhail Baryshnikov The Nutcracker CBS 1979(31st) Mikhail Baryshnikov Baryshnikov at the White House PBS
1980s Year Performer Program Network 1980(32nd) Donald O'Connor The 52nd Annual Academy Awards ABC 1981(33rd) Sarah Vaughan Rhapsody and Song – A Tribute to George Gershwin (Great Performances) PBS 1982(34th) Nell Carter Ain't Misbehavin' NBC André De Shields Gregory Hines I Love Liberty ABC 1983(35th) Leontyne Price Leontyne Price, Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic (Live from Lincoln Center)PBS Carol Burnett Texaco Star Theater... Opening Night NBC Michael Jackson Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti and the New York Philharmonic (Live from Lincoln Center) PBS Richard Pryor Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever NBC 1984(36th) Cloris Leachman Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration CBS Debbie Allen Live... And in Person NBC George Burns George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business Eddie Murphy Saturday Night Live Joe Piscopo Lily Tomlin Live... And in Person James Levine Live from the Met Centennial Gala PBS Leontyne Price In Performance at the White House: An Evening of Spirituals and Gospel Music 1985(37th) George Hearn Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Great Performances) PBS Billy Crystal Saturday Night Live NBC Gregory Hines Motown Returns to the Apollo Patti LaBelle Angela Lansbury Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Great Performances) PBS Luciano Pavarotti Rigoletto (Great Performances) PBS 1986(38th) Whitney Houston The 28th Annual Grammy Awards CBS Debbie Allen An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. NBC Patti LaBelle Sylvia Fine Kaye's Musical Comedy Tonight III (Great Performances) PBS Jon Lovitz Saturday Night Live NBC Sarah Vaughan The 28th Annual Grammy Awards CBS Stevie Wonder An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. NBC Plácido Domingo Cavalleria Rusticana (Great Performances) PBS 1987(39th) Robin Williams A Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin ABC Billy Crystal The 29th Annual Grammy AwardsCBS Julie Kavner The Tracey Ullman Show Fox Angela Lansbury The 1987 Tony Awards CBS Jon Lovitz Saturday Night Live NBC Leonard Bernstein Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening CBS Isaac Stern 1988(40th) Robin Williams ABC Presents a Royal Gala ABC Mikhail Baryshnikov Celebrating Gershwin (Great Performances) PBS Ray Charles Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration CBS Billy Crystal An All-Star Toast to the Improv HBO Julie Kavner The Tracey Ullman Show Fox Mikhail Baryshnikov Dance in America: David Gordon's Made in U.S.A. (Great Performances) PBS Plácido Domingo Aida: From the Houston Grand Opera (Great Performances) Billy Crystal The 30th Annual Grammy Awards CBS 1989(41st) Linda Ronstadt Canciones de Mi Padre (Great Performances) PBS Dana Carvey Saturday Night Live NBC Julie Kavner The Tracey Ullman Show Fox Thom Fountain, Sandey Grinn, Maurice LaMarche, John Lovelady, Steve Sherman, Van Snowden, Fred Spencer, Allan Trautman and Todd Walcott Sid and Marty Krofft's D.C. Follies (Episode 202) Syndicated Thom Fountain, Sandey Grinn, John Lovelady, John Roarke, Steve Sherman, Van Snowden, Fred Spencer, Allan Trautman and Todd Walcott Sid and Marty Krofft's D.C. Follies (Episode 211) Mikhail Baryshnikov Dance in America: Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine (Great Performances) PBS Billy Crystal The 31st Annual Grammy Awards CBS
1990s Year Performer Program Network 1990(42nd) Tracey Ullman The Best of the Tracey Ullman Show Fox Dana Carvey Saturday Night Live NBC Billy Crystal Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to Moscow HBO Julie Kavner The Tracey Ullman Show Fox Angela Lansbury The 43rd Annual Tony Awards CBS 1991(43rd) Billy Crystal The 63rd Annual Academy Awards ABC Dana Carvey Saturday Night Live NBC Harry Connick Jr. Swinging Out with Harry (Great Performances) PBS Damon Wayans In Living Color Fox Keenen Ivory Wayans 1992(44th) Bette Midler The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson NBC George Carlin George Carlin Live at Paramount: Jammin' in New York HBO Dana Carvey Saturday Night Live NBC Natalie Cole Unforgettable, with Love: Natalie Cole Sings the Songs of Nat King Cole (Great Performances) PBS Billy Crystal The 64th Annual Academy Awards ABC 1993(45th) Dana Carvey Saturday Night Live NBC Cirque du Soleil The Tonight Show with Jay Leno NBC Billy Crystal The 65th Annual Academy Awards ABC Liza Minnelli Liza Minnelli Live from Radio City Music Hall PBS Lily Tomlin The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Showtime 1994(46th) Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman Takes On New York HBO Whoopi Goldberg The 66th Annual Academy Awards ABC Phil Hartman Saturday Night Live NBC Mike Myers Lily Tomlin Growing Up Funny Lifetime 1995(47th) Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand: The Concert HBO Julie Andrews The Sound of Julie Andrews Disney Carol Burnett Men, Movies and Carol CBS Rosie O'DonnellIn 1995, Dennis Miller was nominated for his HBO talkshow Dennis Miller Live. His nomination was belatedly rescinded after the Academy said it discovered rules do not allow the host of a variety or music series to be nominated for the same program if the host's name is in the title. Sixth place finisher Rosie O'Donnell was named as the replacement nominee. Rosie O'Donnell Comedy Special HBO Tracey Ullman Women of the Night 1996(48th) Tony Bennett Tony Bennett Live by Request: A Valentine Special A&E Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams Comic Relief VII HBO Ellen DeGeneres The 38th Annual Grammy Awards CBS Whoopi Goldberg The 68th Annual Academy Awards NBC Tracey Ullman The Best of Tracey Takes On... HBO 1997(49th) Bette Midler Bette Midler: Diva Las Vegas HBO George Carlin George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy HBO Billy Crystal The 69th Annual Academy Awards ABC Bill Maher Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher Tracey Ullman Tracey Takes On... HBO 1998(50th) Billy Crystal The 70th Annual Academy Awards ABC Garth Brooks Garth: Live from Central Park HBO Michael Crawford Michael Crawford in Concert PBS Jay Leno The Tonight Show with Jay Leno NBC David Letterman Late Show with David Letterman CBS Tracey Ullman Tracey Takes On... HBO 1999(51st) John Leguizamo John Leguizamo's Freak HBO George Carlin George Carlin: You Are All Diseased HBO Dennis Miller Dennis Miller Live Chris Rock The Chris Rock Show Tracey Ullman Tracey Takes On...
2000s