The 8th Emmy Awards, later referred to as the 8th Primetime Emmy Awards, were held on March 17, 1956, to honor the best in television of the year. The ceremony was held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Hollywood, California and was hosted by Art Linkletter and John Charles Daly. All nominations are listed, with winners in bold and series' networks are in parentheses.

The top shows of the night were The Phil Silvers Show, and Producers' Showcase. Each show won a record four major awards. Producers' Showcase, with its twelve major nominations, became the first show to receive over ten major nominations. (Both of these records were subsequently passed by multiple shows).

Winners and nominees Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

Programs

+ The Phil Silvers Show (CBS) The Bob Cummings Show (CBS) Caesar's Hour (NBC) The George Gobel Show (NBC) The Jack Benny Program (CBS) Make Room for Daddy (ABC) Producers' Showcase (NBC) Climax! (CBS) Goodyear Television Playhouse (NBC) Studio One (CBS) The United States Steel Hour (CBS) The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) The Dinah Shore Show (NBC) Ford Star Jubilee (CBS) The Perry Como Show (NBC) Shower of Stars (CBS) The $64,000 Question (CBS) I've Got a Secret (CBS) People Are Funny (NBC) What's My Line? (CBS) You Bet Your Life (NBC) Disneyland (ABC) Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS) Dragnet (NBC) Gunsmoke (CBS) The Lineup (CBS) Lassie (CBS) Ding Dong School (NBC) Kukla, Fran and Ollie (ABC) The Mickey Mouse Club (ABC) The Pinky Lee Show (NBC) Puppet Playhouse (NBC) Omnibus (CBS) Meet the Press (NBC) Person to Person (CBS) See It Now (CBS) Wide Wide World (NBC) A-Bomb Coverage (CBS) 7th Primetime Emmy Awards (NBC) 27th Academy Awards (NBC) Rose Bowl (NBC) World Series (NBC) Your Hit Parade (NBC) Coke Time with Eddie Fisher (NBC) The Dinah Shore Show (NBC) The Perry Como Show (NBC) The Voice of Firestone (CBS) Matinee Theatre (NBC) The Bob Crosby Show (CBS) The Garry Moore Show (CBS) Home (NBC) Today (NBC) Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" (NBC) Disneyland: "Davy Crocket and the River Pirates" (ABC) Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" (CBS) Make Room for Daddy: "Peter Pan Meets Rusty Williams" (ABC) Producers' Showcase: "The Sleeping Beauty" (NBC) The United States Steel Hour: "No Time for Sergeants" (CBS) Wide Wide World: "The American West" (NBC)

Acting

Lead performances + Phil Silvers – The Phil Silvers Show as MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko (CBS) Robert Cummings – The Bob Cummings Show as Bob Collins (CBS) Jackie Gleason – The Honeymooners as Ralph Kramden (CBS) Danny Thomas – Make Room for Daddy as Danny Williams (ABC) Robert Young – Father Knows Best as Jim Anderson (CBS) Lucille Ball – I Love Lucy as Lucy Ricardo (CBS) Gracie Allen – The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as Gracie Allen (CBS) Eve Arden – Our Miss Brooks as Connie Brooks (CBS) Ann Sothern – Private Secretary as Susie McNamara (CBS)

Supporting performances + Art Carney – The Honeymooners as Ed Norton (CBS) Ed Begley – Kraft Television Theatre: "Patterns" as Andy Sloane (NBC) William Frawley – I Love Lucy as Fred Mertz (CBS) Carl Reiner – Caesar's Hour as various characters (NBC) Cyril Ritchard – Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" as Mr. Darling / Captain Hook (NBC) Nanette Fabray – Caesar's Hour as various characters (NBC) Ann B. Davis – The Bob Cummings Show: "Schultzy's Dream World" as Charmaine Schultz (CBS) Jean Hagen – Make Room for Daddy as Margaret Williams (ABC) Audrey Meadows – The Honeymooners as Alice Kramden (CBS) Thelma Ritter – Goodyear Television Playhouse: "The Catered Affair" as Aggie Hurley (NBC)

Single performances + Lloyd Nolan – Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" as Capt. Queeg (CBS) Ralph Bellamy – The United States Steel Hour: "The Fearful Decision" as the Father (CBS) José Ferrer – Producers' Showcase: "Cyrano de Bergerac" as Cyrano (NBC) Everett Sloane – Kraft Television Theatre: "Patterns" as the President (NBC) Barry Sullivan – Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" as Defense Attorney Greenwald (CBS) Mary Martin – Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" as Peter Pan (NBC) Julie Harris – The United States Steel Hour: "A Wind from the South" as Shevawn (CBS) Eva Marie Saint – Producers' Showcase: "Our Town" as Emily (NBC) Jessica Tandy – Producers' Showcase: "The Fourposter" as the Wife (NBC) Loretta Young – The Loretta Young Show: "Christmas Stopover" as Sadie (NBC)

Directing + The Phil Silvers Show – Nat Hiken (CBS) Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "The Case of Mr. Pelham" – Alfred Hitchcock (CBS) The Bob Cummings Show – Rod Amateau (CBS) Dragnet – Jack Webb (NBC) Make Room for Daddy – Sheldon Leonard (ABC) You Are There – Bernard Girard (CBS) Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" – Franklin Schaffner (CBS) Climax!: "Portrait in Celluloid" – John Frankenheimer (CBS) Producers' Showcase: "Our Town" – Delbert Mann (NBC) Producers' Showcase: "Peter Pan" – Clark Jones (NBC) The United States Steel Hour: "No Time for Sergeants" – Alex Segal (CBS)

Producing + Disneyland – Walt Disney (ABC) The Bob Cummings Show – Paul Henning (CBS) Medic – Frank LaTourette (NBC) The Phil Silvers Show – Nat Hiken (CBS) You Are There – James D. Fonda (CBS) Producers' Showcase – Fred Coe (NBC) Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse – Herbert Brodkin (NBC) Climax! – Martin Manulis (CBS) The George Gobel Show – Hal Kanter (NBC) The United States Steel Hour – The Theatre Guild (CBS) Wide Wide World – Barry Wood (NBC)

Writing + Kraft Television Theatre: "Patterns" – Rod Serling (NBC) Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse: "A Catered Affair" – Paddy Chayefsky (NBC) Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse: "Thunder over Washington" – David Davidson (NBC) The Philco Television Playhouse: "A Man is Ten Feet Tall" – Robert Alan Aurthur (NBC) The United States Steel Hour: "Fearful Decision" – Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum (CBS) Ford Star Jubilee: "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" – Paul Gregory and Franklin Schaffner (CBS) The 20th Century Fox Hour: "Miracle on 34th Street" – John Monks (CBS) The 20th Century Fox Hour: "The Ox-Bow Incident" – David Dortort (CBS) Climax!: "The Champion" – Rod Serling (CBS) Producers' Showcase: "Our Town" – David Shaw (NBC) The Phil Silvers Show – Arnold Auerbach, Barry Blitzer, Vincent Bogert, Nat Hiken, Coleman Jacoby, Harvey Orkin, Arnold Rosen, Terry Ryan and Tony Webster (CBS) Caesar's Hour – Mel Brooks, Selma Diamond, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller and Mel Tolkin (NBC) The George Gobel Show – Everett Greenbaum, Hal Kanter, Howard Leeds and Harry Winkler (NBC) I Love Lucy – Bob Carroll, Jr., Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh Davis, Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf (CBS) The Jack Benny Program – George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin (CBS)

Best Specialty Act – Single or Group + Marcel Marceau Harry Belafonte Victor Borge Sammy Davis Jr. Donald O'Connor

Most major nominations +Networks with multiple major nominations"Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. Network Number ofNominations CBS 61 NBC 54 ABC 11

+Programs with multiple major nominations Program Category Network Number ofNominations Producers' Showcase Drama NBC 12 The United States Steel Hour CBS 7 Ford Star Jubilee Variety 6 The Bob Cummings Show Comedy CBS 5 Make Room for Daddy ABC The Phil Silvers Show CBS Caesar's Hour NBC 4 Climax! Drama CBS Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse NBC 3 Disneyland Action/Adventure ABC The George Gobel Show Comedy NBC The Honeymooners CBS I Love Lucy Kraft Television Theatre Drama NBC Wide Wide World Documentary The 20th Century Fox Hour Drama CBS 2 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Action/Adventure The Dinah Shore Show Music/Variety NBC Dragnet Action/Adventure Goodyear Television Playhouse Drama The Jack Benny Program Comedy CBS The Perry Como Show Music/Variety NBC You Are There Documentary CBS

Most major awards +Networks with multiple major awards"Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. Network Number ofAwards CBS 14 NBC 8 ABC 2

+Programs with multiple major awards Program Category Network Number ofAwards The Phil Silvers Show Comedy CBS 4 Producers' Showcase Drama NBC Ford Star Jubilee Variety CBS 3 Disneyland Action/Adventure ABC 2

Notes

References

External links Emmys.com list of 1956 Nominees & Winners