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)
|
Individual Achievement – Special Class
[note 10]
|
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)
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
|
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
|
Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming
[6]
[note 11]
|
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)
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
|
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
|
Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Performing
[7]
[note 12]
|
Luciano Pavarotti
|
Rigoletto (
Great Performances)
|
PBS
|
1986
(38th)
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
|
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
|
Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming
[8]
[note 13]
|
Plácido Domingo
|
Cavalleria Rusticana (
Great Performances)
|
PBS
|
1987
(39th)
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
|
Robin Williams
|
A Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin
|
ABC
|
Billy Crystal
|
The 29th Annual Grammy Awards
|
CBS
|
Julie Kavner
|
The Tracey Ullman Show
|
Fox
|
Angela Lansbury
|
The 1987 Tony Awards
|
CBS
|
Jon Lovitz
|
Saturday Night Live
|
NBC
|
Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Performing
[9]
[note 14]
|
Leonard Bernstein
|
Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening
|
CBS
|
Isaac Stern
|
1988
(40th)
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
|
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)
|
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
|
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)
|
Individual Performance in Classical Music/Dance Programming
[12]
|
Mikhail Baryshnikov
|
Dance in America: Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine (
Great Performances)
|
PBS
|
Performance in Special Events
|
Billy Crystal
|
The 31st Annual Grammy Awards
|
CBS
|