Elton John joins the EGOT ranks as Dodger Stadium farewell special wins Emmy
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Elton John just completed his EGOT!
"Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium" scored the Emmy for variety special (live) Monday night at the 75th Emmy Awards, making the acclaimed hitmaker an EGOT (that is, an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner). The "Rocket Man" singer is the 19th artist to nab all four major awards. At 76, he's the second oldest, behind John Gielgud, who completed the EGOT at 87 in 1991.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler presented the award, with Poehler hinting at the accomplishment before the winner was announced. "Now I can't speak for Elton but EGOT to be excited," she joked.
The iconic performer's "Farewell From Dodger Stadium" received three nominations this year, and won all three categories. The three-day stand at Dodger Stadium, John's final shows in North America, took place in November 2022, and called back to 1975, when John performed two sold out and career-defining concerts at the same venue.
Read more: 2023 Emmy Awards: The list of winners
Director and producer Ben Winston accepted the Emmy in John's absence. "I am not Elton John," he began. "I'm not. Sadly, he had a knee [operation.] He's absolutely fine. But he wanted to send his love and thanks to the Television Academy for this incredible award."
Read more: Goodbye, Elton John: Inside the music legend's final Dodger Stadium concert
"We knew this show would be historic, because it was going to be Elton's last ever show in North America on tour," he continued. "We knew it would be historic because it was Disney's first ever live global stream. We didn't know this was going to be historic because it was going to win a man who has created the soundtrack to all of our lives — he's done so much great for society, he is all of our heroes — we didn't know that it was going to win him an EGOT!"
Backstage, the show's production team video-called John with the news. They woke him up in the middle of the night in the UK, as he recovers from having his knee replaced, and when they told him he'd completed the EGOT, he screamed.
Elton won his first of five Grammys in 1987 for his part in Dionne & Friends’ “That’s What Friends Are For,” which won pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. He took home his first of two Oscars for original song in 1995 with "The Lion King" ballad “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” And he nabbed an original score Tony in 2000 for his work on "Aida."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
