Hollywood Flashback: ‘Ordinary People’ Led CBS’ First Golden Globes

Ryan Gajewski
·2 min read
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The Golden Globes telecast is heading back to CBS for the first time in more than four decades. The ceremony is a TV staple, with viewers having come to expect a show that’s looser than the Academy Awards, thanks in part to plentiful alcohol. But the Globes, which debuted in 1944 and could be seen on NBC in the 1960s, went unaired throughout most of the 1970s due to (yup) scandals surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s voting process.

Its first CBS broadcast took place on Jan. 31, 1981, where the big winner was Ordinary People, the adaptation of Judith Guest’s 1976 novel about an affluent family devastated by loss. Produced by Ronald L. Schwary, the film landed eight nominations en route to five trophies, including those for best drama, best actress (Mary Tyler Moore) and best director (Robert Redford, in his feature debut behind the camera). Breakout star Timothy Hutton, at just 20, took home best supporting actor and new actor of the year, with the former presented by Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin, whose comedy 9 to 5 was nominated in three categories.

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THR’s review of Ordinary People noted Hutton “makes a strong impression in his motion picture debut and carries the film with a sensitive and realistically drawn portrayal of the tormented youth.” Two months later, the film led the Oscars with four awards, with Hutton becoming the youngest-ever supporting actor honoree — a distinction he still holds.

The Globes aired on CBS for one more year before a long NBC run that ended after the 2023 telecast. Controversy surrounding the HFPA and a lack of Black representation in its membership prompted the organization to disband in June, with Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries acquiring the Globes. (DCP and THR are both owned by Penske Media Eldridge.)

This year’s Globes ceremony returns to CBS on Jan. 7 with host Jo Koy. While the best new actor category was dropped after 1983, this year’s awards will include new honors for “cinematic and box office achievement” and “best performance in stand-up comedy on television.” As for Hutton, he said in 2015 about his Ordinary People success, “It was one of the most ideal set of circumstances I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

This story first appeared in the Jan. 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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