Johnny Carson posed with Emmy in a promotional photo in 1972; two years later, he hosted the ceremony for the last time. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment When the Emmys go live Sept. 14 from the Peacock Theater, Nate Bargatze will take the stage in the dual role of first-time host and first-time nominee, for his Netflix special Your Friend, Nate Bargatze. He will be following in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, who hosted the Emmys from 1971 to 1974 and was nominated three of those years, for The Tonight Show. Back then, THR's reviews of the awards broadcast were unsurprisingly effusive about the king of late night TV, calling him a "wonderful host" who "presided over the show with his usual charm and humor." After the 1974 ceremony - the last one he'd ever MC - Carson went on the record calling to abolish competitive Emmys as they existed at the time, to be replaced with a more selective system akin to the Peabody Awards. "You don't say there's a category for drama, a category for comedy," Carson told THR. "If Mary Tyler Moore deserves an Emmy, and she does, for her consistent quality, you give it to her. But you don't make her compete against Carol Burnett. If Carol Burnett also deserves one, you give one to her, also." Carson went on to win four competitive Emmys, and in 1980, the Television Academy honored him with its third-ever Governors Award. Much like what he had advocated, the special award is given to those who have "made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution" to television. This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up The Pitt R. Scott Gemmill Had a Very Different Idea for a Medical Drama Before 'The Pitt' - One That Involved Flashbacks to 'ER' The Diplomat Debora Cahn Talks Season 3 of 'The Diplomat' and Whether She'll Infuse the Current Political Climate Into the Series The Bear Ayo Edebiri on if 'The Bear' Is Considered a Comedy or Drama: "That's a Question for the Studios" Slow Horses Doug Urbanski May Have Found the Next Project to Keep Gary Oldman From Retiring Live Feed Hulu's Virgin Dating Show Is a Wild Concept, But "Sex Sells - or the Lack of It," Say Kaitlyn Bristowe and Colton Underwood Paradise Dan Fogelman Reveals There's an Entire Episode Dedicated to Jane in Season 2 of 'Paradise' The Pitt R. Scott Gemmill Had a Very Different Idea for a Medical Drama Before 'The Pitt' - One That Involved Flashbacks to 'ER' The Diplomat Debora Cahn Talks Season 3 of 'The Diplomat' and Whether She'll Infuse the Current Political Climate Into the Series The Bear Ayo Edebiri on if 'The Bear' Is Considered a Comedy or Drama: "That's a Question for the Studios" Slow Horses Doug Urbanski May Have Found the Next Project to Keep Gary Oldman From Retiring Live Feed Hulu's Virgin Dating Show Is a Wild Concept, But "Sex Sells - or the Lack of It," Say Kaitlyn Bristowe and Colton Underwood Paradise Dan Fogelman Reveals There's an Entire Episode Dedicated to Jane in Season 2 of 'Paradise'