Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series | |
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![]() The 2024 recipient: Dick Van Dyke | |
Awarded for | Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series |
Country | United States |
Presented by | |
First award | 1980 |
Currently held by | Dick Van Dyke, Days of Our Lives (2024) |
Website | theemmys.tv/daytime |
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 7th Daytime Emmy Awards in 1980, [1] and is given to honor an actor/actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a guest role while working within the daytime drama industry.
Originally introduced as the Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Drama Series category, it was later renamed Outstanding Guest Star in a Drama Series in 1987, when the award was re-introduced after a brief absence. [2] After being retired again for several decades, the category returned in 2015 under the new title of Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series. This reintroduction, which came 28 years after its last presentation, established a stricter eligibility requirement: "the performer's character must have premiered in the current eligibility (calendar) year, and have made a limited number of appearances in a significant role". [3]
In 2018, the award adopted its current title, Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series. At the same time, the eligibility criteria were broadened, permitting submissions from actors "playing characters they either played before, or are newly cast," thus opening the category to both returning veterans and fresh additions to the cast. [4]
The award was first presented to Hugh McPhillips for his role as Hugh Pearson on Days of Our Lives . [1] Since its inception, the award has been given to twelve actors. The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital are tied as the programs with the most awarded actors, with four each. In 2015, Donna Mills, Fred Willard, and Ray Wise made Daytime Emmy Award history by tying in the category, marking the first three-way tie in its history. As of the 2024 ceremony, Dick Van Dyke is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Mystery Man/Timothy Robicheaux on Days of Our Lives. At 98 years old, Van Dyke also became the oldest performer to win a Daytime Emmy Award.
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.
‡ | Indicates the winner |
Year | Performer | Program | Role | Network | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980 ( 7th ) | Hugh McPhillips ‡ | Days of Our Lives | Hugh Pearson | [1] | |
Sammy Davis Jr. | One Life to Live | Chip Warren | [5] | ||
Joan Fontaine | Ryan's Hope | Page Williams | ABC | ||
Kathryn Harrow | The Doctors | Pat Reyerson | ABC | ||
Eli Mintz | All My Children | Locksmith | ABC | ||
1987 ( 14th ) | John Wesley Shipp ‡ | Santa Barbara | Martin Ellis | [6] | |
Pamela Blair | All My Children | Maida Andrews | ABC | ||
Eileen Heckart | One Life to Live | Ruth Perkins | ABC | ||
Celeste Holm | Loving | Clara and Lydia Woodhouse | ABC | ||
Terrence Mann | As the World Turns | Jester | CBS |