Elton John has joined a select club of winners of the awards grand slam – the so-called EGOT – when he added an Emmy to his suite of career prizes.
The iconic British singer-songwriter became only the 19th person ever to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony when his Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium won Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the Emmys in Los Angeles.
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The producer Ben Winston, who took to the stage with John’s husband, David Furnish, to collect the award, said: “I am not Elton John, sadly he had a knee op. He’s absolutely fine but wanted to send his love and thanks to the Television Academy for this incredible award.
He added “We knew this show would be historic, because it was going to be Elton’s last ever show in North America on tour. We knew it would be historic because it was Disney’s first live global stream.
“We didn’t know it would be historic because it was going to win a man, who has created the soundtrack to our lives, he’s done so much great for society, who is all of our hero. We didn’t know it would win him an EGOT.”
The concert at Dodger Stadium in the heart of Los Angeles was the final stop on the North American leg of John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, an undertaking spanning several years that Billboard magazine reported grossed nearly a billion dollars.
The Emmy award is added to John’s five Grammy wins including one for 1998’s for “Candle In The Wind,” two Academy Award wins for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from The Lion King and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from the Rocketman soundtrack, alongside his Tony award for best original score for musical Aida.
Only 18 others have won the EGOT sweep, including Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Viola Davis.
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