As a child within the Eighties, there was no present on TV that I cherished greater than Miami Vice. Properly, perhaps The A-Crew, however they’re 1A and 1B of my youth. It wasn’t till a few years later that I first heard the time period “EGOT,” which is an unofficial award in Hollywood for anybody who has received an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. It was a few years after that after I realized the place the time period was coined, and all of it goes again to one in every of my favourite reveals’ co-star, Philip Michael Thomas, who performed Det. Rico Tubbs in Miami Vice.
That’s proper, Thomas is the genius who invented the concept and coined the time period, which has develop into a buzzword in Hollywood over the 4 many years or so since he first uttered it in public. Thomas will get the reward he deserves for developing with the concept a well-rounded star may or would gather all 4 of essentially the most prestigious awards in Hollywood, and within the mid-’80s, he informed the world he had a plan to win all of them. Sadly, it hasn’t labored out that means.
To this point, there are simply 20 EGOT winners (27 when you embrace non-competitive particular awards), together with stars like Mel Brooks, Elton John, Audrey Hepburn, and Rita Moreno. There are one other 15 stars who’re one award quick. Sadly, Philip Michael Thomas shouldn’t be on both record, and it will get even worse for followers of the ‘80s star.
The Historical past Of The “EGOT” Time period
Someday in 1984, in line with Self-importance Honest, Thomas began carrying a necklace with “EGOT” on it and defined what it meant. He additionally introduced that,
Hopefully, within the subsequent 5 years, I’ll win all of these awards.
Thomas did have a plan. He was already on a success TV present (a present that had some wild visitor stars) and in 1985 he launched his first album, titled Dwelling the E-book of My Life. He adopted that up with Anyone in 1988, however neither report made a lot of an impression on the charts or on the Grammys, failing to obtain a nomination. Thomas did have a minor hit in Miami with “My, My, My, Miam…I,” however sadly, nonetheless no Grammy.
The time period actually hit the mainstream in late 2009 when Tracy Morgan’s character on 30 Rock noticed a necklace that (within the present) was as soon as owned by Thomas, just like the “EGOT” one he wore within the ‘80s. Tracy declared he, too, would devise a plan to win all 4 awards, and identical to that, the time period was throughout popular culture.
Sadly, Issues Didn’t Work Out For Thomas
To this point, in 2025, Philip Michael Thomas has not received his EGOT. Actually, he has but to win any of the 4 awards. He’s by no means even been nominated for any of the 4. I did discover in my analysis that he claimed in an interview with Johnny Carson that he had been nominated for an Emmy, however there isn’t a proof of that anyplace in Emmy’s historical past.
That bums me out. I imply, let’s not get carried away and say that Thomas deserved one in every of every, however he a minimum of deserved some nominations, particularly for Miami Vice or one in every of his visitor spots on Nash Bridges alongside his Vice co-star Don Johnson.
Thomas has been retired for a few many years now, together with his final look in any type of media coming in Grand Theft Auto: Vice Metropolis in 2003, but it surely’s by no means too late for a profession resurgence, perhaps within the forthcoming Miami Vice reboot!