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With his Emmy nomination, composer Alan Menken is now officially vying for an even greater honor — the E.G.O.T.
The acronym stands, of course, for Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony. Menken, a showbiz veteran, collected Oscars for his iconic songs and scores in Disney classics Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Pocahontas, and he has the most Oscars of any person living (eight).
His Grammy came just last year, won with Glenn Slater for the song “I See The Light” in Disney’s Tangled. And months later, Menken and Jack Feldman collected a Tony for their original score to Newsies.
Now, Menken’s song, “More Or Less The Kind Of Thing You May Or May Not Possibly See On Broadway,” in ABC’s sitcom The Neighbors has earned him an original music and lyrics Emmy nomination. Should he complete the E.G.O.T., he would join only 11 other artists, among them Mel Brooks, Audrey Hepburn, Mike Nichols, and three composers — Richard Rodgers, Jonathan Tunick, and Marvin Hamlisch.
STORY: Emmy Nominations: The Complete Guide
Menken is nominated with lyricist Slater, the first Emmy nod for both.
The Neighbors, created by Tangled writer Dan Fogelman, follows a typical American family who moves to a suburb populated by quirky aliens. In the episode “Sing Like a Larry Bird,” the aliens discover Broadway and are inspired to stage their own musical number, which is Menken and Slater’s tune.
“The song is basically a parody on Broadway, in the style of Belle from Beauty and the Beast,” Menken said.
He and Slater face tough competition from Adam Schlesinger and David Javerbaum, who won last year for the Tony Awards song “It’s Not Just For Gays Anymore,” and are nominated for this year’s Tony tune, “If I Had Time.”
Also nominated are Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, and Tracy Wigfield for 30 Rock’s “Rural Juror,” Sarah Jane Buxton and Kate York for Nashville’s “Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again,” and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for “Hang The Moon” and Andrew McMahon for “I Hear Your Voice In A Dream,” both from Smash.
Menken is repped by Kraft-Engel.
Twitter: @THRMusic
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