Sir David Attenborough, the famed naturalist and filmmaker who turned 100 in May, broke the record for the oldest nominee in Primetime Emmy history today, scoring not one but two nominations for Outstanding Narrator.
He was for his work narrating the Netflix documentary film A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough, and the National Geographic film Ocean with David Attenborough, which examines the wonders of the oceans and threats to marine life from climate change and other environmental ravages. Attenborough has won that category three times before, most recently in 2020. Last year, he was nominated for Outstanding Narrator for the BBC documentary series Asia.
Attenborough, who was born May 8, 1926, outside of London, eclipsed the previous record for oldest Primetime Emmy nominee held by the late Norman Lear, who was a mere 99 and 11 months old in 2022 when he was nominated in the Outstanding Variety Series (Live) category for executive producing Live in Front of a Studio Audience. Lear had turned 100 by the time the 2022 Primetime Emmys Awards were presented.
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Attenborough wasn’t the only celebrity centenarian with reason to pop champagne corks this morning. Emmy voters sent their love to Mel Brooks, focus of the HBO documentary Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!, directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. That two-part film was nominated for multiple Emmys including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program, recognizing Apatow and Bonfiglio. Brooks, who turned 100 on June 28, is not part of the producing team on the film and thus isn’t nominated himself for The 99-Year-Old Man!
Brooks was nominated for an Emmy at age 97 for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for the Disney+ series History of the World: Part II. He’s an EGOT winner too, of course, and has claimed four Emmys as part of his trophy haul, winning most recently in 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Mad About You.
National Geographic/Silverback Films/Photo by Keith Scholey
The Outstanding Narrator and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special categories will be announced as part of the Creative Arts Emmys, a two-night event set for September 5 and 6 at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
The Primetime Emmy telecast will be presented Monday, September 14 on NBC. The network is joining the centenarian club too. It marks its 100th birthday this year, having launched on Nov. 15, 1926, with a radio broadcast.
