Here is the list of winners of Best Comedy and Best Drama throughout the ’80s:

1980

Best Comedy	Best Drama
Taxi (ABC)	Lou Grant (CBS)

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1981

Best Comedy	Best Drama
Taxi (ABC)	Hill Street Blues (NBC)

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1982

Best Comedy	Best Drama
Barney Miller (ABC)	Hill Street Blues (NBC)

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1983

Best Comedy	Best Drama
Cheers (NBC)	Hill Street Blues (NBC)

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1984

Best Comedy	Best Drama
Cheers (NBC)	Hill Street Blues (NBC)

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1985

Best Comedy	Best Drama
The Cosby Show (NBC)	Cagney & Lacey (CBS)

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1986

Best Comedy	Best Drama
The Golden Girls (NBC)	Cagney & Lacey (CBS)

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1987

Best Comedy	Best Drama
The Golden Girls (NBC)	L.A. Law (NBC)

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1988

Best Comedy	Best Drama
The Wonder Years (ABC)	thirtysomething (ABC)

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1989

Best Comedy	Best Drama
Cheers (NBC)	L.A. Law (NBC)

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Here are the rest of the Best Actors and Actresses: 1985-1989. It is pretty cool to look back to see who the winners were. Some of these people are still around, but have slowed down a little. However, we still have found memories of them.

1985

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Robert Guillaume (Benson DuBois) from Benson	William Daniels (Dr. Mark Craig) from St. Elsewhere
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Jane Curtin (Allie Lowell) from Kate & Allie – 2nd in a row.	Tyne Daly (Det. Mary Beth Lacey) from Cagney & Lacey – 3rd in a row.

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1986

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Michael J. Fox (Alex P. Keaton) from Family Ties	William Daniels (Dr. Mark Craig) from St. Elsewhere – 2nd in a row.
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Betty White (Rose Nylund) from The Golden Girls	Sharon Gless (Christine Cagney) from Cagney & Lacey

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1987

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Michael J. Fox (Alex P. Keaton) from Family Ties – 2nd in a row	Bruce Willis (David Addison) from Moonlighting
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Rue McClanahan (Blanche Devereaux) from The Golden Girls	Sharon Gless (Christine Cagney) from Cagney & Lacey – 2nd in a row.

1988

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Michael J. Fox (Alex P. Keaton) from Family Ties – 3rd in a row!	Richard Kiley (Joe Gardner) from A Year in the Life
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Bea Arthur (Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak) from The Golden Girls	Tyne Daly (Det. Mary Beth Lacey) from Cagney & Lacey

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1989

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Richard Mulligan (Harry Weston) from Empty Nest	Carroll O’Connor (Chief William O. ‘Bill’ Gillespie) from In the Heat of the Night
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) from Murphy Brown	Dana Delany (Nurse Colleen McMurphy) from China Beach – 2nd in a row.

With the Prime Time Emmy’s airing this Sunday, let’s Return to the ’80s, and see who the winners were for each year. Today will be the Actors and Actresses from 1980-1984. Tomorrow will round out the ’80s.

1980

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Richard Mulligan (Burt Campbell) from Soap	Ed Asner (Lou Grant) from Lou Grant
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Cathryn Damon (Mary Campbell) from Soap	Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing) from Dallas

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1981

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Judd Hirsch (Alex Reige) from Taxi	Daniel J. Travanti (Capt. Frank Furillo) from Hill Street Blues
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson) from The Jeffersons	Barbara Babcock (Grace Gardner) from Hill Street Blues

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1982

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Alan Alda (Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce – a.k.a Hawkeye) from M*A*S*H	Daniel J. Travanti (Capt. Frank Furillo) from Hill Street Blues – 2 in a row.
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Carol Kane (Simka Dahblitz-Gravas) from Taxi	Michael Learned (Mary Benjamin) from Nurse

1983

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
Judd Hirsch (Alex Reige) from Taxi	Ed Flanders (Dr. Donald Westphall) from St. Elsewhere
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Shelley Long (Diane Chambers) from Cheers	Tyne Daly (Det. Mary Beth Lacey) from Cagney & Lacey

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1984

Lead Comedy Actor	Lead Drama Actor
John Ritter (Jack Tripper) from Three’s Company	Tom Selleck (Magnum) from Magnum P.I.
Lead Comedy Actress	Lead Drama Actress
Jane Curtin (Allie Lowell) from Kate & Allie	Tyne Daly (Det. Mary Beth Lacey) from Cagney & Lacey – 2nd in a row.