CableACE Nominations Are Dominated by HBO

The number of cable channels keeps growing but HBO’s stranglehold on the CableACE Awards only gets tighter. The pay-TV service captured nearly one-third of the 373 nominations announced Tuesday--22 more than last year and four times as many as runner-up ESPN.

The avalanche of nominations came on the heels of HBO’s strong showing Sunday in the nighttime Emmy Awards, where it won 14, second only to NBC’s 20. The Emmys honor all of television programming while the CableACEs are limited to original programming on cable.

“The Larry Sanders Show,” which has won the CableACE as best comedy series for four years running, led all programs with 15 of the 111 nominations that HBO received. Five members of the “Larry Sanders” cast were cited: Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, Janeane Garofalo, Penny Johnson and Rip Torn, who won an Emmy for the show Sunday.

Winners of the 18th annual CableACE Awards, which are administered by the National Academy of Cable Programming, will be announced in three phases covering 81 categories: Oct. 22, Nov. 15 and then in Nov. 16 ceremonies at the Wiltern Theatre that will be carried on the TNT cable channel.

HBO also got multiple nominations for “Dream On” (eight), “The Tuskegee Airmen” (seven), “Truman” (six) and “Strangers” (five). Showtime’s series “The Outer Limits” got six, the only other program to receive more than four.

Showtime, HBO’s principal pay-TV rival, wound up with 20 nominations, with ESPN receiving 28, the Disney Channel 22, Nickelodeon 18, A&E; 17, and CNN and TNT 16 each.

Here is a partial list of CableACE nominees. The nominations cover the period from Aug. 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996.

Comedy series: “Exit 57,” Comedy; “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” Comedy; “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO.

Dramatic series: “Avonlea,” Disney; “Strangers,” HBO; “The Outer Limits,” Showtime.

Movie or miniseries: “Sophie and the Moonhanger,” Lifetime; “Soul of the Game,” HBO; “The Late Shift,” HBO; “The Tuskegee Airmen,” HBO; “Truman,” HBO.

Comedy special: “20 Years of Comedy on HBO,” HBO; “HBO Comedy Hour: Hazelle!,” HBO; “Mr. Show #1,” HBO.

Variety special or series: “Dennis Miller Live,” HBO; “Lifetime Applauds: The Fight Against Breast Cancer,” Lifetime; “Midnight Mac Starring Bernie Mac #2,” HBO; “Tracey Takes On,” HBO.

Music special or series: “South Bank Show: Wynton Marsalis,” Bravo; “The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” HBO; “VH1 Duets,” VH1; “VH1 Honors,” VH1; “VH1 Storytellers,” VH1.

Children’s special or series (6 and younger): “A Chanukah Mitzvah,” Jewish TV Network; “Allegra’s Window,” Nickelodeon; “Gullah Gullah Island,” Nickelodeon; “Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear,” Nickelodeon; “The World of Peter Rabbit & Friends: Tale of Flopsy Bunny and Mrs. Tittlemouse,” Family.

Children’s series (7 and older): “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” Nickelodeon; “Flash Forward,” Disney; “Space Cases,” Nickelodeon; “The Composers’ Specials,” HBO; “The Secret World of Alex Mack,” Nickelodeon.

Animated programming, special or series: “Courage the Cowardly Dog: Chicken From Outerspace,” Cartoon; “Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist,” Comedy; “Duckman,” USA; “Ren & Stimpy,” Nickelodeon; “Rocko’s Modern Life,” Nickelodeon.

Documentary special: “Investigative Reports: Kamikaze,” A&E; “Letting Go: A Hospice Journey,” HBO; “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,” HBO; “Rain of Ruin,” History; “Survivors of the Holocaust,” TBS.

Documentary series: “Biography,” A&E; “Crime Science,” A&E; “Lost & Found,” fX; “Mysteries of the Bible,” A&E; “The Revolutionary War,” Learning.

Talk-show series: “Charles Grodin,” CNBC; “Larry King Live,” CNN; “Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” Comedy; “Reflections on the Silver Screen,” AMC; “The Howard Stern Show,” E!

News special or series: “Chernobyl, Legacy of a Meltdown,” CNN; “Investigative Reports: Danger on the Rails,” A&E; “Investigative Reports: Seized by the Law,” A&E; “Return to the Hot Zone,” CNN; “War on the Cocaine Cartel,” CNN.

Sports news series: “Baseball Tonight,” ESPN; “NFL Game Day,” ESPN; “NFL Prime Monday,” ESPN; “Sports Tonight,” CNN; “SportsCenter,” ESPN.

Sports information series: “Outside the Lines,” ESPN; “Peak Performance,” Learning; “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” HBO; “The Sports Reporters,” ESPN; “Up Close Prime Time,” ESPN.

Actor in a comedy series: Brian Benben, “Dream On,” HBO; Michael McKean, “Dream On,” HBO; Garry Shandling, “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO; Jeffrey Tambor, “The Larry Shandling Show,” HBO; Rip Torn, “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO.

Actress in a comedy series: Denny Dillon, “Dream On,” HBO; “Janeane Garofalo, “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO; Penny Johnson, “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO; Wendie Malick, “Dream On,” HBO; Tracey Ullman, “Tracey Takes On,” HBO.

Actor in a movie or miniseries: Robbie Coltrane, “Cracker: Brotherly Love,” A&E; Laurence Fishburne, “The Tuskegee Airmen,” HBO; Carl Lumbly, “Nightjohn,” Disney; Gary Sinise, “Truman,” HBO; Courtney B. Vance, “The Affair,” HBO.

Actress in a movie or miniseries: Anne Bancroft, “Homecoming,” Showtime; Kerry Fox, “The Affair,” HBO; Lela Rochon, “Mr. and Mrs. Loving,” Showtime; Cicely Tyson, “The Road to Galveston,” USA; Sela Ward, “Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story,” Lifetime.

Program interviewer: Roy Firestone, “Up Close Prime Time,” ESPN; Larry King, “Larry King Live,” CNN; Howard Stern, “The Howard Stern Show,” E!; Mary Tillotson, “CNN and Company,” CNN.

Sports host: Chris Berman, ESPN; Verne Lundquist, TBS; Keith Olbermann, ESPN; Bob Page, Madison Square Garden; Al Trautwig, Madison Square Garden.

Newscaster: Joie Chen, Miles O’Brien, “CNN Saturday/Sunday Morning News,” CNN; Leon Harris, Donna Kelley, “CNN Morning News,” CNN; Bernard Shaw, Judy Woodruff, “Inside Politics,” CNN.

Performing arts special or series: “B.B. King: The Blues Summit,” A&E; “My Life With Handel,” Ovation; “South Bank Show: Elaine Paige,” Bravo; “South Bank Show: Luciano Pavarotti,” Bravo; “Still/Here,” Ovation.

Children’s special (7 and older): “Before You Go: A Daughter’s Diary,” HBO; “Johnny & Clyde,” Showtime; “Nick News Special Edition: The Body Trap,” Nickelodeon; “Nickelodeon Sports Theater With Shaquille O’Neal (4 Points),” Nickelodeon; “The Little Riders,” Disney.

Children’s educational or informational special or series: “Justice Factory,” Courtroom; “Nick News,” Nickelodeon; “Teen Summit: Living on the Street . . . On the Real,” BET; “The Big Help Stories,” Nickelodeon.

Supporting actor in a movie or miniseries: Jason Bernard, “Sophie and the Moonhanger,” Lifetime; Dennis Boutsikaris, “Chasing the Dragon,” Lifetime; Andre Braugher, “The Tuskegee Airmen,” HBO; Tom Hulce, “The Heidi Chronicles,” TNT; Stephen Root, “The Road to Galveston,” USA.

Supporting actress in a movie or miniseries: Christine Lahti, “The Four Diamonds,” Disney; Amanda Plummer, “The Right to Remain Silent,” Showtime; Laura San Giacomo, “The Right to Remain Silent,” Showtime; Alison Steadman, “Pride and Prejudice,” A&E; Shelley Winters, “Mrs. Munck,” Showtime.