With ‘Only Murders’ Emmy win, songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul gain EGOT status at 39
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have become EGOT winners.
The duo won an Emmy on Sunday for “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” their original song co-written with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for “Only Murders in the Building” at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Pasek and Paul are the 20th and 21st people to reach EGOT status. Both 39, they’re tied with fellow songwriter Robert Lopez as the youngest to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. They’re also the first creative team to become EGOT recipients simultaneously, winning all four awards together.
Their EGOT journey began when they won an Oscar in 2017 for their original song “City of Stars,” featured in the film “La La Land.” Later that year, they won the Tony Award for the original score of “Dear Evan Hansen,” and they won the Grammy Award for best musical theater album for the stage musical’s cast recording in 2018.
The pair met as freshmen at the University of Michigan and also wrote the songs for “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Spirited.” They are also contributing songs to Disney’s upcoming live-action “Snow White” movie and Pharrell Williams’ semi-autobiographical drama “Atlantis,” both scheduled for 2025 release.
Along with Lopez, Pasek and Paul are in good company with fellow EGOT composers, lyricists and songwriters: Richard Rodgers, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, John Legend, Alan Menken and, most recently, Elton John.
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“Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” was expertly performed by Steve Martin as part of a fictional Broadway musical in the Hulu series’ third season. The joke-packed patter song, about three infants who are all suspects in the murder of their mother, was a source of narrative tension, since Martin’s character was extremely nervous about performing it in full.
“The more alliterative or the more plosives that there were, the more twists and turns or the pace of the song, the more of a payoff for you as an audience,” Paul told The Times earlier this year. “You’re wondering: ‘Can he actually do it?’”
The composition won the Emmy for original music and lyrics over “Girls5eva” track “The Medium Time” by Sara Bareilles; the “True Detective: Night Country” number “No Use” by John Hawkes; “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” piece “Love Will Survive” by Kara Talve, Hans Zimmer, Walter Afanasieff and Charlie Midnight; and the “Saturday Night Live” song “Maya Rudolph Mother’s Day Monologue” by Eli Brueggemann, Maya Rudolph, Auguste White, Mike DiCenzo and Jake Nordwind.
“Only Murders in the Building” has 21 nominations, including best comedy series and the performances of Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd.
An edited version of the two-night Creative Arts Emmys ceremonies will air together on FXX at 8 p.m. Sept. 14.
The Primetime Emmy Awards, taking place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, will air on ABC at 8 p.m. Sept. 15. The ceremony will be hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy, making them the first father and son pair to do so.
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