Elton John Joins the EGOT Club. What Does That Mean?

Elton John became the 19th person to secure an EGOT — the playful acronym for winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — when he won an Emmy on Monday night for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium.”

The award was given for outstanding live variety special.

John won a Tony for the score of “Aida” (2000) and Oscars for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” in “The Lion King” (1995) and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” in “Rocketman” (2020). He has won five Grammys, including for “That’s What Friends Are For” (1986), with Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.

Eighteen other people have won EGOTs, including the “Frozen” songwriter Robert Lopez, the only person to do it twice. Before John, the most recent addition to the club was the actress Viola Davis, who earned a Grammy last year for the audiobook of her memoir. She is one of six women with an EGOT.

So where did the EGOT acronym come from, and what does it really take to earn the accolade?

Why did we start talking about EGOTs?

Many people who first heard of an EGOT assume it originated on the hit NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” which began airing in 2006. But it turns out the term dates back to 1984, when only three people had achieved EGOT-hood: the composer Richard Rodgers and the actresses Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno.