The 32nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 7, 1980, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
The awards show was hosted by Steve Allen and Dick Clark and broadcast on NBC.
For the second year in a row, the top series awards went to the same shows, Taxi and Lou Grant.
[citation needed] The ceremony was held in the midst of a strike by members of the Screen Actors Guild; in a show of support for their union, 51 of the 52 nominated performers boycotted the event.
[1] Powers Boothe was the only nominated actor to attend; acknowledging his presence in his acceptance speech, he remarked, "This is either the most courageous moment of my career or the stupidest.