Smithsonian Teams Up with TV Academy on Artifacts

There's always been an important cultural link between the history of the United States and our country's TV shows and now ET can exclusively announce a partnership between the Smithsonian and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to collaborate on showcasing iconic daytime TV memorabilia.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will cooperate with NATAS to obtain costumes, scripts, props, awards, photographs, promotional material and other artifacts that reflect the contributions of daytime television programming to the national collections.

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NATAS will work with the museum to identify actors, writers, talk show hosts, game show hosts, journalists, producers, directors and others who have influenced America's cultural identity and extended that culture to global audiences. One of the stars already confirmed to participate is Susan Lucci, who
is best known for portraying the iconic character Erica Kane on the
long-running soap opera All My Children.

The partnership will help the Smithsonian museum expand its capacity to
tell the unique story of daytime television and the Daytime Emmy Awards,
which are celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2013.

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Objects donated to the Smithsonian will complement the museum's existing entertainment collections, which include such iconic items as Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, Kermit the Frog, Mr. Roger's sweater, animation cels from The Flintstones, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, a Howdy Doody marionette, Archie Bunker's chair and much more.