Louis McManus is an Emmy award-winning American television engineer, film editor, and designer of the 1930s and 1940s. He is best known as the designer for the appearance of the Emmy award and symbol for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. During the 1930s, Louis worked primarily as an editor and edited many films and shorts, including those featuring icons such as Laurel and Hardy and the Our Gang characters. In addition to editing, he also designed the title cards for many films. It was his work as a designer that inspired him to submit a design entry for the Emmy award in 1948. (He used his wife as a model for the figure.) His design was ultimately chosen for the award, out of a field of forty-eight other proposals submitted. In an ironic and self-referential move, he was awarded an Emmy (in the Special Award category) in 1948 (the first year awards were presented) for his work in designing the award. (However, in a second layer of irony, he was presented with a plaque as an award, not a statue.)
