HOLLYWOOD -- 'M-A-S-H' scriptwriters were nominated three times and writers of the 'Taxi,' 'Barney Miller,' 'Lou Grant' and 'Hill Street Blues' series picked up two nominations each for this year's Writers Guild awards.
The winners will be announced March 26 along with movie scriptwriters whose nominations were disclosed earlier. Author Gore Vidal, expected to challenge California Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, will speak at the ceremony.
Nominations for best original drama went to Steven Gethers for 'Damien: The Leper Priest;' Lew Hunter for 'Fallen Angel;' Burt Prelutsky for 'Homeward Bound;' Suzanne Clauser for 'The Pride of Jesse Hallam,' and Arnold and Lois Peyser and Joan Marks for 'The Violation of Sarah McDavid.'
Nominations for best drama adaption went to Joan Tewkesbury for 'The Acorn People;' Richard Friedenberg for 'Bitter Harvest;' Lawrence Marcus for 'The Five ofMe,' and Philip Reisman Jr. for Mark Twain's 'Life on the Mississippi.'
Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford were nominated twice for episodes of 'M-A-S-H' -- for best dramatic episode for the 'Bless You, Hawkeye' segment and for best comedy episode for 'A War for All Seasons.' John Rappaport picked up another comedy nomination for the series' 'No Sweat' episode.
Other best comedy episode nominations went to the pilot of the 'The Greatest American Hero;' to the 'Field Associate' and 'Stormy Weather' episodes of 'Barney Miller;' to the 'Thy Boss' Wife' and 'Tony's Sister and Jim' episodes of 'Taxi' and to the 'Crazy Judge' episode of the 'Park Place.'
Other nominations for best dramatic episode went to the pilot of 'Hill Street Blues' and the series' 'Film at Eleven' episode; to the 'Campesinos' and 'Strike' episodes of 'Lou Grant,' and to the 'Future City' episode of 'Palmerstown.'
TV nominations were also given to:
-Best variety, musical or comedy special: Steve Martin's 'All Commercials;' 'The AFI Salute to Fred Astaire;' 'George Burns in Nashville;' 'Lily: Sold Out,' and 'The Way They Were.'
-Best multi-part long-form series: Part II of 'A Rumor of War;' Part I of 'East of Eden;' Part I of 'The Gangster Chronicles,' and Episode 4 of 'Masada.'
-Best daytime serial: 'The Doctors,' 'Ryan's Hope' and 'Texas.'
-Best children's show: 'Family of Strangers,' 'Sunshine's on the Way' and 'The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn.'
-Best current events documentary: 'Defense of the U.S. -- Ground Zero;' 'The Nuclear Battlefield;' 'The Russians' and 'The War Machine,' all on CBS.
-Best feature documentary: 'Arthur Miller on Home Ground' on PBS and 'The Gene Merchants' and 'The Shattered Badge,' both on ABC.
-Best news: 'CBS Evening News' for Dec. 9, 1980, 'CBS Evening News' for May 19, 1981, and 'The 6:00 Weekend Report' on CBS for Jan. 25, 1981.
Radio nominations went to:
-Best news: 'MGM Grand Hotel Special;' World News This Morning' on June 17, 1981, and 'World News This Week' on Aug. 2, 1981, all on ABC.
-Best documentary: 'Africa Week;' 'Exploring America 1980: At The Table;' 'Report on Medicine: Depression,' and 'The Sound of Laughter.'
-Best drama: 'Little Richard' and 'A Second Chance' on the CBS Mystery Theater and 'Love Spelled Backwards' on the CBS Mutual Theater.
-Best comedy: 'The Dolphin Position;' 'The Thirteenth Labor of Hercules' and 'The Phantom Synagogue.'
