Los Angeles – The Emmy Awards spread the wealth Sunday, honoring supporting actors in “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,” “Entourage” and “My Name is Earl.”
“My own mother told me I didn’t have a shot … at winning tonight,” said Katherine Heigl of “Grey’s Anatomy.” “This is my dream come true. I’ve been doing this for 17 years.”
The usually staid awards needed attention from the censors from the start, with first presenter Ray Romano. He joked about his former “Everybody Loves Raymond” wife, Patricia Heaton, sleeping with her new “Back to You” co-star Kelsey Grammer.
But he used a stronger word, which prompted Fox to black out the show for a few seconds. Heigl mouthed another expletive, which Fox unsuccessfully tried to evade with a different camera shot.
Terry O’Quinn, who plays the mysterious John Locke on “Lost,” was named best supporting actor in a drama.
“Sometimes when we’re rolling around in the jungle in the mud, hitting each other and stabbing each other, I wonder what it would be like to bake up a sheet of cookies on Wisteria Lane …,” O’Quinn said, referring to “Desperate Housewives.” “Then I think about my castmates and crewmates, and I realize why I have the best job in the world.”
Jeremy Piven, who plays a slick Hollywood agent on the comedy “Entourage,” was another early winner.
Jaime Pressly of “My Name is Earl” was named best supporting actress in a comedy.
Queen Latifah helped pay tribute to the groundbreaking miniseries “Roots” on its 30th anniversary. The saga about a black American family’s history “brought great honor to the art form that we celebrate tonight,” she said.
“Let us all work to ensure that we all honor the legacy of ‘Roots’ not just tonight but in everything we do,” added “Roots” star John Amos, reunited onstage with his castmates.
“Broken Trail” was honored as best miniseries and drew awards for stars Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church.
“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” received its fifth consecutive trophy as best variety, music or comedy series. Stewart noted that the satiric news show sent correspondents to Iraq this year, saying, “They found laughs in hell, which I think is the proudest thing we’ve found so far.”
Ratings expectations were dampened by last year’s outcome, when the show drew its fourth-smallest audience ever of about 16 million viewers. There also was formidable competition from Sunday evening’s National Football League game between the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, airing on NBC.
Emmy Award winners
Some winners at Sunday’s 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards:
- Drama Series: “The Sopranos,” HBO.
- Comedy Series: “30 Rock,” NBC.
- Miniseries: “Broken Trail,” AMC.
- Variety, Music or Comedy Series: “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” Comedy Central.
- Variety, Music or Comedy Special: “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” NBC.
- Made-for-TV Movie: “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” HBO.
- Reality-Competition Program: “The Amazing Race,” CBS.
- Creative Achievement in Interactive TV: Current.
- Actor, Drama Series: James Spader, “Boston Legal,” ABC.
- Actor, Comedy Series: Ricky Gervais, “Extras,” HBO.
- Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Robert Duvall, “Broken Trail,” AMC.
- Actress, Drama Series: Sally Field, “Brothers & Sisters,” ABC.
- Actress, Comedy Series: America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty,” ABC.
- Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Helen Mirren, “Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre),” PBS.
- Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Terry O’Quinn, “Lost,” ABC.
- Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Jeremy Piven, “Entourage,” HBO.
- Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Thomas Haden Church, “Broken Trail,” AMC.
- Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Katherine Heigl, “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC.
- Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jaime Pressly, “My Name Is Earl,” NBC.
- Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Judy Davis, “The Starter Wife,” USA.
- Individual Performance, Variety or Music Program: Tony Bennett, “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” NBC.
Some winners in Creative Arts categories presented Sept. 8:
- Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour): “South Park: Make Love, Not Warcraft,” Comedy Central.
- Animated Program (Programming One Hour or More): “Camp Lazlo: Where’s Lazlo?,” Cartoon Network.
- Art Direction, Multi-Camera Series: “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS.
- Art Direction, Single-Camera Series: “Rome,” HBO.
- Art Direction, Miniseries or Movie: “Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre),” PBS.
- Art Direction, Variety, Music or Nonfiction Programming (possibility of more than one award): “79th Annual Academy Awards,” ABC; “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” NBC.
- Casting, Comedy Series: “Ugly Betty,” ABC.
- Casting, Drama Series: “Friday Night Lights,” NBC.
