LOS ANGELES — Alec Baldwin of “30 Rock” and Toni Collette of “United States of Tara” were honored as best lead actors in comedy series at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, which kept to a lighthearted, viewer-friendly tone.
“I’ll be honest with you. I’d trade this to look like him,” Baldwin said as he accepted his best comedy actor trophy from Rob Lowe of “Brothers & Sisters.”
Collette, who plays a mother with multiple personalities on the Showtime series, was honored as best actress in a comedy series.
“Wow, this is insanely confronting,” said a beaming Collette.
She thanked series creator Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Juno.” Collette’s victory deprived Tina Fey of “30 Rock” of winning a second consecutive award in the category. But Fey took the stage a few moments later to acknowledge a guest actor award she received for her Sarah Palin impersonation on “Saturday Night Live.”
Kristin Chenoweth of “Pushing Daisies” and Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” won supporting acting Emmys for their comedies.
“I’m not employed now so I’d like to be on ‘Mad Men.’ I also like ‘The Office’ and ’24,’ ” said Chenoweth, alternating between tears and smiles as she accepted for her canceled ABC series. “Thank you so much to the academy for recognizing a show that’s no longer on the air.”
Backstage, the Tony Award-winning Chenoweth noted that she is appearing on an upcoming episode of Fox’s show “Glee,” has shot two movies and is doing a series of concerts.
Cryer, whose series is the most-watched comedy on TV, brought a wry tone to his speech.
“I used to think that awards were just shallow tokens of momentary popularity, but now I realize they are the only true measure of a person’s worth as a human being,” Cryer said.
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” was named the best comedy or variety show, beating out David Letterman’s “Late Show,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Real Time With Bill Maher” and “The Colbert Report”
Host Neil Patrick Harris started the evening on a lively note, performing “Don’t Touch That Remote,” a tune from composers Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman of “Hairspray” fame.
“The Amazing Race” won its seventh consecutive Emmy in the outstanding reality-competition category, once again turning top-rated “American Idol” into an also-ran.
The first basic cable show to win a top series honor, “Mad Men” had the chance for a second consecutive best-drama trophy.
The academy was hoping to increase viewership. The 2008 ceremony was the least-watched ever with an audience of 12.3 million.
