By Staff, September 22, 2004
The HBO miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America soared high above the competition at the 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on September 19, collecting a total of 11 awards, tying the record for most Emmys won by a program in a single year set by the 1976 miniseries Eleanor and Franklin.
Angels also made history as the first miniseries to win all four acting awards. Al Pacino won the lead actor award for his portrayal of Roy Cohn, while Meryl Streep won the lead actress award for her performances as a quartet of characters -- Ethel Rosenberg, Hannah Pitt, Continental Principality and an octogenarian rabbi. In the supporting categories, Angels co-stars Mary Louise Parker and Jeffrey Wright were honored.
In the battle of the network and cable giants, HBO came out on top for the second year in a row, winning 32 awards in the prime time competition, which included Creative Arts awards from a ceremony a week earlier. Fox earned 10 awards, while NBC collected 8, ABC and PBS tied with 7, A&E took 4 and Cartoon Network, CBS, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Showtime, UPN and USA all won 2.
Fox’s Arrested Development was named outstanding comedy series. After giving the usual thank you’s to the cast and executives, series creator and executive producer Mitchell Hurwitz asked the audience to tune into critically acclaimed but low-rated series. “Let’s watch it. You want to?”
Sex and the City’s (HBO) Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon were both first time winners for outstanding lead and supporting actress in a comedy series, respectively, while Frasier’s (NBC) Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce put an exclamation point on the show’s eleventh and final season by winning outstanding lead actor and supporting actor in a comedy series, respectively. It was the fourth win for both actors.
HBO’s mob drama The Sopranos became the first cable program to capture the award for outstanding drama series. The show also won outstanding writing in a drama series for scribe Terence Winter and awards for supporting performances in a dramatic series for one-time onscreen couple Michael Imperioli and Drea de Matteo.
Allison Janney took the award for outstanding actress in a drama series for her performance as C.J. Cregg on NBC’s The West Wing, giving her fourth win from five consecutive nominations (2000-2004). The award for outstanding actor in a drama series went to first-time nominee James Spader for his performance as Alan Shore on ABC’s The Practice.
The third Bob Hope Humanitarian Award was awarded posthumously to Danny Thomas, star of the long-running sitcom “Make Room for Daddy” (1953-1965). The actor, producer and comedian, who died in 1991 at the age of 77, was dedicated to raising money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The award was accepted by his daughter, actress Marlo Thomas.
One of the evening’s winners was too busy to make it to the podium. Louis J. Horvitz accepted his award for outstanding director for a variety, music or comedy program for The 76th Annual Academy Awards (ABC) from the control booth, where he was in the midst of directing ABC’s telecast of the Emmys.
Accepting her award for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program for “Elaine Stritch: At Liberty,” Elaine Stritch delivered a speech that was simultaneously funny, moving, brutally frank and exceedingly long.
Stritch’s colorful speech and the abundance of reality programming provided a rich source of comic material for host Garry Shandling.
To help present the award for outstanding reality competition program (won by CBS’ “The Amazing Race”), Shandling brought out “real people” Amy Scholsohn of Orlando, FL, and Bruce Milam, Jr., of Joilet, IL
. Told they were going appear on a reality show, they were flown in from out of state, brought on to the stage blindfolded and surprised with the job of reading the nominees from the teleprompter.
The total primetime awards announced on tonight’s telecast were distributed as follows:
HBO: 16
FOX: 3
NBC: 3
ABC: 2
CBS: 1
Comedy Central: 2
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
DAVID HYDE PIERCE as Niles Crane
Frasier
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
MICHAEL IMPERIOLI as Christopher Moltisanti
The Sopranos
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
CYNTHIA NIXON as Miranda Hobbes
Sex And The City
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
JOE RUSSO, Director
ANTHONY RUSSO, Director
Arrested Development - Pilot
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
MITCHELL HURWITZ, Writer FOX
Arrested Development - Pilot
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
DREA DE MATTEO as Adriana La Cerva
The Sopranos
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
WALTER HILL, Director
Deadwood - Pilot
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
JEFFREY WRIGHT as Belize, Mr. Lies & Continental Principality
Angels In America
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
LOUIS J. HORVITZ, Director
The 76th Annual Academy Awards
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
ELAINE STRITCH, Performer
Elaine Stritch: At Liberty
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY PROGRAM
DAVID JAVERBAUM, Head Writer
RICH BLOMQUIST, Writer
STEVE BODOW, Writer
TIM CARVELL, Writer
STEPHEN COLBERT, Writer
ERIC DRYSDALE, Writer
J.R. HAVLAN, Writer
SCOTT JACOBSON, Writer
BEN KARLIN, Writer
ROB KUTNER, Writer
CHRIS REGAN, Writer
JASON REICH, Writer
JASON ROSS, Writer
JON STEWART, Writer
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
TERENCE WINTER, Writer
The Sopranos - Long Term Parking
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
MARY-LOUISE PARKER as Harper Pitt
Angels In America
OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
TONY KUSHNER, Writer
Angels In America
OUTSTANDING REALITY/COMPETITION PROGRAM
THE AMAZING RACE
OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
SOMETHING THE LORD MADE
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
AL PACINO as Roy Cohn
Angels In America
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL
MIKE NICHOLS, Director
Angels In America
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
ALLISON JANNEY as C. J. Cregg
The West Wing
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
SARAH JESSICA PARKER as Carrie Bradshaw
Sex And The City
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
KELSEY GRAMMER as Frasier Crane
Frasier
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
JAMES SPADER as Alan Shore
The Practice
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
MERYL STREEP as Hannah Pitt, The Rabbi, Ethel Rosenberg & Continental Principality
Angels In America
OUTSTANDING MINISERIES
ANGELS IN AMERICA
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
THE SOPRANOS
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