And The 2011 Emmy Goes To…
LOS ANGELES (CBS SF) - CBS won the third most awards at the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday night, behind HBO & PBS. The ceremony aired by Fox opened with a pre-taped comedy sketch that generated controversy because Alec Baldwin's part was cut after he included a joke about the News Corp. phone hacking scandal. Fox is a unit of News Corp.
Baldwin tweeted that Fox killed the joke about the hacking scandal in Britain involving the now-closed News of the World tabloid. Fox said it believed the joke was inappropriate to make light of an issue being taken very seriously by the company.
Leonard Nimoy stepped in and the bit was retaped. It featured host Jane Lynch celebrating television in a musical number, singing about TV as "a vast wonderland, a kingdom of joy in a box."
"Oh, there's Betty White. She's the reason we start the show at 5 p.m." Lynch cracked during her opening monologue.
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Melissa McCarthy of "Mike & Molly" was honored as best lead actress in a comedy series with an Emmy and a glitzy prom queen's crown, while Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory" earned his second trophy in the best actor category.
"Holy smokes. Wow, it's my first and best pageant ever," said a beaming McCarthy. "I'm from Plainfield, Ill., and I'm standing here and it's kind of amazing."
Moments earlier, she and her fellow nominees had broken with tradition by jumping up on stage as their names were called, led by Amy Poehler of "Parks and Recreation."
They earned a standing ovation from many in the audience, which seemed fitting in a year in which TV shows and movies are giving women edgier leading roles. Among them is the box-office hit "Bridesmaids," which featured McCarthy.
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Charlie Sheen presented the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series award, using his time onstage to make nice with his former "Two and a Half Men" colleagues. He was fired from the show after bitterly clashing with its producer and studio, and was replaced by Ashton Kutcher. "From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season," he said. "I know you will continue to make great television." Sheen continued to present the award to Big Bang Theory's, Jim Parsons looked genuinely surprised at his Outstanding Lead Actor victory. "This is so odd for so many reasons. I was assured by many people in my life that this wasn't happening," he said.
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Julianna Margulies won top drama acting honors for "The Good Wife." Margulies, who navigates politics, law and family in the show, added to her Emmy stash. As part of the "ER" medical drama cast, she won a supporting actress Emmy in 1995.
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In the reality-competition category, perennial winner "The Amazing Race" returned to triumph Sunday after losing last year to "Top Chef." "American Idol" lost its ninth shot at winning, this time for a season in which it successfully navigated the loss of key judge Simon Cowell.
HBO had a leading 19 awards, including trophies given Sunday and at last week's creative arts awards for technical and other achievements. PBS, which had a hit with "Downton Abbey," earned 14 to shoulder past the commercial networks and come in second, ahead of CBS with 11, Fox with nine, ABC with eight and NBC with six.
For more Emmy Coverage, visit CBSNews.com
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