HELLO AMERICA!—I was hoping that this year’s 65th Annual Emmy Awards show might be more fun or interesting. It wasn’t. Some of the presenters were given boring one-liners and boring presenting situations that didn’t work, mainly because many of these new people are definitely not interesting on or off camera. The highlight of the evening was, of course, Neil Patrick Harris who hosted the show. He is always a delight to watch no matter what.
I must admit that I had hopes for Michael Douglas winning as Outstanding Leading Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie for his performance in “Behind the Candelabra” because he did a masterful job. And all those production companies who refused to give financial backing for the film must have been rather uncomfortable hearing about or watching his win. And kudos for Outstanding Choreographer must be given to dancer Derek Hough for his brilliant work on “Dancing With the Stars.”
When I noted that the show was rather boring it doesn’t demean the talents with a lot of people who have very little magic or excitement. However, I must applaud “Breaking Bad” as Best Drama, “Modern Family,” Best Comedy. Then there was Jeff Daniels as Best Actor in a Drama Series for “The Newsroom” and the beautiful, classy Claire Danes As Best Actress for “Homeland”, Bobby Cannavale won Supporting Actor for his work on “Boardwalk Empire.”
It was also good to watch “The Voice” as Best Reality Show, the category bothers me a bit, but that’s show biz. Finally, it was nice to watch gifted actress Carrie Preston for her performances in “The Good Wife.”
Diahann Carroll made an appearance to commemorate actress Kerry Washington’s work on “Scandal.” It is the second television series that has made an actress of color the spine of the show. Of course Diahann Carroll made Hollywood history for her lead role in the series “Julia” during the early 1960s.
Even though I appeared with her, in her first film “Carmen Jones,” I was rather disappointed with her nasty, sarcastic comment about her co-star Lloyd Nolan who was known to be somewhat irascible, but he was an actor who was seriously respected by the motion picture industry at large. Her comment was simply in bad taste. She neglected to note that during the late 1950s no actor of color had been signed to star in a weekly show. Receiving a chance to be featured was very special and that one door opening kept a smile on our faces for months, praying that there might be an opportunity for another minority to get a weekly spot before the camera.
The industry is experiencing a lot of changes, some good and some that muddies the image of our industry. I only hope that one day very soon the audience will finally know and understand the difference.
By Michael St. John
