Darting across the red carpet to chat with the stars at the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring TV’s best and brightest, was something akin to channel surfing. Everywhere you looked there was a quick glimpse of something flashy and intriguing, yet you just had to keep moving because you knew something equally interesting might be going on somewhere else.
The carpet scene at the Shrine Auditorium started calmly enough, with me chatting with my far-more-gorgeous journalistic colleague Nancy O’Dell, who was ravishing in a scarlet Pamela Dennis gown with a seemingly endless train. “Actually, I got married two months ago and this is the pattern of my wedding dress,” she told me. “We were so busy on a bus tour for Access Hollywood, I said ‘You know what? I love my wedding dress so much, let’s make it in red for the Emmys.” After a decade with Access, Nancy’s an old pro at chatting up celebs outside awards shows. “You realize you’ve been doing this for a long time when your sister is with you–she lives in North Carolina–and Tom Cruise comes up and goes ‘Oh, hey, Karen!’ to your sister.”
Then the stars started arriving in droves, with Teri Hatcher leading the A-list pack in a brilliant blue gown that required a handler to carry the train. Teri‘s train was so distracting, she didn’t even catch a glimpse of one of her Desperate Housewives co-stars, Kevan Hall-clad Felicity Huffman, as they passed just inches away from each other. Felicity‘s hubby, the equally Emmy-nominated William H. Macy, lost his wife on the red carpet, still stupefied by the lengthy morning prep time she put in.
“She started at ten in the morning, and she’s really good looking at ten in the morning and she’s gorgeous now. I just marvel that it takes so long,” Macy told me. “It took me nine seconds to put this together. I asked for makeup just because I was jealous.” Then he gave up a secret about his wife and her co-stars: “I do know something, though: most of the Desperate Housewives aren’t wearing any underwear. Cowboy rig, they call that. I am wearing underwear–how about you?” getting more serious, the actor admitted he had more butterlflies in stomach over his wife’s chances of winning than his own. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to win this, so I’m nervous for her. I told her ‘Don’t drink, and write a speech.'” It was good advice–she won!
Even the Emmy invitees were agog when they saw their favorite stars. Jeremy Piven, looking slick in a midnight blue velvet tux was bum-rushed by a bunch of girls begging for a photo with him on the red carpet. He cheerily consented. Even after security shooed them away once, they returned to swarm an accommodating Lauren Graham.
The stars of the nominated shows were also a little giddy on their way to the Shrine. Dominic Monaghan confided: “I actually drove in with Jorge Garcia in a limo drinking Mohitos and having fun and saying ‘Hey, it’s another day. We’re driving to the Emmys.’ Yeah, I’ve got kind of bit of a beer buzz going on.” Though he was obviously rooting for his own series and cast mates, Dom had other favorites he was rooting for. “I’d like to see Ian McShane walk out with an Emmy,” he told me. “I think he’s done an amazing job on Deadwood. If we don’t win, I’d like to see Deadwood win.”
It was also great to see veteran character actors from popular shows get glammed up for the big night in the spotlight. A case in point: Two and a Half Men‘as Conchata Farrell, who plays the sharp-tongued housekeeper Berta. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and this is the first time that it’s a number one show that I’m involved in. They say situation comedy is dead, but I think we’re proving them wrong.” She also gave the scoop on her co-star Charlie Sheen, who hopes to reunite with his ex, Denise Richards. “Charlie’s doing great. There has never been a day that it wasn’t cool and calm on the set. They’re working on things, and Charlie is a consummate professional, and he’s determined at what he’s doing, and we never lost an hour.”
The fashion parade was impressive as well. Debra Messing floated by in a glamorous Elie Saab gown that she said made her feel “like a princess.” Nicolette Sheridan strutted on the carpet in a sleek Giorgio Armani that had her feeling “fabulous.” Heidi Klum managed to grab a colorful, flowing Christian Dior creation, a last minute sub for the maternity-minded gown she planned to wear from her winning Project Runway designer Jay McCarroll since she gave birth just days earlier.
Another high-fashion mama was preggers Jennifer Garner, wrapped in Badgley Mishka. Jen had no plans to take the partying on into the night in her delicate condition. “To be honest, I’ll probably skip them. I have to work super-early, so I never make it to the parties.”
Charlize Theron was the stunner of the evening in shimmery Chanel couture, while Mischa Barton was angelic in an ivory Oscar de la Renta. “When I saw it, it looked perfect for me,” Mischa told me. Mariska Hargitay picked her bright orange Carolina Herrera “because it rocks!”–though the sight of her brought a bit of a pout from Portia de Rossi, who was clad in a similar shade. “I knew someone else would wear this color!” she sighed.
Meanwhile, Maggie Grace looked every bit the fairy tale princess in Calvin Merlin Greno and a bejeweled updo. “It’s very classic,” she told me. “It’s like something out of a historical novel–that’s why I love it. I have 20 carats in my hair, believe it or not, by Hearts on Fire.” I asked Maggie if she accessorized with a good luck charm and she was quick to answer: “My cast–they’re pretty lucky. We’re all pretty lucky.”
Perhaps the clearest-eyed look at the Emmy extravaganza came from veteran nominee Alan Alda, up again this year for The West Wing. “I’ve been nominated 31 times, and I’ve only won it five times. Do you realize how many times I’ve lost? This is a very heartbreaking thing to go through,” he laughed. What was different about his 31st stroll down the Emmy red carpet? “All the faces are different–your face is different–but the ritual is the same. I don’t get it, but apparently it works because they do it every year.”
