It was this time last year that Kathy Griffin was making headlines for dissing Jesus on stage at the Creative Arts Emmys. The carrot-topped comedienne found herself in hot water for off color remarks like, “a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus…This award is my god now!”
But that was last year – this year Griffin’s My Life on the D List earned her a second Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program and the queen of comedy learned her lesson. Still the most brash of all the speeches, a mild “here we are again f*ckers” and “I love this Emmy, I would make love to it if I could” was the extent of it.
Afterward, Griffin admitted, “I’m trying not to get fired between now and next Sunday, because I can’t believe they are allowing me to present at the fancy schmancies (Primetime Emmys)…I didn’t want to get that call like I did last year on Monday. I [was] thinking it was a riot and then I [got] the call saying; ‘You can’t come.’ I’ve got the dress and everything. I’m presenting with the Don Rickles. I didn’t want to fuck that up.”
Griffin wasn’t the only funny woman to take the stage this year at the ceremony celebrating guest roles, reality shows and television’s top talent behind-the-scenes. Sarah Silverman took home a golden statue for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for her mega-hit “I’m F*cking Matt Damon” from her ex’s Jimmy Kimmel Live show. Silverman ended her acceptance speech by recognizing Kimmel “who broke my heart – I mean [for whom] will always have a place in my heart.”
When Glynn Turman came to visit us backstage after winning Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role on In Treatment he confessed, “My wife said that I could not weld this on the hood of my car. That would be tacky she said, so I’m looking to the mantel.”
While Turman’s win was his first, the same can’t be said for Tim Conway. The veteran actor started receiving nominations in the 1960s for McHale’s Navy, The Carol Burnett Show and even Coach. This year he took home another, this time for his unforgettable guest role as Bucky Bright on 30 Rock.
“I should [be back next season],” Conway says. “I did a wonderful job and brought this [award] to them, but I don’t know. They are so stuffy [laughs]. No, I had a wonderful time working with Jack [McBrayer] and Tina [Fey] and Alec [Baldwin].”
Other notable winners included Cynthia Nixon for her guest spot on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Kathryn Joosten for her role as Karen McCluskey on Desperate Housewives.
For a chance to watch the whole show, hosted by How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Chalke, tune into E! next Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m.
