ABOVE: Emmy controversy – was the award show right to spend so much time remembering actor Cory Monteith, despite his having never won an Emmy award?
TORONTO – Canadian actor Cory Monteith, who was found dead July 13 in a Vancouver hotel room, was remembered Sunday night on the Emmy telecast by his Glee co-star Jane Lynch.
“From the first time you saw Cory, he had a star quality and a genuine sweetness that made it impossible not to fall in love with him,” she said. “Cory was a beautiful soul. Tonight, we remember Cory for all he was and mourn the loss of all he could have been.”
READ MORE: ‘Variety’ questions Emmy tribute to Monteith
Lynch did not gloss over the cause of the 31-year-old star’s death.
“He was not perfect, which many of us here tonight can relate to,” she said. “His death was a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction.”
Alberta-born Conrad Bain of Diff’rent Strokes fame, who died in January at 89, was included in the show’s In Memoriam segment.
Canadians at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards included presenters Will Arnett, Stephen Amell, Cobie Smulders and Malin Akerman as well as Nathan Fillion, who appeared in a song-and-dance number.
Michael J. Fox paid tribute to Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg.
Bob Newhart, who won his first ever Emmy at a ceremony a week earlier, received a standing ovation when he stepped on stage to present the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series to The Colbert Report (which also won Outstanding Variety Series).
Emmy night wasn’t a very happy one for the conventional television networks.
Most of the major category winners represented shows on cable networks.
The Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series went to AMC’s Breaking Bad.
Michael Douglas won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for portraying Liberace in Behind the Candelabra, the HBO movie that won Outstanding Miniseries or Movie and earned Steven Soderbergh the Emmy for Outstanding Directing.
Douglas shared credit for his award with his co-star and fellow nominee, Matt Damon. “You deserve half of this,” he said. “So do you want the bottom or the top?”
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Tony Hale won for their work on HBO’s Veep – as Lead Actress in a Comedy and Supporting Actor in a Comedy respectively.
Merritt Wever won for her supporting role on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie and, in what Emmy host Neil Patrick Harris called “the best speech ever,” Wever said only “I’ve got to go” before walking off stage.
The winner of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries of Movie was Laura Linney in Showtime’s The Big C. Lead Actress in a Drama Series honours went to Claire Danes for Showtime’s Homeland.
Bobby Cannavale of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Anna Gunn of Breaking Bad was named Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
The Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series trophy was awarded to Jeff Daniels, star of HBO’s The Newsroom. “I didn’t expect this. I usually don’t win anything,” said Daniels, before poking fun at an award he received from the AARP.
James Cromwell won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role on FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum and Ellen Burstyn won Outstanding Supporting Actress for USA Network’s Political Animals.
The late Henry Bromell won Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for his work on Homeland.
The Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series went to David Fincher for the Netflix series House of Cards.
BBC America’s The Hour earned an Emmy for Abi Morgan’s writing.
It wasn’t all bad news for conventional TV networks, though.
Modern Family won Outstanding Comedy Series.
The Voice put an end to The Amazing Race‘s winning streak for Outstanding Reality Competition Show.
Derek Hough earned the Emmy for Outstanding Choreography on Dancing with the Stars.
Don Roy King picked up his fourth consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Variety Series for his work on Saturday Night Live.
Jim Parsons of Big Bang Theory won his third Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.
“I’m very aware of how exceedingly fortunate I am,” he said, before thanking a long list of people and acknowledging his partner Todd Spiewak as “my favourite person on Earth.”
Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield accepted Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series honours for 30 Rock and Modern Family’s Gail Mancuso picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series – marking only the second time a woman has won in the category.
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