She’s had a New York Times bestseller, won two Emmys, appears frequently for the full hour on Larry King Live and can sell out the biggest concert venues in the country from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood to NYC’s Madison Square Garden.

And yet there’s a writer over at The Wrap.com who dismissed Kathy Griffin this week as a “foul-mouthed minor celebrity.’

Steve Pond made this remark in a column previewing next month’s Emmys and the category of Outstanding Reality Program.

It is true, as he writes, that “year after year, this is the oddest, strangest, most diverse and most perplexing Emmy category of all, in which shows go head-to-head against competitors with whom they have virtually nothing in common.”

Griffin has won two of the last four years for her Bravo series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List and made major headlines when during her 2007 speech she said: “Suck it Jesus. This award is my God now.”

Kathy still tries to maintain that she is D-List and will love this diss.

Foul mouthed, yes. Minor celebrity, no.

Steve Pond should know that.

The breakout comedy recently received 15 Emmy nominations and is being recognized for portraying positive images and storylines that reflect a diverse America – including the depiction of a family headed by a gay couple.

GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said in a statement: “GLSEN is honored to be the first national LGBT organization to recognize ABC’s Modern Family. … As a lesbian mother of two, I am grateful to see a show like Modern Family offer an honest and often hilarious look at family experiences frequently overlooked or ignored in Primetime. From its positive portrayal of gay parents to its handling of school bullying, Modern Family provides an invaluable window into what family life is like for millions of American youth.”

As a site that focuses on entertainment of LGBT interest, I would have done a post on the gays and lesbians nominated for Emmy Awards no matter what.

I went ahead with my post with kudos for out two-time nominees Jane Lynch and Neil Patrick Harris and out performers with a single nomination including Chris Colfer, Jesse Tyler Fergeson, Sir Ian McKellen, and Wanda Sykes.

Well, a terrific article in today’s Los Angeles Times by Mary McNamara names several more gay nominees including Glee creator Ryan Murphy, director Paris Barclay, Alan Cumming and Lily Tomlin.

More on them in a minute. McNamara, one of the best television critics in the business, did a column on how to read this year’s Emmy nods and states: “At long last it really is, honest to God, OK to be gay on television.” She points to the success of Glee (19 nominations) and Modern Family (14 nods) and that three of the nominees for best supporting actor in a comedy play gay characters. Also, the nominations for on-screen couple Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet marks the first time that members of a fictional couple have ever competed against each other for an Emmy.

Writes McNamara:

The “Modern Family” face-off marks the first time members of a fictional couple have competed against each other for an Emmy, but much more significant were the story lines and performances that led to the nominations.

The one criticism aimed at the phenomenally successful “Glee” has been its surrender of story to song, but the quietly epic tale of Kurt’s coming out to his father (beautifully played by Mike O’Malley, who got a guest star nomination) has consistently grounded “Glee” in real drama when it threatened to lose itself to theatrics.

Meanwhile, on “Modern Family,” the partnership and new parenthood of Mitchell and Cam wound up providing the show’s comedic spine and some of its most moving moments. And while “Modern Family,” like “Glee,” has come under some fire for not allowing their gay characters to do more than pine (“Glee”) or chastely hug (“Modern Family”), at least these states of celibacy make narrative sense – most high school students pine more than participate, and any new father will tell you that Mr. Pants for Romance he’s not.

I’m not sure if that will or should satisfy people who want to see equal liplock action among gays and straights.

Anyway, back to the gay nominees!

Alan Cumming has been nominated in the guest actor category for his recurring role as an attorney on CBS’s The Good Wife. If he were to won, he could place the Emmy alongside the Tony Award he won for Cabaret several years back.

Lily Tomlin already has won four Emmys for writing her various television specials with life partner Jane Wagner and others and also has a Daytime Emmy. But her nomination for guest actress in a drama for Damages would be her first win for dramatic acting.

Ryan Murphy first of all is responsible for creating the role of Kurt on Glee for Colfer and he, of course, had the good sense to cast Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester. Those two gifted performers were nominated for Emmys but Ryan got several nominations of his own: for writing, for directing, and he’s also a producer on Glee which is nominated for outstanding comedy.

Paris Barclay was nominated for directing the “Wheels” episode of Glee.

Also of gay interest: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding reality show and will be looking for win for the third time in five years … Archie Panjabi’s supporting actress nod for The Good Wife is for a lesbian character … Beau Bridges’s nomination for guest actor in a drama series is for portraying a transgender cop in The Closer. … Mike O’Malley‘s guest actor in a comedy nod for Glee comes for a performance that made you cry more than laugh. The actor was superb in an episode where he defends his gay son against his girlfriend’s son who used a gay slur in his house.

I love having so much to write about on this topic!

Neil Patrick Harris earned his fourth Emmy nomination for his performance as Barney Stinson on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother. He has also been nominated for his guest performance on Glee!

If the out actor wins for the first time, he will have bested a field that included two other openly gay actors: Chris Colfer of Glee and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family. Also in the supporting actor category are Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family and last year’s winner Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men.

Ferguson (pictured with co-star and fellow nominee Stonestreet) got the news in New York City where he is appearing in a play and told USA Today: “I’m shocked in the best way possible. I’ve been shocked in horrible ways. This is not one of them. … I was in my pajamas on the streets of New York looking like a crazy person, trying to get cell service.”

Colfer (pictured below) reacted to the nod via Twitter: “What an amazing year it’s been! I never could have wished for more! Thank you all so much! ”

Then he told USA Today: “My whole involvement with Glee has been one huge Cinderella story. First, I get a character written for me and now I’m an Emmy nominee. “I know how important the character is to so many people, especially kids who have been told it’s not OK to be who they are. The thing I’m most excited about is those kids get to see Kurt get nominated.”

Neil is so overdue in this category and his performance in the show is as sharp and funny as ever. But if Colfer or Ferguson were to win on Emmy night, I would cheer loudly.

As far as the guest actor category, Neil would be a very worthy winner for his memorable guest stint on Glee!

“They announce the nominations so early in the morning, that this year I just stayed up all night and had an Emmy rave,” Neil told the Assocxiated Press. “So I must say, I’m deeply honored to be nominated, and also, my hair feels just amazing..!”

Jane Lynch, who will be honored on opening night of the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles tonight, was nominated as outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and competes against Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara of Modern Family, Kristin Wiig of Saturday Night Live, Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock and Holland Taylor of Two And A Half Men.

Jane, like Neil, is a double nominee. She’s up for guest actress in a comedy series for an appearance on Two And A Half Men.

“Two nominations. I did not anticipate two,” Jane tells Entertainment Tonight. “It was a huge surprise for ‘Two and a Half Men’ that I got a nom for doing the psychiatrist. That was icing on an already beautiful day.”

Also: In the outstanding lead actor in a miniseries category, Ian McKellen has been nominated for The Prisoner while Wanda Sykes’s HBO special Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me got a nod.

There is no stopping the great Betty White.

The comedy icon, currently starring in the new hit comedy Hot in Cleveland, was nominated for an Emmy Award earlier today for her wildly successful stint at host of Saturday Night Live.

Betty’s competition in the guest actress category is pretty stuff: Tina Fey for Saturday Night Live; Elaine Stritch for 30 Rock, Kristen Chenowith for Glee, Jane Lynch for Two and a Half Men,  Christine Baranski for The Big Bang Theory and Kathryn Joosten for Desperate Housewives.

The Betty White episode of SNL that it also got nominations for directing, writing, art direction, hair styling, lighting and makeup.

If Betty doesn’t win, she can go home and polish the Emmy she won for The Golden Girls, the pair she won for The Mary Tyler Show and the Daytime Emmy she won for hosting the game show Just Men! In all, Betty has 19 career Emmy nominations dating back to 1951.

A year ago, only a single episode of Glee had aired on Fox as a preview of the show’s fall kickoff. But it was clear from just that one episode that the show was something special.

Earlier today, Glee added to its solid ratings, gigantic music sales and critical acclaim by earning more Emmy nominations – 19 – than any other series on television.

Glee’s tally came close to the record 22 accumulated by 30 Rock last year.

The series was nominated for outstanding comedy series and stars Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele got nods in the leading comedy actor and actress categories, respectively. Breakout star Jane Lynch, who plays cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, got the first Emmy nomination of her career in the supporting actress category. Chris Colfer, who plays a gay teen Kurt Hummel on show, was nominated in the supporting actor category.

In the guest acting categories, Neil Patrick Harris earned a nod for his performance as Will Schuester’s archrival from high school while Mike O’Malley was nominated for his performance as Burt Hummel, Kurt’s father.

Modern Family, the freshman ABC comedy, will compete against Glee for comedy series and Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, who play a gay couple, were nominated individually along with fellow cast members Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara and Julie Bowen.

Sorry this is a day late but I had to get a few of the interviews posted before I could get to this round-up!

I love the rec carpet at the Daytime Emmys and this year was the first time that I can remember that we didn’t have to contend with the hot sun. The lobby of the Las Vegas Hilton was nice and cool and the set-up allowed for lots of fans to be lined up and to be able to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars.

Regis Philbin (seen arriving with wife Joy) was host of the show which aired on CBS with ratings improving dramatically from last year when it aired on the CW and took place at LA’s Orpheum Theatre.

Regis is great but let’s face it, he’s no Neil Patrick Harris and did little to keep the show’s energy flowing. But the red carpet was was about the best that I can remember. Here are the highlights of some of the interviews I did and photos I took.

One of my favorite soap stars is Carolyn Hennesy, so good as Diane on General Hospital (and also as Barb on Cougar Town).

It was so great to see her looking so regal on the red carpet in her dazzling Lloyd Klein gown and, for the first time, as an Emmy nominee.

“My father [art director Dale Hennesy] won an Academy Award many, many years ago  and I’m the only person I know who has actually practiced an acceptance speech holding an Academy Award,” she shared. “But that’s pie in the sky but with this, is somebody going to make this all disappear? I wouldn’t be surprised. As a little girl, as an actress, it’s what we dream of.”

I told her the Emmy would look good with her dress and Carolyn, with perfect comic timing said: “Ya think? I’m just sayin.”

Bonnie Hunt was a first-time Emmy nominee for outstanding talk show host. She brought her mother to the awards and remained upbeat despite the fact that The Bonnie Hunt Show was canceled after two seasons and had its last original episode air last month.

I had spent time with her several years back on the set of her ABC comedy Life With Bonnie and was happy when she took a break from snapping pics of her mom on the red carpet to come on over for a chat.

“I’ve been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes but this is my first daytime nomination – and it’s probably my last (laughs),” Bonnie said.

Bonnie has had several critically acclaimed TV series (The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show sitcom, Life With Bonnie) but all have lasted just a year or two. It’s a good thing she’s always had plenty of movie roles in such films as Jerry Maguire, Dave, Only You and Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequel.

“That’s the way it goes,” she said of the latest cancellation. “I’ll do something else, a movie or something. I had the best time.”

I asked Bonnie what the highlights were for her during her two years on daytime: “Having Carol Burnett on, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Carl Reiner. I had all the great sitcom people on. We had Betty White on and we started all the stunts with her, we had a Betty White body double in the first season then she did the [Snickers] commercial so we felt really proud of her. Those really were the highlights for me. I loved all the guests.”

When I chatted with outstanding younger actor nominee Drew Tyler Bell, we of course had no idea that he would go on to win the Emmy for his performance as Thomas on Bold and the Beautiful.

He really just seemed excited to be in Vegas with his wife and castmates.

“It’s really special to be nominated because the people who are in daytime vote for the nominees so to be recognized by your peers is really cool,” he said.

How much did he want to win?

“It would be nice to win, of course,” he admitted. “But I don’t base success on awards. It’s great just to be working on a wonderful show like B&B. But of course if I were to win I would definitely like that.”

Outstanding lead actor nominee Jon Lindstom has filmed his last scenes as Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns.

I pointed out that Craig had done so many horrible things including hurting poor Carly!

“The hell with Carly,” he joked. “She should have just gone along with him and everything would have been fine.”

Would he act happy if someone else’s name was called in his category?

“I will be clapping happily and I would mean it, but I would rather take it home to be quite honest,” he said.

(He ended up losing the Emmy to co-star Michael Park).

He’s enjoyed playing Craig: “It’s always more fun to play a scoundrel, they’re easier. You can do pretty much whatever you want and it makes sense. Nobody questions it, they just go Oh, he’s a bad guy, he’s crazy, he’s whatever.”

Next up for Jon is a movie called You Can’t Have it All with Wendy Malick.

Outstanding lead actress nominee Crystal Chappell may be playing Carly on Days of Our Lives these days but on Emmy night, her thoughts were with her former soap Guiding Light. It was for her GL role of Olivia for which she was nominated for the sixth time (she won in 2002).

“I’m proud to have a nomination because it’s going to be the last nomination for Guiding Light,” Crystal told me. “It was such an important part of my life for so long.”

Of her new job: “I love ‘Days,’ I love the people there. I’m very, very lucky.”

I wondered what Crystal thought of the Emmys new home in Vegas: “Somebody just handed me a $25 chip. Where else would that happen? LA? New York? I don’t think so. I love Vegas.”

It was so great to see Austin Peck who played Brad Snyder on As the World Turns until last December.

His character was killed off last October (but returned as a ghost for awhile). I wanted to know how he felt about that and if it was difficult to watch the show where his character’s wife and kids and other family members continue on without Brad.

“I was sad but the wonderful thing about playing the character is it was a fantastic arc from the character’s inception to the death to coming back,” he said. “It couldn’t have been better for me as an actor. … It is a little painful [to watch now] but I love the fact that they continue to talk about me.”

Austin just finished an off-Broadway play called The Irish Curse.

General Hospital cast member Bradford Anderson was a nominee for the second year in a row for his performance as Spinelli.

I remember meeting him at a pre-Emmy party in Hollywood 3-4 years ago and laughing when he described his character as a big computer nerd. Since I’m not following the show too closely these days, I asked Bradford if the nerd label still fit.

“He’s still an absolute nerd,” he confirmed. “He’s found a way to communicate with the people of Port Charles but he’s in now way assimilated to the normalcies, he’s still trying to find his way.”

Of his second Emmy nomination, Bradford said: “It’s gratifying every time, a nice pat on the back from the people that you work with.”

And what about the change in venue from last year in downtown Los Angeles to the Las Vegas Hilton?

“Well, it’s a lot shinier here,” he said.

Longtime The Young and the Restless cast member Kate Linder was glammed out as usual.

Kate has long been busy behind the scenes serving on various Emmy committees and on the Television Academy’s Board of Governors. She’s also one of the few soap stars to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She was very excited about the Vegas venue.

“There’s so many people here,” she said. “It’s what we need. It’s celebrating daytime, celebrating the glamor, the excitement, entertainment. Daytime is an important part of this industry and we have to make sure it does not go anywhere.”

Zach Conroy arrived in Vegas as a nominee for outstanding younger actor for his role of James on Guiding Light.

“I don’t really care if I win,” he said. “Being nominated gives you a nice feeling that people appreciate what you’ve been doing.”

“I was only [on Guiding Light] for a very short time but I learned a lot. I made quite an impression and I got quite an impression.He had also spent a month on As the World Turns.

He now plays Oliver on Bold and the Beautiful.

He said “it was a long four months” between jobs.”

And finally, I was very excited to meet Roger Newcomb and David L. Jacobs who do the We Love Soaps site.

They do such a terrific job and I am a big fan. It was great to meet them in person after swapping emails.

Stay tuned for my interviews with Michael Muhney and Brandon Beemer!

For so many years – 18 to be exact - Susan Lucci attended the Daytime Emmys as a nominee only to hear another actresses name called when it came time to announced the winner in the outstanding lead actress category.

It became the most intriguing part of the Emmys and Susan went on to spoof the losing streak with commercials and a skit on Saturday Night Live.

But enough is enough and in 1999, on her 19th nomination, Miss Lucci finally took home the Emmy for her portrayal of Erica Kane on All My Children.

Susan never misses the Emmys and was present on Sunday night to present Agnes Nixon with a lifetime achievement award and also to present the outstanding drama prize with Regis Philbin.

When we chatted on the red carpet, I asked Susan if she preferred showing up as a presenter without the pressure of being nominated (she’s only been nominated twice since her big win and lost both times).

“I would hope to be nominated again,” she said. “I love my work and they are writing beautiful material.”

Now that All My Children is filming in Los Angeles after 40-plus years in New York, I wondered how Susan is enjoying life on the West Coast.

“Well, we go back and forth,” she said. “It’s going so well. We found ourselves so lucky to walk into another great situation in LA. So I feel doubly blessed – a great life in New York and a great life in LA.

Her current storyline of being in a plane crash and meeting up with a new character played by Michael Nouri has been really juicy and entertaining for a character who has been through so much from 10 marriages to fighting off a bear!

“I love it,” she said. “It’s so much fun. You know, Michael Nouri is just not handsome enough! (laughs) He’s sexy, talented and a wonderful thinking actor.”

Was that arrivals to the 2010 Daytime Emmys going on at the Las Vegas Hilton last night or was it a convention of Greg In Hollywood Morning Men?

So many of my favorite guys were in one place!

Among them: Austin Peck (pictured with me) who played Brad Snyder on As the World Turns; Tuc Watkins of One Life to Life and Desperate Housewives and Brandon Beemer of Bold and the Beautiful who happily poses together when I interviewed them back-to-back; Shawn Christian of Days of Our Lives who could not have been nicer; Michael Muhney of The Young and the Restless who I was able to coax over between his interacting with fans; and Jon Hensley who plays Holden Snyder (Luke’s dad) on As the World Turns.

I will feature interviews with most of these guys in the days to come and many of them were very candid so stay turned!

Coming up today: Interviews with Susan Lucci, Tuc Watkins and Eden Reigel! Plus more red carpet photos!

Related Posts:

Morning Man Austin Peck! Morning Man Tuc Watkins! Morning Man Brandon Beemer! Morning Man Shawn Christian! Morning Man Michael Muhney! Morning Man Jon Hensley!

I’ll have red carpet coverage galore from the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards later today and lots and lots of bits of news that I picked up from here and there.

Chatted up just about everyone I really wanted to including Susan Lucci, Bonnie Hunt, Tuc Watkins, Michael Muhney, Jon Hensley, Eden Reigel, Brandon Beemer, Mark Hapka, Shawn Christian, Carolyn Hennesey, Doug Davidson, Drew Tyler Bell, Zach Conroy and Austin Peck, among many others.

But first let’s tell you who won what and share some of the backstage dish and the photos I snapped.

While there is debate about the quality of the telecast itself (Dick Clark tribute too long, As the World Turns Tribute too short etc), I must say that it was a dream backstage where everyone was in a good mood, the food they served us was delish, and the WiFi was nice and speedy!

The group shot is the very happy cast of Bold and the Beautiful which won Outstanding Drama for the second straight year.

Executive Producer Bradley Bell, who also won a writing Emmy for the first time, joked backstage that he felt like Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers with the back-to-back wins.

Could there be a three-peat?

One of the more dramatic storylines for the show featured the red-hot Betty White. Prior to the Saturday Night Live campaign and all the rest, White had a recurring on the series over the years as Ann Douglas, mother of Stephanie (Susan Flannery) and Pam (Alley Mills) on the show.

The storyline had Ann returning to Los Angeles to reunite with her estranged daughters before dying.

Agnes Nixon, creator of All My Children and One Life to Live, was in a chatty mood backstage after receiving a well-deserved lifetime achievement award presented to her by Susan Lucci who had said onstage “I would not even be here today if Agnes Nixon had not created Erica Kane.”

Miss Nixon said backstage that she is particularly proud of the social issues tackled on the show over the years such as Erica Kane’s daughter Bianca being a lesbian and having the first same-sex wedding on daytime.

Billy Miller, supporting actor winner for The Young and the Restless (pictured below), seemed pretty calm and collected backstage in contrast to the emotion showed by actor and actress winners Michael Park and Maura West whose show, As the World Turns, has been canceled and filmed its final scenes last week.

“Knowing for 6 months that we weren’t going to have a job made it hard 2 go to work every day with a smile but we did it,” Park told us as he held his first Emmy after 13 years in the role of Jack Snyder.

He got choked up when he said he might give Emmy to his grandmother who’s been watching ATWT for 53 years.

Miss West brought her daughter backstage to meet the press just as she had brought her onstage when she accepted her second Emmy for her performance as Carly Snyder.

She told us she is busy packing up her home in Connecticut and will be moving to Los Angeles.

Here is a list of winners:

Outstanding Drama Series: The Bold and the Beautiful
Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Maura West, As the World Turns
Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Michael Park, As the World Turns
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Julie Pinson, As the World Turns
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Billy Miller, The Young and the Restless
Game Show: Cash Cab
Informative Talk Show: The Doctors
Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Drew Tyler Bell, The Bold and the Beautiful
Younger Actress in a Drama Series: Julie Berman, General Hospital
Drama Series Directing Team: General Hospital
Drama Series Writing Team: The Bold and the Beautiful
Talk Show Host: Mehmet Oz, The Dr. Oz Show
Game Show Host: Ben Bailey, Cash Cab

Had to dig one up from year’s past because Ellen did not attend the show held for the first time in Las Vegas!

But that did not prevent her show from taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show (Ellen had taken herself out of the host category after several consecutive wins).

Ellen did publicly convey her happiness via Twitter: Congrats to my incredible staff on their Emmy win. You guys deserve it. Don’t leave Vegas without hitting the poker table for me!

There are sure to be some memorable moments from the show airing on CBS (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) – especially with a star-studded tribute to Dick Clark on tap.

Among the presenters tonight will be All My Children star Susan Lucci. The year was 1999 and Susan scored her first Emmy win in 19 nominations for her performance as Erica Kane.

It was a wildly popular win and as Susan got to the stage, she said: “I truly thought this would never happen.”

Her long drought really helped put the Daytime Emmys on the map and, sadly, Susan has only been nominated once or twice since then.

Let’s relive Susan’s great winning moment as well as some other memorable Emmy wins.

I’ve come to love covering this event because daytime stars are a wonderful bunch, so appreciative of their fans and usually very accessible to the media – and that goes for everyone from Susan Lucci on down (sorry, she is still the queen!).

The telecast, hosted by Regis Philbin, will broadcast live from the Las Vegas Hilton, Sunday, June 27, 2010 (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Ryan Seacrest will introduce the “American Bandstand” and Dick Clark tribute, with Donny Osmond, Chubby Checker, Tony Orlando and The Jersey Boys added to the line-up of stars who will salute the iconic show and legendary television personality.

Presenters this year include Wayne Brady (“Let’s Make a Deal”), Jeff Foxworthy (“Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?”), Vanessa Marcil (“General Hospital”), Alex Trebek (“Jeopardy”) Rachael Ray (“The Rachael Ray Show”), Zack Conroy (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) and Jonathan Jackson (“General Hospital”), along with Dr. Travis Stork, Dr. Drew Ordon, Dr. Jim Sears and Dr. Lisa Masterson from the Daytime Emmy-nominated show, “The Doctors.”

Additional presenters include Rebecca Budig (“All My Children”), Sharon Case (“The Young and the Restless”), Michael Easton (“One Life to Live”), Jon Hensley (“As The World Turns”), Kelley Menighan Hensley (“As The World Turns”), Susan Lucci (“All My Children”), Chris Massey (“Zoey 101″), Kyle Massey (“Cory in the House”), Cameron Mathison (“All My Children”), Kimberly Matula (“The Bold and the Beautiful”), Laura McKenzie (“Laura McKenzie’s Traveler”), Kelly Monaco (“General Hospital”), Joshua Morrow (“The Young and the Restless”), Ronn Moss (“The Bold and the Beautiful”), Peter Reckell (“Days of our Lives”), Trevor St. John (“One Life to Live”), Louise Sorel (“Days of our Lives”), Montel Williams (“The Montel Williams Show”) and Las Vegas acts, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, the showgirls of Jubilee.

I will be covering the red carpet on Sunday then will be live tweeting from the backstage media area where the winners go from the stage.

If you are not already following me on Twitter, please do!!!

He won the award for favorite international video for Whataya Want From Me at the 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards or the MMVAs for short.

The American Idol runner-up showed his sense of humor in his acceptance speech when he said: “I usually don’t win things, I’m usually the runner-up — so thank you, I won something.”

In case you were wondering – and you know you were – what last year’s Tony Awards host thought of this year’s host Sean Hayes’s effort, you don’t have to wonder any longer.

A few hours ago, Neil Patrick Harris posted this on Twitter:

Bravo, Sean Hayes! You helmed the Tonys with charm, grace, and humor. Very well played, sir.

A big congratulations to Levi Kreis for winning the Tony Award last night for his performance as Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet!

With Sean Hayes losing out in the lead actor category to Douglas Hodge, Levi turned out to be the only openly gay winner in the major performing categories. (He and Sean shared the piano keyboard in the telecast’s opening number).

Levi ’s competition was  Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family), Robin De Jesus (La Cage aux Folles), Christopher Fitzgerald (Finian’s Rainbow), and Bobby Steggert (Ragtime).

Backstage in the press roon, Kreis said he was “still speechless” after hearing his name called as the winner. He also said that his co-stars were a major factor in his staying with the show over the past six years, from workshops to out-of-town performances.

“It’s all about the camaraderie of the guys,” he said. “I would not have taken it as far as this point without the camaraderie of these guys.”

His advice for aspiring performers was this: “Don’t take no for an answer, and don’t set limits.”

And the winners were: Denzel Washington? Scarlett Johansson? Catherine Zeta-Jones?

Hollywood A-listers won some big prizes last night at the Tony Awards and I would’ve felt better about it if Denzel, best actor in a play winner for Fences, had known the name of the body giving him the prize or at least faked it better. Anyway, now he’s got a Tony to place between his two Oscars.

Catherine Zeta-Jones also has a Tony Award to go next to her Oscar after winning lead actress in a musical for A Little Night Music. Seated in the front row with her movie star husband Michael Douglas, she reminded the audience that she gets to sleep with him every night. Michael is still an attractive man in his 60s but 20 years ago, we might’ve been more envious. I’m not sure why Zeta-Jones always comes off as so phony in these moments. Also, she performed Send in the Clowns during the telecast and all I can say is I am sure her replacement, Bernadette Peters, will do it far better justice.

As for Miss Johansson, I want to hate her because she happens to be married to my dream man Ryan Reynolds. But when she won for featured actress in a play for A View From the Bridge, her speech was just too gracious and she looked so cute, that I didn’t find myself muttering “bitch” under my breath once. She went on a tad too long and mentioned that she squeezed in her run of the play between Iron Man 2 shoots so there’s a few points off for that but overall, Scarlett handled herself beautifully and showed proper respect for the theater community.

Scarlett’s award was presented by Daniel Radcliff and Katie Holmes. Daniel is a bonafide star of stage and screen while Katie is Mrs. Tom Cruise. What was she doing there and why didn’t she bother to rehearse so it did not seem like she was reading the words for the first time?

One winner is a movie star AND a Broadway star: I was so happy to see Viola Davis win lead actress in a play for Fences and in accepting the award, she really set the standard for acceptance speeches. Although many of us were not familiar with Viola until her shattering Oscar-nominated performance in Doubt, this was in fact her second Tony Award and it could not have happened to a more deserving actress.

Also especially moving was the acceptance speech of Kate Finneran who denied Angela Lansbury a record sixth Tony, had a message: “I want to talk to the kids at home watching. I was a kid and I watched this show and it seemed so far away from me … With the world moving so fast, I want to remind you to focus on what you love, because it is the greatest passport, it is the greatest road map to an extraordinarily blissful life.”

I was thrilled that Eddie Redmayne, featured recently as a Greg In Hollywood Morning Man last month, took home the featured actor in a play award for Red. Eddie (pictured, left) originated the role on the London stage and won the Olivier Award for his stellar work.

Other moments I enjoyed: Douglas Hodge’s performance from La Cage Aux Folles, especially when he sang to Mathew Morrison in the audience. …  Morrison and Glee co-star Lea Michele belted out a few numbers which they nailed … Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane, both past Tony winners but overlooked this year for The Addams Family, were a wonderful pair of presenters and poked fun at their non-nominee status … It was very touching when Kelsey Grammer, presenting with Frasier co-star David Hyde Pierce, got choked up when telling the audience about David receiving the Isabelle Stevenson Award earlier in the evening for his work on behalf of Alzheimer’s research. It appears Kelsey is a Republican with a heart.