Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe won the Emmy for best writing for a comedy series on Sunday night for Master of None.
The writers won for the show episode Thanksgiving and Waithe’s win is historic because she’s the first black woman to ever win in the category. Ansari let her do all the talking.
Waithe began her speech by thanking her mother for inspiring the episode on which her character comes out as a lesbian. Then she said: “My LGBTQ family, I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different — those are our superpowers. Every day when you walk out the door, put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world because the world would not be as beautiful as it is without us in it.”
Legendary trio Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda were Emmy presenters and nominees tonight. They, of course, starred in the 1980 film Nine to Five. They had accomplished plenty before that and so much since. A remarkable trio of women who are proof that good genes, good living and a little bit of good plastic surgery can make you ageless!
On this morning’s episode of CBS Sunday Morning, the terrific Lee Cowan caught up with the tennis legend and advocate for gender equality Billie Jean King. Her 1973 exhibition match against Bobby Riggs is the basis for the new movie Battle of the Sexes starring Emma Stone as BJK and Steve Carrell as Riggs. Cowan asked King: “Looking back, are you more proud of what you did on the court, or what you did off it?”
“Oh, off the court. That’s easy-peasy. Yeah.”
“Do you feel satisfied with what you’ve been able to accomplish?”
“No, I’m never satisfied,” King replied. “No. Never never never. No, I don’t want to be, because I think when you get satisfied, it’s over. No, I want to keep going as long as I can. Every human being matters.”
The late, great Bea Arthur is our focus on Emmy day. She was the winner of two Emmys for lead actress in a comedy series. She won in the 1970s for Maude then in the 1980s for The Golden Girls. While Angela Lansbury was tragically passed over for the lead in the movie version of Mame (she was a smash on Broadway and won the Tony), her co-star Miss Arthur did get to recreate her Tony winning performance on film opposite Lucille Ball.
While Lucy was not much of a singer, their duet of Bosom Buddies worked well on film. Compare that to her performance with Lansbury at a much later Tony Awards.
And just for kicks, I’ve put a fun clip of Miss Arthur with the equally bitchy Madame.
Since tonight the 2017 Emmys are being presented, it seemed like a good time to revisit some past males Emmy winners who have one thing in common: I’ve had a crush on each them at one time or another! You gotta start with Jon Hamm who, at last, won the Emmy in 2015 for Mad Men after becoming something of the Susan Lucci of the outstanding lead actor in a drama series category. Then there’s a pre-Barbra, pre-Hotel, pre-Amityville Horror James Brolin who won in the 1970s for Marcus Welby MD and Tom Selleck at his hunkiest when he won in the 1980s for Magnum PI. Had to include the late, great John Ritter who I’m so glad won an Emmy for Three’s Company in the 1980s. Then finally, there’s the gorgeous Guy Pearce the year he won the Emmy for Mildred Pearce.
When Sarah Paulson won an Emmy last year for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for her performance as Marcia Clark in American Crime Story, she joined girlfriend Holland Taylor as an Emmy winner. Taylor won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Practice in 1999.
Pauslon’s ex-girlfriend, Cherry Jones, is also a past Emmy winner. Jones won in the same category as Holland 10 years later for playing the president of the US in 24.
Paulson, Taylor and Jones are three of the 12 openly gay Emmy winners who I’m shining a spotlight on as we count down to this weekend’s Primetime Emmy ceremony. RuPaul, who won his first Emmy last year, repeated his win this year in the category for outstanding reality show host.
Not all winners were out at time of their victories
Past winners such as Taylor, David Hyde Pierce (he won four times for Frasier), Sean Hayes (a winner for Will & Grace), and Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) were not out publicly at the time of their wins.
Interestingly, Jim Parsons was out for only the two most recent of his four wins for lead actor in a comedy series for The Big Bang Theory.
So the speeches from Pierce, Taylor, Hayes and Nixon are very different from those of the openly gay Harris and Dan Bucatinsky who kissed their respective spouses at their seats after their names were called and Jane Lynch who thanked her then-wife from the stage the year she won for Glee. Lynch has gone on to win three more Emmys in various categories.
Among the most powerful and moving speeches was that of Ellen DeGeneres when she won the Emmy in 1997 for the writing of her self-titled sitcom’s coming out episode.
DeGeneres, who had come out earlier that year ahead of her TV character, accepted the award ‘on behalf of the teenagers especially out there who think there’s something wrong with them because they’re gay. There’s nothing wrong with you – don’t ever let anybody make you feel ashamed of who you are.’
Below are 10 acceptance speeches from a group of very talented performers who – either before or after these Emmy wins – took the courageous step of coming out publicly.
Since Lauren Bacall was one of the first movie stars I became obsessed with as a kid (Elizabeth Taylor was the other, of course), I never forget her birthday.
It’s been just over three years since the movie icon and Broadway legend died just about a month before her 90th birthday.
She had such an epic life (husbands were Humphrey Bogart and Jason Robards, fiancee was Frank Sinatra) with great professional highs like the movies To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Mirror Has Two Faces and the smash Broadway shows Applause, Woman of the Year and Cactus Flower.
She became a star at 19 and worked in movies right up until near the end of her life with such later credits as Dogville, Manderlay, Birth and The Walker.
If you’ve never read Miss Bacall’s autobiography, By Myself, I highly recommend it! It won the National Book Award and is one of my favorite memoirs ever – absorbing from page one.
I’m so glad I got to interview Miss Bacall a few times including for an Orange Coast Magazine cover story. Below are some random videos of Miss Bacall that I especially like – I obviously loved her coffee commercials! Hope you enjoy.
In a U.S. exclusive interview with The Today Show’sNatalie Morales, Olivia Newton-John speaks out about her most recent breast cancer diagnosis, and why she’s not as scared this time around.
Michelle Rounds, Rosie O’Donnell’s ex-wife, has died at the age of 46.
Reports indicate she committed suicide on Monday at her home in Florida, according to TMZ.
Rosie has released this statement: “I am saddened to hear about this terrible tragedy. Mental illness is a very serious issue affecting many families. My thoughts and prayers go out to Michelle’s family, her wife and their child.”
Rounds and O’Donnell met in 2011 and were married in 2012 before splitting two years later.
They officially divorced, citing an “irretrievably broken relationship,” in February 2016, with O’Donnell telling reporters they were “both happy with the outcome.”
But Rounds told Entertainment Tonight: “Depends on what you mean by how I’m doing … I am so much happier. Being out of that chaotic environment that I was in. And hostile environment. And I feel more alive than I’ve ever felt in my life.”
I’m such a fan of Chandler Massey even if I have not always been a fan of Days of Our Lives which I stopped watching after they killed off the character of Will Horton.
I knew it was a mistake and I never felt like watching the show again.
But now the three-time Emmy winner is back in the role of Will. I’m willing to give the show another chance.
Who the heck knows how they will bring Will back to life. I just look forward to seeing Massey share the screen again with Deidre Hall and Freddie Smith, among others.
Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David) is 33 today!
We all know him, of course, as Prince Harry and he is currently fifth in line to the British throne behind his father, brother, nephew and niece.
Not that his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II is going anywhere!
Harry is the royal family’s rock star and its sex symbol. We love that he is gay friendly, seems very adventurous and fun and that he’s the kind of guy we’d love to spend a weekend in Vegas with! Happy birthday to a real prince.
After playing the game Candidly Candice on Watch What Happens Live this week, Candice Bergen is asked by Andy Cohen all about her date with Donald Trump during her college years and she says if she thought he was a douche.
Jimmy Kimmel has twice hosted the Emmys and earlier this year he hosted one of the most memorable Oscars telecasts in history.
So what is Kimmel doing for an encore?
The popular late night personality is hosting the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s on September 23 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. As previously announced, the event will honor Ariel Emanuel, Co-CEO of WME | IMG and Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor for the Obama Administration.
In addition to announcing Kimmel as the host, the Center announced today that writer and producer Shonda Rhimes will present Jarrett with the Rand Schrader Distinguished Achievement Award while artist Mark Bradford will do the honors for Emanuel, presenting him the Vanguard Award. You can read the rest of my story about the gala ovr at the Center’s Vanguard Blog!
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Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe won the Emmy for best writing for a comedy series on Sunday night for Master of None.
Legendary trio Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda were Emmy presenters and nominees tonight. They, of course, starred in the 1980 film Nine to Five. They had accomplished plenty before that and so much since. A remarkable trio of women who are proof that good genes, good living and a little bit of good plastic surgery can make you ageless!
On this morning’s episode of CBS Sunday Morning, the terrific Lee Cowan caught up with the tennis legend and advocate for gender equality Billie Jean King. Her 1973 exhibition match against Bobby Riggs is the basis for the new movie Battle of the Sexes starring Emma Stone as BJK and Steve Carrell as Riggs. Cowan asked King: “Looking back, are you more proud of what you did on the court, or what you did off it?”
The late, great Bea Arthur is our focus on Emmy day. She was the winner of two Emmys for lead actress in a comedy series. She won in the 1970s for Maude then in the 1980s for The Golden Girls. While Angela Lansbury was tragically passed over for the lead in the movie version of Mame (she was a smash on Broadway and won the Tony), her co-star Miss Arthur did get to recreate her Tony winning performance on film opposite Lucille Ball.
Since tonight the 2017 Emmys are being presented, it seemed like a good time to revisit some past males Emmy winners who have one thing in common: I’ve had a crush on each them at one time or another! You gotta start with Jon Hamm who, at last, won the Emmy in 2015 for Mad Men after becoming something of the Susan Lucci of the outstanding lead actor in a drama series category. Then there’s a pre-Barbra, pre-Hotel, pre-Amityville Horror James Brolin who won in the 1970s for Marcus Welby MD and Tom Selleck at his hunkiest when he won in the 1980s for Magnum PI. Had to include the late, great John Ritter who I’m so glad won an Emmy for Three’s Company in the 1980s. Then finally, there’s the gorgeous Guy Pearce the year he won the Emmy for Mildred Pearce. 
When Sarah Paulson won an Emmy last year for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for her performance as Marcia Clark in American Crime Story, she joined girlfriend Holland Taylor as an Emmy winner. Taylor won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Practice in 1999.
So the speeches from Pierce, Taylor, Hayes and Nixon are very different from those of the openly gay Harris and Dan Bucatinsky who kissed their respective spouses at their seats after their names were called and Jane Lynch who thanked her then-wife from the stage the year she won for Glee. Lynch has gone on to win three more Emmys in various categories.
Since Lauren Bacall was one of the first movie stars I became obsessed with as a kid (Elizabeth Taylor was the other, of course), I never forget her birthday. 
Harvard Revokes Chelsea Manning’s ‘Visiting Fellow’ Invitation, Calling it a ‘Mistake’ 
Michelle Rounds, Rosie O’Donnell’s ex-wife, has died at the age of 46. 
How fabulous!
New GLAAD report reveals summer movies failed LGBTI representation 
Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David) is 33 today!
Jimmy Kimmel has twice hosted the Emmys and earlier this year he hosted one of the most memorable Oscars telecasts in history.
