It’s been an eventful weeklong procession of honoring the best of 2020 in television at the 72nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards, held virtually and it all came to a grand close Saturday as the final night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies aired Saturday night on FXX.
This year’s ceremony witnessed a splash of diversity as out of 102 acting nominees across lead, supporting and guest categories for drama, comedy and limited series/TV movie, 35 slots went to Black actors.
It’s been decades since the iconic Eddie Murphy made his debut in the spotlight and yes, last night was indeed historic as the Coming to America star won his first-ever Emmy, for hosting “Saturday Night Live.” He snagged the award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Murphy wasn’t on ground to receive the award but the Television Academy shared his acceptance speech via social media:
“Thank you to everybody at the Emmys. Thank you so much for giving me an Emmy,” a beaming Murphy said. “I don’t have an Emmy. This is 40 years since I started Saturday Night Live. This is my first Emmy, so thank you so much. I want to thank Lorne Michaels for putting this whole thing together and making this happen. And I want to thank the cast and the writers and the crew at SNL. This was a very very special thing for me to come back and have the show turn out the way it did. I’m still floating from it. And thank you to everybody for giving me an Emmy.”
Among the night’s other notable winners are “RuPaul’s Drag Race’s” RuPaul Charles who broke the record for most consecutive hosting wins, landing his fifth consecutive Emmy for reality or competition program host. Docucentary miniseries #thelastdance about basketball legend #MichaelJordan ‘s last year with the Chicago Bulls won the 2020 Emmy for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series at Saturday’s Creative Arts awards.
Cephas Jones’ – This Is Us star took home a second Emmy for his guest turn in NBC mega-hit This is Us, and it’s was a double historic victory as Jones’ daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones also won an Emmy Thursday night, for her work on Quibi’s #FreeRayshawn, making them the first ever father-daughter winners in Emmy history to win same year.
Speaking in the virtual backstage press room, Ron Cephas Jones said, “As a parent that’s the most fulfilling that I could ever feel at the moment. Winning another Emmy is the icing on the cake, but to see my daughter progress and move into this place where she’s earned an Emmy is beyond words and I tear up every time I think about it to be honest with you. To see my daughter become healthy and happy, that’s a parent’s dream.”
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Maya Rudolph also won the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series award for her portrayal of Senator turned vice presidential candidate — Kamala Harris on the long-running sketch show. Worthy of note Rudolph beat herself for the award, as she was also nominated in the category for her performance on NBC’s The Good Place. It was Rudolph’s second win as she scored her first Emmy win on Thursday, for her vocal performance on Netflix’s Big Mouth.
Image Credit: Daily Mail
