Barry Manilow: It's a good thing the singer dropped by the Emmy Awards Sunday night to honor Dick Clark by performing the American Bandstand theme "Bandstand Boogie." He was able to kill two birds with one song when he picked up the Emmy for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program. Manilow is scheduled to have hip surgery today to repair cartilage tears in both hips. After accepting his Emmy trophy, he told the audience, "This goes into the operating room with me tomorrow morning as a good luck charm." Manilow canceled his performances in Las Vegas so that he will have eight weeks to recover from the surgery.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: If there was any doubt left that the actress has ended the Seinfeld jinx, it was eliminated in spades Sunday night when she won the best actress in a comedy series Emmy for The New Adventures of Old Christine. When asked by a reporter why her series is a hit while Friends star Lisa Kudrow's nominated show The Comeback has been canned, Louis-Dreyfus told reporters, "Getting a show on the air and getting it to stick is a bigger challenge than ever." Give her an "A" for telling the truth. Networks no longer are willing to give a series enough time to develop a following -- think ABC's Invasion and NBC's Surface for starters. The viewers are the losers.
Kiefer Sutherland: Cheers to Emmy voters for finally giving the actor credit for his work on the Fox drama hit 24. Sutherland won the outstanding lead actor in a drama series award for playing Jack Bauer, a special CTU operative who has saved the world almost as many times as Buffy did. His proud father, Donald Sutherland, was at the ceremony to see his son grab the gold after being denied the trophy the last four years. He has been nominated all five seasons the series has been on the air. 24 also took top honors in the best drama series category and Jon Cassar won the best drama director award for his work on the show. Actually, the Emmy voters did pretty good this year when choosing the best shows on television. NBC's The Office won the best comedy series award even though the star of the show, Steve Carell, lost out in the best comedy actor category to Monk star Tony Shalhoub.
Andre Braugher: The actor didn't really have to show up Sunday to see what an Emmy looks like up close. He won the best drama actor award in 1998 for Homicide: Life on the Street, so he has one at home. Now he has two to showcase. Braugher won the best actor in a miniseries or movie Emmy Sunday for FX's miniseries Thief. He also got something else to carry home, an added bonus. Braugher asked Barry Manilow for an autograph. When I interviewed him two years ago, he made it clear how much he loves the arts. Last night, he was not only an honoree, he was a fan too. Visit the official Emmy Awards web site for a list of all the winners and event photographs.
Martin Sheen: Is the actor ready to begin training for a run at public office? It would make sense. He has been arrested too many times to count for protest work he participated in and often led to champion various liberal causes. Reuters reports that The West Wing star plans to begin classes next month at the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Galway, Ireland. He will be focusing his mind on English literature, philosophy and oceanography courses. NUI, which gave Sheen an honorary degree last year to honor his acting and social activities, told Reuters that it's new pupil will begin classes in September.
Weekend Reports:
Matt LeBlanc: TMZ.com uncovered a not-so-friendly story about Joey that he would prefer to stay hidden. A year ago, LeBlanc told the National Enquirer that the stripper he met while drinking too much was the one to blame for his marital problems. The NE article quoted him as saying that she was, "pushing her breasts into me and grabbing my hands to go all over her body." Not so, says Stephanie Stephens. She filed a lawsuit against the actor in Los Angeles on Tuesday that alleges LeBlanc slandered her with his "false statements." Her suit is somewhat confusing, to say the least. She claims that she did not touch LeBlanc in a sexual manner while disclosing that he and she met in the privacy of her home. LeBlanc was married at the time. Having some drinks with a stripper in the privacy of her home was not a good plan. The actor's wife filed for a divorce in March. Stephens is seeking unspecified damages to make up for LeBlanc's damaging words about her noble behavior.
Angelina Jolie: It's time for the actress to find a way to meet with her father, Jon Voight, so that they can start the long process of healing their relationship. She does so much good work in poor nations to help children who are trapped in poverty that it's hard to imagine her not being able to communicate with her dad. When Jolie and Brad Pitt attended the birthday party for Scott Caan recently, the Hollywood power couple sat in the car for thirty minutes because Voight was at the affair. Pitt went in, Voight exited and finally Jolie made the scene. She can function in an African village surrounded by children with AIDS, yet the actress cannot function when Voight is nearby. Both of them are old enough to quit acting like children.
