Emmy’s Recap and a Remembrance
By • January 16, 2024 0 423
Remembering The Washington Post’s Tom Shales: Pulitzer Prize-winning TV critic Tom Shales has died of complications from Covid and renal failure at the age of 79. Shales spent almost four decades with The Washington Post as their chief TV critic after five years as a writer for their style section. Nationally syndicated, he was best known for his sharp, often blunt commentary on celebrities, trends, network execs and the state of television in general. He once described talk show host Conan O’Brien has having “dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit.”
Tom Shales. Courtesy WTOP News, Washington Post.
Shales co-authored the book “Live From New York,” the oral history of long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live. He never married and has no immediate survivors, but his legacy lives on in his witty writing style and countless pieces available to read online.
75th Annual Emmy Awards Recap: After a Much-Delayed Wait, TV is Back and Better Than Ever
In case you missed it, here are some highlights from yesterday’s Emmy Awards, which took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Elton John Earns EGOT Status
The coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) is a feat accomplished by few, but last night Sir Elton John joined the exclusive club. He won for Best Variety Special (Live) for “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium,” a three-hour long concert documentary on Disney+. Only 19 artists in the history of show business have achieved EGOT status. You can read the entire list here.
Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri Make History
Quinta Brunson, 34, and Ayo Edebiri, 28, made history as the winners for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Brunson) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Edebiri). Brunson is only the second Black actress to win in her category and the first one to do so in over four decades. The first and only until Brunson was Isabel Sanford in 1981 for The Jeffersons.
Edebiri became just the third Black woman to win in the supporting comedy actress category, coming after Jackee Harry in 1987 for 227 and Sheryl Lee Ralph in 2022 for Abbott Elementary.
Grey’s Anatomy Stars Reunite
Long-running drama Grey’s Anatomy saw a reunion of cast members past and present including Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens, Jr., Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers and Katherine Heigl. They celebrated the show being the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history (20 seasons).
Friends’ Matthew Perry Honored During “In Memoriam” Segment
Typically, awards shows take time out to remember those in show business who passed away that year. Matthew Perry, who died October 28, 2023 from the “acute effects of ketamine,” was the last photo in the montage. The photo appeared while the Friends theme song “I’ll Be There For You,” by The Rembrandts played.
