‘Er’ Ties Record With 8 Emmys Other Big Winners Include ‘Frasier,’ Streisand, Bergen

The hyper-paced medical drama “ER” nearly made Emmy history at the 48th-annual Prime-Time Emmy Awards on Sunday, but its triumph was upset at the last minute by a series about foul-mouthed, yet concerned police detectives, “NYPD Blue.”

NBC’s “ER” scored eight Emmys in its freshman season, including those for best supporting actress, best direction and best writing. The drama’s wins tied it with “Hill Street Blues” for the record for most Emmys ever won by a series in a single season. The show had been nominated for 23 Emmys.

But a record-breaking ninth Emmy was snatched away from “ER” when “NYPD Blue” swept in to snatch away the award for best drama series. Even that show’s co-creator, Steven Bochco, seemed to be caught off-guard as he accepted, saying, “What a surprise. Holy mackerel.” “NYPD Blue” won only two other awards.

Candice Bergen, who plays a TV newswoman in the “Murphy Brown” series, won her fifth Emmy.

One of the most popular winners was actor Ray Walston, who plays the blunt, philosophical judge on the series “Picket Fences.” Walston’s movie credits include “South Pacific” and “Damn Yankees,” but he was best-known for playing the eponymous space alien on the long-running TV series “My Favorite Martian.”

He was as much a hit with the crowd at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium as his 73-year-old co-star Fyvush Finkel had been last year when he won in the same category, best supporting actor in a drama.

Obviously excited, the 76-year-old Walston said, “I have 30 seconds to tell you that I’ve been waiting 60 years to get on this stage.”

Besides “ER,” the evening’s other big winners were NBC’s comedy series “Frasier” and singer-producer-director Barbra Streisand.

“Frasier,” about a pompous radio psychiatrist, won its second consecutive Emmy for best comedy series. The show, a spinoff from “Cheers,” also scored four additional Emmys, including a best comedy actor award for star Kelsey Grammer and the award for best supporting actor, David Hyde Pierce, who plays the star’s brother.

Streisand came away a victor for two very different programs. Her HBO special, “Barbra Streisand: The Concert” won five Emmys, including best music variety or comedy special and best individual performance in a variety or music program.

Streisand, who received one of the evening’s rare standing ovations, said the last time she had won an Emmy was for her first television special 30 years ago.

Streisand also was an executive producer of “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” which won three Emmys: for best actress Glenn Close, best supporting actress Judy Davis and best writer Alison Cross.

Mandy Patinkin won for best actor in a drama as an acerbic doctor in last season’s other freshman medical drama, “Chicago Hope.” Patinkin will be leaving the show as a regular but making occasional appearances.

For several winners, it was a night of repeats.

Bergen took home her fifth Emmy for best actress in a comedy series for her brash title character in “Murphy Brown”; Grammer collected his second best comedy actor Emmy for “Frasier”; and Kathy Baker won her second best drama series actress award for “Picket Fences.”

HBO’s “Indictment: The McMartin Trial” won for best made-fortelevision movie, while TNT’s biblical story, “Joseph,” beat out network and PBS entries for best miniseries.

NBC was the big network winner, with 28 wins, followed by CBS with 19, HBO with 15, ABC with six and Fox with one.

Among the big losers were “Friends” and “Seinfeld,” the popular comedies that are the anchors for NBC’s much-promoted “Must See TV.” “Friends” didn’t win for any of its eight nominations, while “Seinfeld” won for only one of its seven nominations.

One of the evening’s first surprises

came when Walston of “Picket Fences” beat out “ER” nominees Eriq LaSalle and Noah Wyle in the best supporting actor in a drama series category. “May I say on behalf of all those on ‘Picket Fences,’ thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” a delighted Walston said.

Another upset came when the ongoing Emmy competition between late-night hosts Jay Leno and David Letterman finally turned Leno’s way; his “The Tonight Show” beat out Letterman’s “Late Show” for best variety, music or comedy series for the first time.

Accepting the award, Leno said he was stunned, but he collected himself enough to fire off a pointed reference to HBO’s upcoming movie “The Late Shift,” based on a book chronicling the battle between Leno and Letterman for “The Tonight Show” and late-night supremacy.

“I guess this means HBO will have to shoot a new ending to its movie,” Leno quipped.

Leno also thanked Don Ohlmeyer, NBC president West Coast, and NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield “for sticking by us.” His voice cracked slightly as he concluded, “As my father used to say, fight the good fight.”

Letterman also lost out for the best individual achievement in writing in a variety or music program, which was won by the writers of HBO’s “Dennis Miller Live.”

“The Burning Season,” HBO’s ac count of the murdered Brazilian activist Chico Mendes and his fight to save the rain forests, won both for best director John Frankenheimer and for best actor Raul Julia. Julia’s widow accepted for the actor, who died shortly after the film premiered on HBO.