Los Angeles: Show Bits brings you the 66th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles through the eyes of Associated Press journalists.
QUICKQUOTE: DANNY ZUKER
"It's an honor just to win. It really is." - Producer Danny Zuker of winning comedy series "Modern Family."
REMEMBERING ROBIN
Cradling her Emmy Award backstage, Kathy Bates recalled a night years ago when she won an award and wanted to call her mother with the news.
It was before cellphones and she needed a quarter for the backstage pay phone.
Robin Williams dug out a coin and urged her to make the call.
"I never forgot that kindness," she said Monday after winning supporting actress in a miniseries or movie for "American Horror Story: Coven." Bates also recalled the night Williams, who died last month, was there when she lost.
It was 1999 and Bates, nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress, lost to Judi Dench. Williams handed out the award that year.
"He said, `I really wish I could've had your name in the envelope. Are you OK? I know how hard it is to lose,'" she said. "This is a special night for that reason."
QUICKQUOTE: JULIANNA MARGULIES
"Oh yes, this is much heavier than the other one." Julianna Margulies, comparing the real Emmy she got backstage to the prop she was handed on camera when she accepted her award for best actress in a drama series.
QUICKQUOTE: STEPHEN COLBERT
"I think I may just change my name to the Col-borg. `I am the Col-borg. Resistance is futile.'" Comedian Stephen Colbert, whose show won for best variety series, commenting on singer Gwen Stefani mangling his name when announcing his win.
SARAH SILVERMAN'S WINNER'S REMORSE
Right when she got to the trophy table to collect her Emmy, Sarah Silverman realized she had forgotten to thank some very important people.
"Oh! I didn't thank my parents!" she said, a wave of guilt spreading across her face.
Told she could mention them on the backstage "Thank You Cam," Silverman said she'd already breezed past it.
"The `Thank You Cam' was right away and I was like, `I thanked everyone.'"
She says she'll make up for the faux pas by giving her folks the Emmy.
"It's just going to go in my very embarrassed dad's living room," she said.
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
Just as Jessica Lange came backstage to claim her Emmy for lead actress in a miniseries for "American Horror Story: Coven," series creator Ryan Murphy took the Nokia Theatre stage to accept an award for his television movie, "The Normal Heart."
"`The Normal Heart' just won? Oh great!" Lange said, standing at an off-camera table where winners claim their trophies.
"Can I just watch Ryan a minute?" she asked, clutching her new Emmy as she watched Murphy make his acceptance speech.
Lange was pretty pleased about her own win as well.
"I can't tell you how lovely and surprising it is to be here again," said Lange who has previously won Oscars and Emmys.
MAYBE THE EMMY SHOULD HAVE GONE TO...
Which performance had Emmy attendees on their feet?
That'd be the pawn shop spoof starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul that was filmed to build buzz for the Emmy Awards.
The commercial for this year's ceremony, in which Louis-Dreyfus looks into selling her "Seinfeld" Emmy, was among the clips shown inside the Nokia Theatre during a commercial break.
When it began playing, several audience members stopped in the aisles or stood up to watch.
By the time it was over it had gotten far more laughs than "Weird Al" Yankovic's actual Emmy performance.
QUICKQUOTE: SARAH SILVERMAN
"A lot of people being led, pushed and herded. I'm one of them." - Sarah Silverman joking about the red carpet scene.
THERE'S NOT REALLY A BATHROOM KEY
Andre Braugher didn't really have to go.
After his jokey televised Q&A bit with Seth Meyers, the "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" star walked down the aisle to an empty seat. The bathroom "key" he had said he was in need of was retrieved by a stagehand.
Then, after Kathy Bates' acceptance speech for supporting actress in a miniseries or movie, Braugher returned to his own seat.
As for restroom facilities at the Nokia Theatre, there are plenty of them. And no key is required.
THE RED CARPET SISTER ACT
Sisters were where it's at on the Emmy red carpet.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson came to the awards show with his sister, who stood dutifully in the background as he chatted up reporters.
"She's so shy," he said.
Julianne Hough and her brother Derek finished each other's sentences.
"I'm just here to protect the jewelry," Derek joked, though he noted the siblings are like best friends.
"We're just buds," added his sister.
Coming off their summer dance tour, the Houghs will be reunited on "Dancing With the Stars" this fall. She'll be judging and he'll be dancing.
BEWARE THE UPSIDE-DOWN TRIANGLE
Inside the Nokia Theatre, the celebrities are mingling and standing in the aisles as producer Don Mischer explains that Emmy winners won't see numbers ticking down on the prompter when their acceptance speeches ramble on.
Instead, they'll watch an upside-down red triangle slowly emptying like an hourglass.
"We are presenting 26 awards in two hours," he said. "For all the nominees, we are presenting more awards per hour than any of other awards show."
HAIRSPRAY CLOUDS
Jesse Tyler Ferguson invited Padma Lakshmi to stay at his house for Emmy weekend.
And what a scene it was.
The "Modern Family" star blasted music so loud during their fashion prep that Lakshmi joked it gave her a headache.
"He didn't have to do what I did, sit there while they buff and tweeze you," said Lakshmi, the cookbook author, actress, model and "Top Chef" producer who wore a white crepe gown.
Ferguson retorted, "A lot of hairspray clouds in my house."
Laskshmi said she met Ferguson on the red carpet several years ago and they've been pals ever since.
CUTTING IT CLOSE
Twenty minutes before show time, an announcer tells Emmys attendees the lobby bar is closing and they better take their seats.
It'll be a few more minutes, however, before Kevin Spacey, Jimmy Fallon and Sofia Vergara head for the entrance.
Fallon for one just can't seem to say no to last-minute autograph seekers.
Vergara is finally beginning to move briskly, but Matthew McConaughey is still taking his time.
Doing a slow saunter down the carpet, McConaughey pauses to compliment his wife's dress.
"If I see that on eBay, I'll find you." - Lea DeLaria of "Orange Is the New Black" joking to a fan who just collected an autograph from co-star Matt McGorry.
CAMERAS WORK BOTH WAYS
It's not just fans and professional photographers who get to take pictures of people during the Emmy red carpet walk.
Some of the actors are opting to turn their smartphones on the crowd, taking pictures of the fan bleachers as they stroll by.
The move draws shouts of "Selfie! Selfie!" from the crowd.
NO BAR NEEDED FOR THIS MAN
Kevin Rahm showed he knows how to keep properly hydrated - and in an upbeat mood - at a summer awards show.
In one hand the "Mad Men" actor clutched a bottle of water as he arrived on the red carpet. But when fans cheered him, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny bottle of liquor.
With that, the cheers turned to laughter.
'ORANGE' IS THE NEW FAN FAVORITE
The stars of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" were the early fan favorites on the red carpet after series stars stopped to chat with fans and sign autographs.
Laverne Cox dazzled in a long white gown, while Natasha Lyonne smiled and joked, spinning her hand around her head in a sign that the whole experience was crazy.
Selenis Leyva kept up with the show's motif, posing with a pair of handcuffs for a fashion camera.
The bleachers aren't on the main carpet this year, so stars have to make a detour if they want to greet fans. Those who did were showered with applause and well wishes.
RED CARPET READY FOR ITS CLOSEUP
With a few hours until show time, workers are putting the finishing touches on the red carpet.
A vacuum sucks up leaves and dirt as potted shrubs are hurriedly moved into place.
At a booth set aside for one of the many red carpet interviews, workers wipe down tables and position flower arrangements so bottled water that will keep throats clear is tucked out of sight.
The end result would please a celebrity stylist: Not a petal, leaf or shrub is left out of place.
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