Seeing Stars: Hollywood Award Ceremonies


at the Shrine Auditorium
Los Angeles, CA.
Academy: (818) 754-2800




The 60th annual Emmy Awards show will take place ,
Sunday, September 21, 2008,
at the Nokia Theatre.

Click here for a list of the this year's
2007 Emmy  Nominees & Winners

Click here for a list of the 2006 Emmy winners.
Click here for a list of the 2005 Emmy winners.
Click here for a list of the 2004 Emmy winners.
Click here for a list of the 2003 Emmy winners.
Click here for a list of the 2002 Emmy winners.
Click here for a list of the 2001 Emmy winners.
Click here for a list of the 2000 Emmy winners.



The annual Emmy awards show is television's biggest night. TV's version of the Oscars have been awarded each summer since 1948 by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and over 600 million viewers (in 85 countries) tune in to watch.

Virtually every star of the small screen shows up, and the good news is that you can watch them - in person.

You can see stars from your favorite TV series, such as Kiefer Sutherland ("24"), Teri Hatcher ("Desperate Housewives"), Kevin James ("The King of Queens"), Glenn Close ("The Shield"), Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace"), Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men"), James Spader ("Boston Legal") Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine"), Geena Davis "Commander in Chief", Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under"), Tony Shalhoub ("Monk"), Candice Bergen & William Shatner ("Boston Legal").

   

Emmy nominees in recent years have also included:

Martin Sheen (President Bartlet on "The West Wing"), Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie on "Sex and the City''), James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos"), Jennifer Garner ("Alias"), Debra Messing ("Will & Grace''), Kelsey Grammer, ("Frasier"), Anthony Edwards (Mark Greene on "ER"), Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal"), Michael Richards (Kramer on "Seinfeld"), Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), Jenna Elfman ("Dharma"), Helen Hunt (Jamie in "Mad About You"), Jane Seymour ("Doctor Quinn"), Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue"), Roma Downey ("Touched By An Angel"), Garry Shandling, Christine Lahti, Jane Leeves, Kim Delaney, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle, Christine Baranski, John Larroquette, Carol Burnett, Charles Nelson Reilly, Jan Hooks, Laura Innes, Rip Torn and Hank Azaria.

Recent special events on the Emmy stage included Whitney Houston hosting a segment on TV Cinderella stories, with pop singer Brandy singing "The Sweetest Sounds'', Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Seinfeld") hosting a segment on TV's farewell episodes, while Jay Leno and Chris Rock told how television has affected their lives.

And the celebs you see at the show aren't necessarily TV regulars. You can see presenters such as Neve Campbell, Cher, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Gregory Hines, as well as movie stars who have turned in a single exceptional performance on television, such as Bette Midler, Robert Duvall, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Michael Caine, Diana Rigg, Armand Assante, Tracey Ulman, Billy Crystal, Beau & Jeff Bridges, and Bridget Fonda.

Recent nominees included: Tom Hanks, Jack Lemmon, Sigourney Weaver, George C. Scott, Emma Thompson, Patti LuPone, Michael Crawford, Danny Glover, Helena Bonham Carter, Hume Cronyn, Mel Brooks, Ellen Barkin, John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ving Rhames, Sam Neill, Martin Short, Mare Winningham, Julie Harris, Nathan Lane, Olympia Dukakis, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Swoosie Kurtz, Cloris Leachman and Francis Ford Coppola.

The Emmy Awards show is usually held on the second Sunday in September.

This year, the 60th annual show will be held on Sunday, September 21, 2008.

After ten years at the Shrine Auditorium, this year the show will move to the new Nokia Theatre (next to the Staples Center) in downtown L.A. (The Emmys have signed up for a 10-year run at the Nokia.)

Last year (in 2007), the 59th annual show was held on September 16, at the Shrine Auditorium. The host was American Idol's Ryan Seacrest.

In 2006, the 58th annual show was held on Saturday, August 27, 2006, at the Shrine Auditorium. The host was Conan O'Brien.

In 2005, the host was Ellen Degeneres.

In 2004, it was hosted by Gary Shandling. Presenters included Conan O’Brien, Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex & The City"), Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue"), Matt LeBlanc ("Friends" & "Joey"), Kiefer Sutherland ("24"), Eric McCormack ("Will & Grace"), James Spader ("The Practice"), Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia"), Donald Trump (has "The Apprentice"), Kathryn Morris ("Cold Case"), Teri Hatcher ("Lois & Clark"), Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development"), Portia de Rossi ("Ally McBeal"), Jon Stewart ("The Daily Show"), Zach Braff (Scrubs"), and Mischa Barton ("The O.C.").

In normal years, when they allow bleacher seating for fans outside the Shrine, if you want to have any chance of getting a bleacher seat for future events , you have to come early - be in your seat by at least 2 PM. Remember that bleacher space is limited, phone the Academy at (818) 754-2800 ahead of time to be sure of dates, times & location.

But if you can afford the price of admission, you may not need a bleacher seat, since tickets are now sold for seats inside the Shrine..

Since 1998, after the show was moved from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to the larger Shrine Auditorium, members of the public have been able to buy tickets to the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony for the first time ever. About 2,000 public tickets usually go on sale - the whole of the second balcony and part of the first balcony. Tickets are only available directly from the Academy... and they're not cheap.


2007 TICKETS

There are tickets available for the Emmy Awards show (inside the Shrine), but they are not free. The prices range from $200 to $400 for the three different balcony levels (orchestra seating is not available to the public). The best tickets are usually sold out by late August.

However, since the Shrine Auditorium is one of the largest theatres in the world, a few tickets usually remain unsold in the upper (third) balcony up to show time. It won't be the best view in the world, but if you fail to buy your tickets early and you still want to attend the Emmys, you probably can.

If you're interested in buying the best available tickets to the show, you should act early. Phone the Academy in mid-July and ask to have an order form sent to you. The phone number is (818) 754-2800. (Their return fax number is (818) 761-3814.)

The first invitations (ticket order forms) are mailed out around the first week of August. The ticket price is $400 for the first balcony of the auditorium, $300 for the second balcony, and $200 for the top balcony. The order card has to be returned with full payment by mid-August. Tickets have to be be picked up at the Academy office during one week in September.

But if you didn't order early, there may still be time to get your tickets. They can mail invitations/order forms which can be requested by email (no phone calls) to ebner@emmys.org - or you can come to the Academy in person for a week in mid-September to purchase your tickets. The Academy is located at 5220 Lankershim Blvd., in North Hollywood. They accept Visa, Mastercard, checks or cash. Black tie. No refunds.


One thing is certain: you'll never get an better chance to see so many major TV stars on a single day, in a single location...

However, you might want to think twice before you waste your time trying to get a bleacher seat outside the Shrine Auditorium. Although paid seats are available inside the Shrine, the bleacher situation outside was apparently ill-managed in past years. I haven't tried to get a bleacher seat at the Shrine myself, but I received this email from one poor soul who did a few years ago, and lived to regret it:


"We just returned from our trip to L.A. We went to the [1999] Emmy's and were very disappointed.
   "A few days before the show I contacted the Emmy office and was informed if we arrived a few hours before show time there was a good possibility of getting bleacher seats.
   "We arrived at 11 a.m. and got a fairly good place in line across the street from the Shrine. After a few hours we saw people coming out of the Shrine and escorted to the bleachers. We found out that all of the bleacher seats were given to USC students, needless to say we were very upset. I should have been told this on the phone when I called the Emmy office.
   I wanted to let you know how they handled this because we later found out they did this last year too. Maybe you can warn your readers next year so they do not have false hopes."


Stay tuned for more information about the 2007 Emmy Awards show.

(Also see the story about the Emmy Plaza in North Hollywood.)

Getting there: The Shrine Auditorium is located about five miles south of downtown Los Angeles, on Jefferson Blvd at Royal Street, across the street from the USC campus, and not far from Exposition Park. Take the Harbor (110) Freeway to the Exposition Blvd exit. Turn west on Exposition one block to Figueroa Street, then turn right (north) on Figueroa and go one long block to Jefferson Blvd. Turn left (west) on Jefferson, and the Shrine will be on your right (north) side. You can't miss it.


[For more information on this subject, you can access the Emmys official website at: http://www.emmys.org.]








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