The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 16 featured several Jewish moments and winners.
For the first time, the Emmys were hosted by a father-son duo: Jewish actors Eugene Levy and Dan Levy. During their opening remarks, one of the first big laughs from the audience was about the frequent mispronunciation of their last name. “If it goes well tonight, my name is pronounced ‘Levy,’ not ‘Leevy,’” Dan Levy said. “And if things go south, my name’s pronounced ‘Martin Short,’” Eugene quipped. Later, the elder Levy said to his son, “Without question, my most rewarding dad role ever has been being your dad — in ‘Schitt’s Creek’ … because it got me my first acting Emmy.”
Jon Stewart won his 23rd Emmy as host of “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central) which won for Outstanding Talk Series. Following the departure of host Trevor Noah in 2022, Stewart returned as a once-a-week host of the show on February 12 after stepping away from hosting eight-and-a-half years ago.
Comedian Alex Edelman won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Special for his one-person stage show, “Alex Edelman: Just For Us” (Max). After a massively successful national tour of the show about his experience attending a white nationalist meeting in New York, a special was broadcast on Max in April.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the second year in a row for his role as Richie Jerimovich in “The Bear” (Hulu).
Hannah Einbinder was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Ava Daniels in “Hacks” (Max). The show won three Emmys on Sunday, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Paul Rudd was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Ben Glenroy in “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu). Larry David was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Max). Over the course of 12 seasons, “Curb” was nominated for 55 Primetime Emmys. It only won two: in 2003 for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Robert B. Weide for the episode, “Krazee-Eyez Killa”), and in 2012 for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (Steve Rasch, for the episode, “Palestinian Chicken”).
Henry Winkler, who won his only Emmy for his supporting role in “Barry” in 2018, participated in a tribute to the 50th Anniversary of “Happy Days” alongside Ron Howard. Six-time Emmy winner Billy Crystal presented the award for Outstanding Talk Series. Actor Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) co-presented a “Tribute to Doctors” segment along with Mindy Kaling (“The Mindy Project”) and Mekhi Phifer (“ER”), before co-presenting the award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Actor Richard Schiff appeared on stage with several former cast members of “The West Wing,” celebrating the show’s premiere 25 years ago. They also presented the award for Outstanding Drama Series.
The “In Memoriam” segment featured tributes to sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer and comedian/actor Richard Lewis.
During the pre-show red carpet arrivals, there were about thirty pro-Palestinian protesters who attempted to block traffic at the corner of South Figueroa and West 18th Street. Although this was about half a mile southwest of the Peacock Theatre, Deadline reported that these protests caused some arrival delays.
There also were several people on the red carpet spotted wearing pins distributed by Artists4Ceasefire. The organization says their mission is to “represent support for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.” The pins feature an orange hand with a black heart in the palm, on a circular red background. The imagery on the pin, however, has been alleged to be a reference to an infamous photo from 2000 of a Palestinian raising his blood-soaked hands after lynching and murdering two IDF soldiers in Ramallah. Among those spotted wearing the pins at the Emmys were actress Nicola Coughlan (“Bridgerton”), writer Brittani Nichols (“Abbott Elementary”), and “Reservation Dogs” actor Dallas Goldtooth and actress Devery Jacobs.
Israeli actor Ido Samuel was spotted at the Emmys wearing a yellow ribbon on his black tuxedo to bring attention to the Israeli hostages being held in captivity in Gaza by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023.
“I am honored to wear the yellow ribbon and bring attention to the 101 hostages still in captivity. “It’s a way to show their families they are not forgotten — that we stand with them, think of them constantly, and pray for their safe return every single day.” – Ido Samuel
“I am honored to wear the yellow ribbon and bring attention to the 101 hostages still in captivity,” Samuel told The Journal. “It’s a way to show their families they are not forgotten — that we stand with them, think of them constantly, and pray for their safe return every single day.” This past spring, Samuel starred as Isaac in the “We Were The Lucky Ones” — a historical drama on Hulu about a Polish family’s fight to survive the Holocaust.
In addition to the Primetime Emmys, on September 7 and 8, there were several notable Jewish winners at the Creative Arts Emmys. Maya Rudolph won Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her roles on “Big Mouth” (Netflix). Jon Bernthal won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Michael Berzatto on “The Bear.” Jamie Lee Curtis won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Donna Berzatto on “The Bear.” Eric André won Outstanding Performer in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for “The Eric André Show. ”Composer and lyricist Benj Pasek (along with Justin Paul) won Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for “Only Murders in the Building.” With that Emmy, they both became the 20th and 21st EGOTs—winners of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.
