Maya Rudolph, Ron Cephas Jones and Jasmine Cephas Jones were among the first-time Black Emmy winners ahead of the annual primetime awards show
The final night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards streamed on FXX Saturday and the virtual celebration featured a number of first-time wins and milestones for Black creatives.
As with other annual events honoring performers in the entertainment industry, the 100 Creative Arts awards, usually conferred across two nights a week prior to the primetime Emmy Awards show, were presented over the internet due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
While there were some big winners, there were some stellar first-time winners, with Eddie Murphy leading the way among them.
Variety reports that the 59-year-old comedian/actor took home the very first Emmy of his career for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series after hosting the 2019 Christmas episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” His triumphant return to his old sketch comedy program — his final appearance in 1984 — featured some of his beloved characters, such as Mr. Robinson, Gumby and Velvet Jones. The Dec. 21, 2019 episode was the highest-rated of SNL season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Another guest SNL alum who made a cameo with Murphy in that episode, Maya Rudolph, also won her first-ever Emmy. The actress not only won for her SNL portrayal of Sen. Kamala Harris, who at the time was among a crowded field of Democrats vying for the party’s presidential nomination, on for Outstanding Guess Actress in a Comedy Series, days prior she won Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for Netflix animated series “Big Mouth.”
In addition, actors Ron Cephas Jones and Jasmine Cephas Jones became the first-ever father-daughter duo to win Emmys in the same year. Ron, portraying William Hill, won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the “After The Fire” episode of NBC’s “This Is Us” on Saturday, while Jasmine won on Thursday for Outstanding Actress in a Short-Form Comedy or Drama for Quibi’s “#FreeRayshawn.” These are their first individual Emmy Awards, as well.
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Just days before, actress Kerry Washington became a first-time Emmy winner as well, as reported by HuffPost. Although she was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for Hulu’s”Pretty Little Fires,” she wound up winning her first Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), as executive producer of ABC’s live versions of “All in the Family” and “Good Times.”
RuPaul Charles also set a new record for hosting wins after he won his fifth-straight Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program in “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Netflix special “Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones” also took home three trophies.
The 72nd Annual Primetime Emmys will air Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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