HBO led the way at the 2013 Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 20 awards, including eight for Behind the Candelabra, a biopic about the flamboyant piano virtuoso Liberace. CBS was second with 15 honors.
The ceremony was held at NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. An edited version of the event will air as a special on Saturday, September 22, at 9:00 PM ET/PT, with an encore airing at 12:00 AM ET/PT, on FXX.
The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, traditionally held the weekend before the live Primetime Emmys telecast, are largely dedicated to key technical disciplines and behind-the-scenes crafts essential to television production: art direction, cinematography, hairstyling, makeup, music, picture editing, sound editing and mixing, special visual effects, stunts and more.
In addition, awards are given for animation, commercials, nonfiction series, reality series and other programming, as well as four acting categories.
Awards were presented in 77 categories by members of the cast and creative teams from more than a 20 series and specials.
The show also featured an In Memoriam montage that included dozens of casting directors, picture editors, art directors and professionals in many other crafts who died over the past year. It culminated with a tribute to Ray Dolby, who passed away just days before the ceremony. Dolby, an audio engineer educated at Stanford and Cambridge universities, created processes in the field of sound that revolutionized music, television and film.
The Governors Award, which is bestowed annually to individuals or organizations committed to important social causes, went to June Foray, a performer who has been called "The First Lady of Cartoon Voices."
As legendary animation director Chuck Jones once said, "June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc is the male June Foray." For over sixty years, Foray has been a fixture in animation, whose numerous indelible characters include Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha Fatale on The Bullwinkle Show, Nell Fenwick on
The Dudley Do-Right Show, Cindy Lou Who in
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Granny, the owner of Tweety and Sylvester on
The Bugs Bunny Show and Jokey Smurf on
The Smurfs.
Accepting her award, Foray, who will turn 96 on September 18, paid tribute to a group of animation icons who gave her opportunities along the way, including Chuck Jones, Walt Disney, Tex Avery, Walter Lantz and Jay Ward.
Later, speaking to reporters, she added, "This is very flattering to me because I've been working since I was 12 years old. It's like my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
History was made with the first award, when the Netflix's House of Cards won the award for oustanding casting for a drama series, making it the first win in a major Primetime Creative Arts category for non-linear programming. Later in the evening,
House of Cards won again, this time for outstanding cinematography for a single-camera series.
Behind the Candelabra, which stars Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his chauffeur and romantic partner Scott Thorson, prevailed in casting, art direction, picture editing, hairstyling, sound mixing, non-prosthetic makeup, prosthetic makeup, costumes and cinematography.
Other programming honors included outstanding animated program, won by Comedy Central's long-running South Park.
Outstanding short form animated program went to Disney.com for Disney Mickey Mouse Croissant de Triomphe.
Rounding out the night's winners after HBO's 20 Emmys and CBS's 15 were NBC with eight; Cartoon Network, Disney.com, Nickelodeon, PBS and Showtime, with three; CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Fox, FX, History, Netflix and Starz with two each; and ABC, AMC, Bravo, BravoTV.com, Cinemax, ComedyCentral.com, Disney XD, History.com, IFC, Lifetime, Oprah.Com/LifeClass, ReelzChannel, Sundance Channel and YouTube.com/LizzieBennet with one each.
The balance of this year's Emmys will be handed out at the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast. Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the show will air live coast-to-coast on CBS on Sunday, September 22, from NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. The executive producer is Ken Ehrlich.
Get the full list of 2013 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards winners here.