It took her 18 tries, but Amy Poehler has finally won an Emmy. Despite a stellar television career — marquee roles on Saturday Night Live, starring in her own prime-time network comedy series, getting rave reviews for co-hosting the Golden Globes — the comedic actress has never received one of those gold Emmy statues. The streak ended at Saturday night’s Creative Arts Emmys, when Poehler won for outstanding guest comedy actress. The award, which Poehler shared with Tina Fey for co-hosting the Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live, was historic in another way: It’s the first time a duo has been nominated for the guest performer category, according to the Television Academy. The win was Fey’s ninth. So many nominations with no wins is familiar terrain for the Emmys. Angela Lansbury, nominated 17 times, never won. And perhaps the most notable snub was that of Susan Lucci, the daytime soap opera star nominated 19 times before finally winning in 1999. Poehler has written about how terrible awards shows can be on the nerves and ego. “Getting nominated for an award is very exciting. Anyone who says it is not is either lying or on a very strong beta blocker,” she wrote in her 2014 book, Yes Please. But Poehler didn’t deliver an emotional acceptance speech like Lucci’s — she made just about everyone in the room cry. Poehler and Fey weren’t at Saturday night’s Emmy event. Bob Newhart accepted the award on their behalf. The win shared by Poehler and Fey came for a Saturday Night Live episode in which they reprised their Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin impersonations and anchored a hilarious, biting sketch, “Meet Your Second Wife.”
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Booker T. Jones
has paid homage to Prince with a solemn version of “Purple Rain” during a performance in Memphis. Jones, who usually plays a Hammond organ, played guitar and sang Prince and the Revolution’s hit song from 1984. Prince, a groundbreaking pop singer, producer and instrumentalist, died in April at age 57. Jones played mostly organ before a gathering of about 350 at the intimate Halloran Centre on Saturday. He performed hits from his days leading the influential Booker T. and the M.G.’s, including “Green Onions,” “Soul Limbo,” and “Time is Tight.” Jones and his band also played soul and R&B mainstays from Stax Records, including “Knock On Wood,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’.”