The 51st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 12, 1999. The ceremony show was hosted by Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce. It was broadcast on Fox. 27 awards were presented.

The comedy-drama Ally McBeal won Outstanding Comedy Series, which not only dethroned five-time defending champion Frasier but also became the first time Fox won that award. In the drama field The Practice won Outstanding Drama Series for the second straight year, and led all shows with three major wins on the night.

Freshman series The Sopranos led all shows with 10 major nominations. From that show, Edie Falco not only became the first actress from a Cable network (HBO) to win Lead Actress, Drama series, she became the first person from any Cable TV show series to win a Major Acting award. (Though David Clennon did win for only a guest performance in HBO's Dream On in 1993).

The real winner of the night was television writer David E. Kelley. Kelley was the creator and head writer for both series champions, Ally McBeal and The Practice. This accomplishment has not been matched since.

Winners and nominees Emmys.com list of 1999 Nominees & Winners

Programs

Ally McBeal (Fox) Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) Frasier (NBC) Friends (NBC) Sex and the City (HBO) The Practice (ABC) ER (NBC) Law & Order (NBC) NYPD Blue (ABC) The Sopranos (HBO) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Dennis Miller Live (HBO) Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (ABC) The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) Tracey Takes On... (HBO) 1998 Tony Awards (CBS) The 71st Annual Academy Awards (ABC) George Carlin: You Are All Diseased (HBO) Jerry Seinfeld: “I'm Telling You for the Last Time” (HBO) John Leguizamo's Freak (HBO) A Lesson Before Dying (HBO) The Baby Dance (Showtime) Dash and Lilly (A&E) Pirates of Silicon Valley (TNT) The Rat Pack (HBO) Hornblower (A&E) The '60s (NBC) Great Expectations (PBS) Joan of Arc (CBS) The Temptations (NBC)

Acting

Lead performances

John Lithgow as Dr. Dick Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun (NBC) (Episode: "What's Love Got to Do, Got to Do with Dick?") Michael J. Fox as Mike Flaherty in Spin City (ABC) (Episode: "Gone with the Wind") Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane in Frasier (NBC) (Episode: "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz") Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman in Mad About You (NBC) (Episode: "The Final Frontier") Ray Romano as Ray Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) (Episode: "How They Met") Helen Hunt as Jamie Buchman in Mad About You (NBC) (Episode: "The Final Frontier") Jenna Elfman as Dharma Montgomery in Dharma & Greg (ABC) (Episode: "Are You Ready for Some Football?") Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal in Ally McBeal (Fox) (Episode: "Sideshow") Patricia Heaton as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) (Episode: "Be Nice") Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City (HBO) (Episode: "The Drought") Dennis Franz as Andy Sipowicz in NYPD Blue (ABC) (Episode: "Safe Home") James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in The Sopranos (HBO) (Episode: "The Sopranos") Dylan McDermott as Bobby Donnell in The Practice (ABC) (Episode: "Happily Ever After") Jimmy Smits as Bobby Simone in NYPD Blue (ABC) (Episode: "Hearts and Souls") Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy in Law & Order (NBC) (Episode: "Sideshow") Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos (HBO) (Episode: "College") Gillian Anderson as Dr. Dana Scully in The X-Files (Fox) (Episode: "Milagro") Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos (HBO) (Episode: "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti") Christine Lahti as Dr. Kate Austin in Chicago Hope (CBS) (Episode: "Karmic Relief") Julianna Margulies as Carol Hathaway in ER (NBC) (Episode: "The Storm", Part 2) Stanley Tucci as Walter Winchell in Winchell (HBO) Don Cheadle as Grant Wiggins in A Lesson Before Dying (HBO) Ian Holm as King Lear in King Lear (PBS) Jack Lemmon as Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind (Showtime) Sam Shepard as Dashiell Hammett in Dash and Lilly (A&E) Helen Mirren as Ayn Rand in The Passion of Ayn Rand (Showtime) Ann-Margret as Pamela Harriman in Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story (Lifetime) Stockard Channing as Rachel Luckman in The Baby Dance (Showtime) Judy Davis as Lillian Hellman in Dash and Lilly (A&E) Leelee Sobieski as Joan of Arc in Joan of Arc (CBS) John Leguizamo in John Leguizamo's Freak (HBO) George Carlin in George Carlin: You Are All Diseased (HBO) Dennis Miller in Dennis Miller Live (HBO) Chris Rock in The Chris Rock Show (HBO) Tracey Ullman in Tracey Takes On... (HBO)

Supporting performances

David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Niles Crane in Frasier (NBC) (Episodes: "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" + "Three Valentines") Peter Boyle as Frank Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) (Episodes: "Driving Frank" + "Ping Pong") Peter MacNicol as John Cage in Ally McBeal (Fox) John Mahoney as Martin Crane in Frasier (NBC) (Episodes: "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" + "Our Parents, Ourselves") David Spade as Dennis Finch in Just Shoot Me! (NBC) (Episodes: "Two Girls for Every Boy" + "Slow Donnie") Kristen Johnston as Sally Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun (NBC) (Episodes: "Two-Faced Dick" + "Dick the Mouth Solomon") Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay in Friends (NBC) (Episodes: "The One Hundredth" + "The One Where Everybody Finds Out") Lucy Liu as Ling Woo in Ally McBeal (Fox) (Episodes: "Angels and Blimps" + "Sex, Lies, and Politics") Wendie Malick as Nina van Horn in Just Shoot Me! (NBC) (Episodes: "Two Girls for Every Boy" + "Slow Donnie") Doris Roberts as Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) (Episodes: "The Toaster" + "Frank's Tribute") Michael Badalucco as Jimmy Berluti in The Practice (ABC) Benjamin Bratt as Reynaldo Curtis in Law & Order (NBC) Steve Harris as Eugene Young in The Practice (ABC) Steven Hill as Adam Schiff in Law & Order (NBC) Noah Wyle as Dr. John Carter in ER (NBC) Holland Taylor as Roberta Kittleson in The Practice (Episode: "End Games") (ABC) Lara Flynn Boyle as Helen Gamble in The Practice (ABC) Kim Delaney as Diane Russell in NYPD Blue (ABC) Camryn Manheim as Ellenor Frutt in The Practice (ABC) Nancy Marchand as Livia Soprano in The Sopranos (Episodes: "The Sopranos" + "46 Long") (HBO) Peter O'Toole as Bishop Cauchon in Joan of Arc (CBS) Beau Bridges as E. K. Hornbeck in Inherit the Wind (Showtime) Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr. in The Rat Pack (HBO) Peter Fonda as Frank O'Connor in The Passion of Ayn Rand (Showtime) Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin in The Rat Pack (HBO) Anne Bancroft as Geraldine Eileen Cummins in Deep in My Heart (CBS) Jacqueline Bisset as Isabelle D'Arc in Joan of Arc (CBS) Olympia Dukakis as Mother Babette in Joan of Arc (CBS) Bebe Neuwirth as Dorothy Parker in Dash and Lilly (A&E) Cicely Tyson as Tante Lou in A Lesson Before Dying (HBO) Dianne Wiest as Sarah McClellan in The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (CBS)

Directing

Sports Night (ABC): "Pilot" – Thomas Schlamme Ally McBeal (Fox): "Those Lips, That Hand" – Arlene Sanford Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS): "Robert's Date" – Will Mackenzie Friends (NBC): "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" – Michael Lembeck Will & Grace (NBC): "Pilot" – James Burrows NYPD Blue (ABC): "Hearts and Souls" – Paris Barclay Law & Order (NBC): "Empire" – Matthew Penn Law & Order/Homicide: Life on the Street (NBC): "Sideshow" – Edwin Sherin The Sopranos (HBO): "The Sopranos" – David Chase 1998 Tony Awards (CBS) – Paul Miller 41st Annual Grammy Awards (CBS) – Walter C. Miller The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (CBS) – Louis J. Horvitz Saturday Night Live (NBC): "Host: Jennifer Love Hewitt" – Beth McCarthy-Miller The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) – Ellen Brown The Temptations (NBC) – Allan Arkush The Baby Dance (Showtime) – Jane Anderson Dash and Lilly (A&E) – Kathy Bates Joan of Arc (A&E) – Christian Duguay A Lesson Before Dying (HBO) – Joseph Sargent

Writing

Frasier (NBC): "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" – Jay Kogen Ally McBeal (Fox): "Sideshow" – David E. Kelley Friends (NBC): "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" – Alexa Junge Just Shoot Me! (NBC): "Slow Donnie" – Steven Levitan Sports Night (ABC): "The Apology" – Aaron Sorkin The Sopranos (HBO): "College" – James Manos Jr. and David Chase NYPD Blue (ABC): "Hearts and Souls" – The Sopranos (HBO): "Isabella" – Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess The Sopranos (HBO): "Nobody Knows Anything" – Frank Renzulli The Sopranos (HBO): "The Sopranos" – David Chase The Chris Rock Show (HBO) Dennis Miller Live (HBO) Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) Mr. Show with Bob and David (HBO) A Lesson Before Dying (HBO) – Ann Peacock The Baby Dance (Showtime) – Jane Anderson Dash and Lilly (A&E) – Jerrold L. Ludwig Pirates of Silicon Valley (TNT) – Martyn Burke The Rat Pack (HBO) – Kario Salem

Most major nominations +Networks with multiple major nominations"Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. Network No. ofNominations NBC 42 HBO 32 CBS 23 ABC 22 Fox 10

+Programs with multiple major nominations Program Category Network No. ofNominations The SopranosDrama HBO 10 The Practice ABC 7 Ally McBeal Comedy Fox6 Dash and Lilly Movie A&E Everybody Loves Raymond ComedyCBS Joan of Arc Miniseries Law & OrderDrama NBC NYPD Blue ABC Frasier Comedy NBC5 A Lesson Before DyingMovie HBO The Baby Dance Showtime4 Friends Comedy NBC The Rat Pack MovieHBO Dennis Miller Live Variety3 ER DramaNBC Just Shoot Me!Comedy 3rd Rock from the Sun2 The 52nd Annual Tony AwardsVariety CBS The Chris Rock ShowHBO Freak George Carlin: You Are All Diseased Inherit the Wind Movie Showtime Late Show with David Letterman Variety CBS Mad About You Comedy NBC The Passion of Ayn RandMovie Showtime Pirates of Silicon Valley TNT Sex and the CityComedy HBO Sports Night ABC The Temptations MiniseriesNBC The Tonight Show with Jay LenoVariety Tracey Takes On... HBO

Most major awards +Networks with multiple major awards"Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories. Network No. ofAwards HBO 7 ABC6 NBC CBS 5

+Programs with multiple major awards Program Category Network No. ofAwards The Practice Drama ABC 3 3rd Rock from the Sun Comedy NBC2 The 52nd Annual Tony Awards Variety CBS Frasier Comedy NBC A Lesson Before Dying Movie HBO NYPD BlueDrama ABC The Sopranos HBO

Notes

In Memoriam

The "In Memoriam" segment was presented by actor Noah Wyle, to honor the TV personalities who died since last year's ceremony. The following people were included:

Ellen Corby Richard Denning Gary Morton - producer Mary Frann Anthony Newley Mark Warren - director Norman Fell Dana Plato Noam Pitlik - director Dick O'Neill Sylvia Sidney David Strickland Peggy Cass Virginia Graham Dane Clark Ed Herlihy - announcer Mel Tormé Mario Puzo - writer Bill Wendell - announcer John Holliman - journalist Rory Calhoun Susan Strasberg Allen Funt Joseph Cates - producer Esther Rolle Roddy McDowall Gene Siskel Flip Wilson DeForest Kelley Gene Autry

References

External links Emmys.com list of 1999 Nominees & Winners