Cryer, Collette among stars at Emmy after-parties
LOS ANGELES — Grammy-winning R&B diva Mary J. Blige summed up the Emmy after-parties during a soulful, sassy performance complete with a glittering golden microphone.
"Don't forget how important we are. ... We are all in this together, whether we like it or not!" Blige shouted at the "Entertainment Tonight" and People magazine party.
Blige was talking about life, but she could have been talking about the crowd, with everyone from "Mad Men" actresses January Jones and Christina Hendricks to Jon Cryer of "Two and a Half Men" bopping in unison to the thumping music.
Lit up by votive candles and orange dangling lamps, converted cathedral Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles was an elegant destination after the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday. Celebrities also attended several other parties around town.
Cryer, clutching his trophy for best supporting actor in a comedy series, was all smiles as he escorted his wife, Lisa Joyner. The first-time Emmy winner planned to have French toast and hang out with his son before heading to work Monday.
The couple wouldn't stay long at the bash, but not without some good hard partying first, he joked.
"That's the great thing about having a driver," Cryer said with a laugh. "We're going to get wasted in an incredibly short period of time. Give us 20 minutes here, and we're moving on, wasted! We're just going to say, `pull over,' barf, and keep going."
Guests included another first-time Emmy winner, Toni Collette, holding her trophy for best lead actress in a comedy series for "United States of Tara," plus Julie Benz of "Dexter," David Boreanaz of "Bones" and starlets from "Melrose Place" and "90210."
"My trick is to try to snub people that are more famous than I, because it messes with their head," cracked "My Life on the D List" comedian Kathy Griffin about her party etiquette. "So for me to snub, like someone from `Mad Men,' they get this look on their face, like, `Wait, no, no, no, I'm snubbing YOU!' ... It's a little mind game I play. It's called high school, and I apparently never graduated."
Guests dined on globally inspired dishes catered by chef Susan Feniger's Hollywood restaurant STREET, including Korean dumplings filled with kimchi and Ukrainian dumplings stuffed with spinach, zucchini and cheese.
Emmy host Neil Patrick Harris made a grand entrance, clapping to Blige's tunes and mugging for pictures.
The Governors Ball was the first stop for many guests, where a room at the Los Angeles Convention Center had been transformed into an oasis. Red, purple and green lanterns punctuated black fabric dotted with tiny lights.
A jazz quartet performed on a rotating center stage, as partygoers munched on sweet peppers and eggplant caviar, filet mignon with polenta ravioli and chocolate-infused raspberry creme.
Rainn Wilson of "The Office" held his wife's hand as he congratulated Emmy winners, and Alec Baldwin toted his best acting Emmy for comedy "30 Rock" as he greeted well-wishers.
Across town, at HBO's lavish, packed party at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt left at midnight to head to AMC's private party to honor the show, winner of the best drama Emmy for the second year in a row.
Hamm said he finally got to snag a drink and food at the Governor's Ball, and said the pair would "get sleep whenever we can" after the night's festivities.
HBO emerged a champ again this year, with a leading 21 trophies.
Cast members from the cable network's hit vampire show "True Blood," though shut out this year, laughed and mingled under the party's enormous tent, which was decorated with blood-red cushions and black vases bursting with red roses.
A chandelier dripping with ruby red crystals hung over guests, who sipped champagne and a vodka-cranberry juice drink called Vampire's Kiss. Food catered by Wolfgang Puck included hearts of palm, goat cheese panna cotta, asparagus with shaved truffle cheese and paella with chorizo.
Six drummers slammed along to a DJ who was spinning Michael Jackson and rock 'n' roll tunes.
Michael Emerson, carrying his best supporting actor trophy for ABC drama "Lost," was accompanied by his wife, "True Blood" actress Carrie Preston.
"We had sort of stopped wishing for it to happen tonight," he said. "But as soon as we stopped hoping for it, there it was. ... A person always wonders if they're really worthy of so much attention."
Debra Messing, dressed in a sparkling red Michael Kors gown and 5-inch heels, came with her husband, Daniel Zelman, creator of FX drama "Damages."
"My feet are killing me," Messing said. "I've been trying to figure out, strategize. How do I get to that chair to sit down?"
AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.
Source: The Associated Press
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