James Earl Jones, ‘Cheers’ Garner Emmys

James Earl Jones was honored for two major acting performances and “L.A. Law” and “Cheers” joined the ranks of the most honored series in TV history Sunday night at the 43rd annual Emmy Awards.

Jones won as best lead actor in a drama series for his portrayal of an ex-convict turned investigator in ABC’s “Gabriel’s Fire.” He also was named best supporting actor in a miniseries or special for his role in “Heat Wave,” a TNT cable channel recounting of the Watts riots in Los Angeles in 1965.

In “Heat Wave,” Jones portrayed the owner of a shoe-repair business who was a longtime resident of Watts and had witnessed the growing unrest. On receiving his Emmy for “Heat Wave,” he said:

“I accept this on behalf of those who died in the heat wave of the Watts riots.”

NBC’s “L.A. Law,” which won its fourth Emmy as best drama series, now is tied with “Hill Street Blues” for leadership in the category.

“Cheers,” also on NBC, was named best comedy series for the fourth time, thus tying the other leaders, “All in the Family” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

The racy Emmy show, peppered with a number of off-color jokes, included a one-minute, 40-second sequence by comedian Gilbert Gottfried on masturbation. It was edited out on the Pacific Coast. A spokeswoman for the Fox Broadcasting Co., which televised the show, said the remarks also were deleted by some stations in the central time zone--those that aired the edited version, rather than the live broadcast.

The spokeswoman said Gottfried’s remarks were “spontaneous and not scripted.” A later, 19-second reference to the masturbation sequence by Keenen Ivory Wayans, star of Fox’s “In Living Color,” also was edited out.

The awards marked a night of social statement for the Emmys, which were presented at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Those who participated in the show and members of the audience wore red ribbons signifying support for people stricken with AIDS.

In addition, the TV industry, often criticized for its lack of serious dramas about blacks, honored a number of significant stories involving blacks, as well as the performers involved.

ABC’s “Separate But Equal,” which starred Sidney Poitier and Burt Lancaster in a docudrama about the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision to desegregate schools, was chosen best drama special.

In the drama, Poitier portrayed Thurgood Marshall, then a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who later became a Supreme Court justice. Marshall recently announced his retirement from the bench.

Executive producers George Stevens Jr. and Stan Margulies, accepting the Emmy for the show, dedicated it to Marshall and others involved in the historic case.

Alixe Gordin, who won a casting Emmy for the desegregation drama, said: “Most of all, let’s thank Thurgood Marshall for all his years of greatness on the Supreme Court.”

“The Josephine Baker Story,” HBO’s drama special about the black entertainer who captivated Europe and became a controversial political figure, earned Emmys for Lynn Whitfield as best actress and Brian Gibson, her husband, as best director.

Whitfield thanked Gibson for “guiding me through this performance.” Gibson saluted Baker as a woman who dedicated much of her life to “racial harmony.”

“The Josephine Baker Story” tied the CBS comedy “Murphy Brown” for most Emmys--five--presented on the Sunday show and a Saturday ceremony honoring winners in crafts categories. The HBO victory marked a significant step in the rise of cable TV in its competition with the traditional networks.

In other awards for black dramas, Madge Sinclair was honored as best supporting actress for her portrayal of Jones’ longtime friend in “Gabriel’s Fire.”

And Ruby Dee was chosen best supporting actress in a drama special in NBC’s “Decoration Day,” which starred James Garner as a retired Southern judge who re-evaluates his feelings about life when his former boyhood friend, who is black, refuses to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor.

“Cheers,” which also earned acting Emmys for Kirstie Alley and Bebe Neuwirth and a directing nod for James Burrows, now has tied “Hill Street Blues” with 26 Emmys overall, trailing only the all-time leader, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which has 29.

The three-hour, three-minute show also featured pointed statements about the networks’ cancellation of important TV drama series such as “thirtysomething” and “China Beach” in favor of a flood of comedies and reality shows.

Thomas Carter, who won a directing Emmy for the canceled drama series “Equal Justice,” thanked viewers “who stood by us even when we were hard to find,” referring to ABC’s inconsistent scheduling of the show.

He urged the networks not to “slip into the mundane,” asking them to “embrace courage” in programming.

There was added emotion when Timothy Busfield, who played advertising executive Elliot Weston in “thirtysomething,” and Patricia Wettig, who portrayed the cancer-ravaged Nancy Weston, won acting Emmys.

Wettig, who earned her third Emmy for “thirtysomething,” was near tears in her acceptance speech, saying:

“It’s a little sad. It’s my last time to say goodby to this character. I would really like to say a special thanks to the audience of ‘thirtysomething,’ which was incredibly supportive.”

Wettig won for best lead actress in a drama series. Busfield took the Emmy for best supporting actor.

Two of the most talked-about series of the last TV season were not given the opportunity to be honored on the prime-time Emmy Awards. “The Civil War,” the multipart PBS documentary that captivated the nation last fall, was chosen best informational series at the non-televised craft awards Saturday.

Also honored at that non-televised ceremony was Fox’s “The Simpsons,” chosen as best animated show. Under the rules of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which presents the Emmy Awards, “The Simpsons” is not allowed to compete for best comedy series because it is animated.

Another Emmy at the craft awards went to Colleen Dewhurst, who died Thursday, for her guest performance as the mother of Candice Bergen in “Murphy Brown.” It was the second time Dewhurst won for that role.

Burt Reynolds was named best actor in a comedy series for “Evening Shade.”

The awards show paid tribute to a number of TV personalities who died in the past year, including Michael Landon, Dewhurst, Danny Thomas, Harry Reasoner, Lee Remick and Bert Convy. Landon’s family was in the audience.

The TV academy’s Governors Award went to PBS’s “Masterpiece Theatre.”