Leachman’s 8th Emmy moves her to the top

Cloris Leachman made history Saturday when she won an Emmy as outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for Fox’s “Malcolm in the Middle”: The win, the eighth of her career, makes her the winningest female performer in Emmy history.

Leachman was honored as part of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the show dedicated primarily to the crafts and technical disciplines involved in television production such as picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing, special visual effects, cinematography, art direction, music, stunts and more. Awards are also handed out for animation, variety series, reality series and in four acting categories.

The industry’s highest-profile awards -- such as best actress in a drama and outstanding comedy series -- will be doled out Sunday at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony hosted by Conan O’Brien. It airs at 8 p.m. on NBC.

HBO was a big winner in the creative arts categories over the weekend, with 17 statuettes. Three of its productions, “Elizabeth I,” won five, followed by “Baghdad ER” and “Rome,” with four each. Among broadcast networks, ABC led with 10.

Outstanding guest actress in a drama series went to Patricia Clarkson for HBO’s “Six Feet Under”; outstanding guest actor in a drama series went to Christian Clemenson for ABC’s “Boston Legal”; and outstanding guest actor in a comedy series went to Leslie Jordan for NBC’s “Will & Grace.”

Leachman, whose other Emmys include two for her work on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in the 1970s, commented in the press room on her longevity: “I’m 80. If your heart doesn’t stop beating and you stay up with it, look what happens.”

Leachman, who won in this same category -- and for the same role -- in 2002, could extend her career high among female performers next week at the Primetime Emmys, where she will compete for outstanding actress in a movie or miniseries for her performance in the HBO movie “Mrs. Harris.”

NBC took home eight awards; CBS, Fox and PBS won seven apiece. The Cartoon Network won four, followed by the History Channel with three. Disney and TNT won two each, and A&E;, Discovery Channel, FX, Nickelodeon, Sci-Fi Channel, Showtime, Turner Classic Movies and the WB won one statuette each.

The ceremony was held at the Shrine Auditorium and will air Saturday on E!

Others honorees included:

Animated programs: “The Simpsons: The Seemingly Neverending Story,” Fox; “Before the Dinosaurs,” Discovery Channel. Casting for comedy and drama series: “My Name Is Earl,” NBC; “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC. Choreography: “High School Musical,” Disney. Single-camera picture editing for a comedy series: “My Name Is Earl: Ruined Joy’s Wedding,” NBC. Multi-camera picture editing for a series: “Two and a Half Men: That Special Tug,” CBS. Makeup for a series (non-prosthetic): “Black. White: Hour One,” FX Network. Special class program: “Dance in America: Swan Lake With American Ballet Theatre (Great Performances),” PBS. Writing for nonfiction programming: “Stardust: The Bette Davis Story,” TCM.

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