The Emmys, for excellence in primetime TV, will be telecast, live, on Fox, at 8 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 18. Here are the Jewish nominees in the acting categories: JULIANNA MARGULIES, 45 (“The Good Wife”), best lead actress in a TV drama; JOSH CHARLES, 39 (“The Good Wife”), best supporting actor in a TV drama; EVAN RACHEL WOOD, 24 (“Mildred Pierce”), best supporting actress, mini-series/movie. Wood vies for this Emmy with her “Mildred Pierce” co-star, MARE WINNINGHAM, 52; RANDEE HELLER, 64 (“Mad Men”), best guest performance, drama; ELIZABETH BANKS, 37 (“30 Rock”) and GWYNETH PALTROW, 38 (“Glee”) are both up for best guest actress, comedy; SETH GREEN, 37 (“Robot Chicken”), best voice-over performance.
Three Jewish performers are nominated for best variety, musical or comedy special: BETTE MIDLER, 65 (“The Showgirl Must Go On”); CARRIE FISHER, 54 (“Wishful Drinking”); and PAUL REUBENS (the real name of Pee Wee Herman), 59 (“Pee-Wee Herman on Broadway”).
There are too many nominated Jewish writers, directors, musicians, and producers to name them all here. Some are multiple past winners, like JON STEWART, 48 (twice nominated this year — as the producer/host of “The Daily Show” and as a writer of program) and MATTHEW WEINER, 46 (nominated twice this year — as a producer of “Mad Men” and as the writer of a nominated episode). If you check the nominees list on Emmys.com and have a question about a nominee, e-mail care of this newspaper. Here is just a sampling of other tribe members who scored 2011 nominations in multiple categories: STEVE LEVITAN, 49 (directing, writing, and producing “Modern Family”); LORNE MICHAELS, 66 (producing/directing “SNL”); AKIVA SCHAEFFER, 33, and ANDY SAMBERG, 33 (musical numbers for “SNL”; writing show); and TODD HAYNES, 50 (directing/producing “Mildred Pierce”).
It probably won’t happen again — so I thought I’d point out, as a “fun footnote,” that this year four non-Jewish actors are nominated for playing Jewish characters: Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”), for playing political consultant Eli Gold; Nathan Lane (“Modern Family”) for playing Pepper Saltzman, a former boyfriend of one of the show’s main characters; and James Woods and Paul Giammati, who played, respectively, (real life Jews) DICK FULD, 65, the former CEO of Lehman Bros., and Fed Chair BEN BERNANKE, 57, in the HBO film, “Too Big to Fail.” All these actors, save Cummings, have a long track record of playing Jewish characters.