November 10, 2009

SECOND SET OF PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 60TH PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARDS AIRING SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, ON ABC

America Ferrera, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Vanessa Williams and
Hayden Panettiere Confirmed

CSI's William Petersen and Laurence Fishburne to Present Together

North Hollywood, CA – The second set of presenters for the 60th Primetime Emmy® Awards include America Ferrera, Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Hayden Panettiere, William Petersen and Vanessa Williams.  The telecast will broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre in Los Angeles on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on ABC.

“We are very pleased and honored to include these presenters to our already exciting list of talent for our telecast,” said Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich. “As we reveal more presenters, the range of talent and personalities are sure to make the show a success.”

America Ferrera received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series” as the title character in the ABC series Ugly Betty.  In 2007, she received her first Primetime Emmy for this role. In 2008, she was honored with the “Chevy Entertainer of the Year Award” at the ALMA Awards, she received an Image Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series” and a Golden Globe Nomination for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy.” 

On the big screen, Ferrera can currently be seen in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. She also starred in the bilingual independent film Towards Darkness, which she executive produced. Other film credits include Fox Searchlight’s Under the Same Moon, Steel City, Ken Kwapis’ The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Catherine Hardwicke's Lords of Dogtown and the 2005 Sundance Film Festival entry How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, written and directed by Georgina Riedel. America also appeared off-Broadway in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, directed by Trip Cullman. 

Primetime Emmy Award winner Laurence Fishburne recently signed on to CBS' drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation where he will join the cast as a former pathologist who is now working as a traveling college lecturer. He was recently seen in 21 opposite Kevin Spacey and can soon be seen in Days of Wrath opposite Amber Valetta and Wilmer Valderrama.

Additionally, Fishburne returned to Broadway on April 2008 at the Booth Theatre for a limited engagement of the one man show, Thurgood, about the life of Thurgood Marshall. His performance earned him a Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Solo Performance,” an Outer Critics Circle Award for “Outstanding Solo Performance,” and a Tony nomination for “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.”

Jennifer Love Hewitt plays “Melinda Gordon” on CBS’ drama series Ghost Whisperer. She most recently appeared in Twentieth Century Fox’s live action/CGI features, Garfield and Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties. 

She was also recently seen starring in two independent features, The Truth About Love and If Only which she produced with her production company, LoveSpell Entertainment. She is also known to television audiences as “Sarah Reeves” from the award-winning drama series Party of Five.

Hayden Panettiere is best known as the indestructible cheerleader “Claire Bennet,” on NBC's drama Heroes, which earned a Primetime Emmy Nomination in 2007 for “Outstanding Drama Series.” In July 2008, she received a Teen Choice Award for “Choice Female Actress in a Television Drama Series.” Panettiere received the Genesis Wyler Award from The Humane Society of the United States for her impassioned efforts in raising awareness of animal welfare worldwide.

Her film credits include Fireflies, opposite Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson; The Architect, opposite Anthony LaPaglia and Isabella Rosselini and Mr. Gibb co-starring Bill Sadler and Tim Daly. 

William Petersen portrays “Gil Grissom” on CBS’ Emmy-nominated drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In addition to his character role, Petersen is also an executive producer. Petersen recently appeared in a five-week run of the Trinity Repertory Company production of Dublin Carol in which he will reprise the role this November and December at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.

His television credits include Long Gone, The Rat Pack, the Golden Globe Award winning mini-series The Kennedys of Massachusetts and The Beast. His major film credits include Live & Die in LA, Manhunter The Contender, The Skulls, Fear, and Mulholland Falls.

Vanessa Williams received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series”this year for her role as “Wilhelmina Slater” on ABC’s Ugly Betty. In 2008, Williams’ role also earned her an Image Award for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” and a Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination for “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.”

Her career has encompassed Broadway, music, videos, television and motion pictures.  She has sold over four million albums worldwide and her skills as an actress on stage, in film and on television have earned praise from the most seasoned of critics. Williams has played many diverse roles on television in such productions as Stompin’ at the Savoy, The Boy Who Loved Christmas, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Bye, Bye Birdie, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Odyssey, Don Quixote, The Courage to Love and A Diva’s Christmas Carol.  

The 60th Primetime Emmy® Awards is being produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures LLC.  Returning with Ehrlich are producer Renato Basile and co-producer Danette Herman.  Lou Horvitz will be directing.



Download Complete Nominations and More



See the complete list of Primetime Emmy nominations and more information here:

Click links below for complete lists of the 2008 Primetime Emmy® Awards nominations, as tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP. Nominations are listed alphabetically by program within each category.

  • Complete 2008 Primetime Emmy® Nominations HTML  |  PDF WORD 

  • 2008 Primetime Emmy® Nomination Summary HTMLPDFWORD

  • 2007-2008 Primetime Emmy® Facts & Figures HTMLPDFWORD

  • 2007-2008 Primetime Emmy® Supplemental HTMLPDFWORD

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About the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded in 1946 just one month after network television was born. It is a non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunications industry.

In addition to recognizing outstanding programming through its Emmy® Award, the Television Academy publishes Emmy® Magazine and stages many industry-related programs, services and year-round events for the television community.

For additional press information and resources concerning the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, please direct your inquiries to Robin Mesger of The Lippin Group at (323) 965-1990.

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Press Contacts

For the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:
Robin Mesger

The Lippin Group

(323) 965-1990

rmesger@lippingroup.com



Pam Golum

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(323) 965-1990

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For ABC Media Relations:
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(818) 460-7798

alison.rou@abc.com

Jonathan Hogan

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Amber Gereghty

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amber.k.gereghty@abc.com

Marsha Smith

(818) 460-6605

marsha.l.smith@abc.com
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