AMC’s glossy 1960s Madison Avenue saga “Mad Men,” which last year became the first basic cable show to win a top series award, won the best drama trophy for a second time.

“It is an amazing time to work in TV,” said “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner. “And, I know that everything is changing, but I’m not afraid of it because I feel like all these different media is just more choice and more entertainment. It’s better for the viewers in the end and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

NBC’s “30 Rock,” a satirical take on life inside a TV variety show, was honored for the third time as best comedy series, while star Alec Baldwin won his second award as best comedy actor.

“We want to thank our friends at NBC for keeping us on the air … even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show,” said “30 Rock” creator and star Tina Fey, a sly reference to Jay Leno’s new daily prime-time comedy show, which NBC notes is cheaper to produce than a scripted series – a fact that has irked some members of the creative side of the industry.

Glenn Close’s performance as a ruthless trial attorney on “Damages” and Bryan Cranston’s turn as a meth-making, cancer-stricken teacher on “Breaking Bad” were honored with the top drama series acting Emmys, the second consecutive awards for both.

“Oh my goodness,” exclaimed Cranston. “I’m a poor kid from the valley. I don’t know what I’m doing up here. I feel like Cinder-fella.”

Close called it a “huge privilege” to be part of entertainment community, then tweaked her show’s writers, saying her role is “maybe the character of my lifetime, depending on what they do this season.”

Michael Emerson, who plays the cruelly devious Ben on “Lost,” and Cherry Jones, the stalwart U.S. president on “24,” were honored as best supporting actors in drama series.

“Wowza,” Jones said. Emerson accepted his award for what he called “the role of my lifetime.”

Toni Collette of Showtime’s “United States of Tara” was honored as best lead actress in a comedy series for her role as a mother with multiple personalities, providing a rare incumbent defeat by depriving Fey from consecutive wins in the category for “30 Rock.” But Fey took the stage a few moments later to acknowledge a guest actor award she received for her Sarah Palin impersonation on “Saturday Night Live.”

Kristin Chenoweth of “Pushing Daisies” and Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” won supporting acting Emmys for their comedies and proved that acceptance speeches can be entertaining.

“I’m not employed now so I’d like to be on `Mad Men.’ I also like `The Office’ and `24,’” said Chenoweth, alternating between tears and smiles as she accepted for her canceled ABC series. “Thank you so much to the academy for recognizing a show that’s no longer on the air.”

Chenoweth later was examined by paramedics because she felt a migraine coming on, her publicist said. But the actress felt better after lying down and was considering take part in some of Sunday’s post-Emmy activities, spokeswoman Meghan Prophet said.

Cryer, whose series is the most-watched comedy on TV, brought a wry tone to his speech.

“I used to think that awards were just shallow tokens of momentary popularity, but now I realize they are the only true measure of a person’s worth as a human being,” said Cryer, who turned the win over fellow nominee Harris into a funny bit of onstage banter with the “How I Met Your Mother” star.

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” won the trophy for best variety, music or comedy series, its seventh in a row. Also keeping its amazing streak alive: “The Amazing Race,” which won its seventh consecutive Emmy in the outstanding reality-competition category, once again turning top-rated “American Idol” into an also-ran.

“Grey Gardens,” the story of a reclusive mother and daughter who were relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the Dickens adaptation “Little Dorrit” won for best movie and miniseries, respectively.

Harris, who moved the show along with good-natured humor, started the evening on a lively note, performing “Don’t Touch That Remote,” a custom-made tune from Broadway composers Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman of “Hairspray” fame. Harris implored viewers to stay glued to the show and called attention to some of the stars in the house.

“I see legends galore, Lange, Barrymore,” Harris sang to Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, later adding, “But like next season on `Idol’ I’m not seeing Paula Abdul.” Meanwhile, the camera panned to an empty seat at the Nokia Theatre.

Harris’ winning turn as host was lauded onstage by many, including Jeff Probst, honored as best reality show host for CBS’ “Survivor.” Probst was one of the five reality hosts who emceed the Emmys last year and received scathing reviews.

“Neil Patrick Harris, THIS is how you host the Emmys. Nice job,” Probst said, pointing his Emmy toward him.

An exception to the upbeat mood came in clips from animated series “Family Guy,” which showed the dog character Brian beaten bloody, followed by a reality show snippet with barely concealed swearing.

The TV academy, meanwhile, hoped to avoid an unwanted rerun of last year: paltry viewership. The 2008 ceremony was the least-watched ever with an audience of 12.3 million.

Acclaimed but low-rated series like “Mad Men” are seen as one reason viewers bypassed the awards, so major categories were expanded this year to increase the odds for more popular fare. There were as many as seven nominees per category, compared with the traditional five (the Oscars have made a similar play this year, expanding the best-picture category from five nominees to 10).

Harris and Emmy executive producer Don Mischer promised to keep the scheduled three-hour ceremony snappy, but they had less room to maneuver than planned. A TV academy proposal to pre-tape some acceptances and show them in a truncated version – gaining time for something more entertaining than speeches – was quashed by industry opposition.

HBO went into the ceremony as the awards leader after last weekend’s Creative Arts Primetime Emmys ceremony for technical and other achievements. The channel earned 16 trophies, followed by NBC with 11 and Fox and ABC with eight awards each. CBS, PBS and Cartoon Network had six each.

After Sunday, HBO emerged with a leading 21, followed by NBC with 16, ABC with 11 and Fox with 10. CBS and PBS had nine each.

Harris entered the big leagues with this year’s Tony Awards, using his musical theater skills and easy charm to win over the audience and critics. A phone call enlisting him as host of Sunday’s Emmy Awards (8 p.m. EDT, CBS) followed – which leaves a certain movie ceremony for the hat trick.

“Tonys, Emmys, and then there’s only one thing left – the Telemundo Awards,” quipped Harris.

Harris, 36, who gained teenage fame in “Doogie Howser, M.D.” before moving onstage to “Rent” and other plays, stars in “How I Met Your Mother” and is a best-supporting actor nominee for the CBS comedy.

Emmy executive producer Don Mischer says he has the right man for the job, one who will prove a graceful and funny host and can be entertaining in “short pops.”

“He’s terrific with that,” Mischer said. “And because Neil doesn’t feel the need to come out and hit a home run every time he makes an appearance, that frees him up to have a more consistent presence in the show. … I think that keeps the energy of the show up.”

Harris says his focus is less on himself as emcee and more on the ceremony. He asked to share producer duties for the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the downtown Nokia Theatre.

“I didn’t want to walk into a situation where I was handed a script not to my liking. I wanted the ability to have a say in the structuring and creation of the show,” he said. “Maybe it’s the wannabe director in me, but I was way more interested in how the show was structured and not as interested in how the host is doing.”

Harris also wanted to ensure he has “decent material,” asking comedian-writer Paul Greenberg, a longtime friend, and writer Joe Kelly from “How I Met Your Mother” to help craft it. The sitcom’s executive producers, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, joined in.

Harris’ hands-on approach appears sound. With him and fan-favorite musicals on board for the Tony ceremony, Broadway’s big night posted a 19 percent increase over last year’s show and drew its biggest audience in three years.

In contrast, the 2008 Emmys were the least-watched ever, with 12.3 million viewers, and offered perhaps the worst-received hosting performance since David Letterman brought his late-night act to the Academy Awards.

It took five reality show hosts to push the Emmys off a cliff, as the ceremony tried to woo viewers of the popular genre. It was an understandable gambit, given the niche series that dominated the nominees, if poorly executed.

The same critically acclaimed but low-rated shows, including “Mad Men” and “30 Rock,” are leading the pack again this time around. They are facing more competition, with categories expanded to seven nominees instead of the usual five to make room for more popular fare such as “House,” which made the cut.

But Tina Fey, the “30 Rock” star and creator who was the belle of the 2008 ball, already waltzed off with a guest-actress trophy for her “Saturday Night Live” impression of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Fey received the award at last weekend’s creative arts awards ceremony.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences made another attempt to breathe life into the main show, this time by proposing to give eight of the 28 awards earlier and show edited acceptances. The goal was to make room for viewer-friendly content, with proponents noting that the Tonys and Grammys won ratings bounces with more entertainment.

But the plan ran afoul of some, including members of the writers guild, who saw it as attempt to minimize their role in the ceremony and the industry. It was ditched.

Veteran producer Mischer says he’s accepted the challenge of making the show work as is. He’s grouping related awards – reality categories together, for instance – and asking some presenters to give two awards to keep the ceremony snappy.

“The last thing we wanted is to be in the room when people are unhappy. If it’s a night celebrating the best of television, we need a celebratory attitude in the audience,” Mischer said.

But a key question lingers: Will the host take part in a musical number?

Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, who wrote the score for “Hairspray” and the upcoming “Catch Me If You Can,” dashed off a clever Tonys song for Harris and have done an Emmys tune for him as well.

Harris, however, was playing it cagey.

“We’re weighing our options,” he said. “But I don’t really want it to be the Neil Patrick Harris show and a bunch of awards. I want it to be the Emmy show, and I’m your camp counselor.”

Harris stars in the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother” and is openly gay; he hosted CBS’s Tony Awards broadcast in June, winning critical acclaim.

1. Can’t wait to see where the Human Rights Campaign and DADT story ends up.

2. Nothing interesting to say about the Tony Awards show last night. I hear host Neil Patrick Harris did a good job and there was some set issues with Bret Michaels.

3. “The Wiz” was the last Broadway musical I saw. A young Stephanie Mills baby!

4. Reaching the end of Norrell’s  Booker T. Washington biography. Worth reading.

5. RIP David Carradine. Still unclear about how you died but you were great in Kill Bill.

6. Anyone got a Pride story to share?

7. Congrats to Roger Federer (what was up with that freak rushing him on the court). Boo to the Lakers.

8. If you don’t laugh at this Marx Brothers’ scene, your heart is colder than mine.

9. Looking forward to the Colbert Report this week.

10. I just had a final random thought, but this is a family site.

The 63rd Annual Tony Awards aired on CBS last night, kicking off with Sir Elton John, technical glitches, Liza at her Liza-ist, tons of hot musical theater guys, hair (beautiful hair), Dolly Parton, a gaggle of flying Billy Elliots, and what may be the single greatest television moment ever filmed … Poison lead skank Bret Michaels being cold cocked by a giant “Broadway” sign.

Oh, and all this happens in the first ten minutes!

We Are The World just isn’t the same without Dan Aykroyd (All Pics: Getty)

Watching the Tony Awards is always bittersweet for me. As much as I love seeing the best of Broadway on TV every year, it brings me closer to the realization that I’ll probably never see any of these shows in person. The dream of moving to New York and becoming a theater groupie dies a little each time my knees crack when I stand up or when I tell those damn kids to get off my lawn.

It’s a shame, too, since I already had the title for my Broadway groupie memoirs picked out: Snicks and the City (perfect, don’t you think? And totally original.)

But I’m thankful I can at least see the highlights every year, and the 2009 Tony Awards started off with the most expensive, not to mention elaborate opening number they’ve ever attempted.

Elton John performing “Chair and Chair Alike”

It started off with Elton performing a song from Billy Elliot which had something to do with electricity and being “free”, and had boys flipping across the stage and flying through the air (but unfortunately not dressed like ninjas).

Elton’s mic went out a few times, but that was nothing compared to the gangs from West Side Story, who came out and whispered threats at each other until the sound was finally turned up.

Little did Bret Michaels know that Broadway doesn’t suffer gladly those who lip-synch (or stuff their pants with bratwurst)

Next up was a Bret Michaels look-a-like (just let that sink in for a moment), who introduced a number from Rock of Ages featuring the “real” Bret Michaels (just let that sink in for a moment).

Bret and the rest of Poison “performed” Nothin’ But a Good Time, and it was flawless … because it was fake. Bret gave what may be the worst lip-synch attempt ever seen (at one point you could see him coughing as the words still magically emanated from the microphone).

Neil Patrick Harris will host the 2009 Tony Awards, honoring the best of the Broadway season. The show will be broadcast on CBS on June 7 (8 p.m.-11 p.m. EDT) from Radio City Music Hall.

Harris has appeared in hit TV series such as “How I Met Your Mother,” where he plays the womanizing Barney Stinson, and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” On Broadway, he has appeared in the revivals of “Cabaret” and in “Assassins” (playing the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald) as well as in the Tony-winning drama “Proof.”

“The discipline of live theater – doing the same perfect thing night after night, eight times a week – never ceases to amaze me,” Harris said in a statement Thursday. “I’m truly honored to have been chosen as the master of ceremonies for this year’s Tony Awards, and I hope to help provide a first-class evening for all.”

The nominations in 27 competitive categories were announced May 5. Competing for best musical are “Billy Elliot,” “Next to Normal,” “Rock of Ages” and “Shrek The Musical.” Best play nominees are “Dividing the Estate,” “God of Carnage,” “reasons to be pretty” and “33 Variations.” Winners will be chosen by more than 800 members of the theater community.

The Tonys are presented by the Broadway League, the industry trade group, and the American Theatre Wing, which founded the awards in 1947.

The video was posted Wednesday on FunnyOrDie.com, the video site co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The site has found a niche in getting professional talent to quickly create topical comedy videos.

“Prop 8: The Musical” may be a 3-minute Internet video, but it has a blockbuster cast – including Jack Black (who plays Jesus), Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, Rashida Jones and others.

Though Jesus doesn’t bring the two sides together, Harris has better luck. He argues gay marriage could save the economy: “Every time a gay or lesbian finds love at the parade, there’s money to be made.”

The video was conceived and written by Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer of “Hairspray” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.” McKay, who had previously collaborated with Shaiman on the song-and-dance routine Ferrell, Black and Reilly did at the Oscars earlier this year, sent him an e-mail floating the idea of a video.

Shaiman had been involved in a more serious debate over Proposition 8.

After voters approved Proposition 8, which changed the state’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage, it was revealed that Scott Eckern, the artistic director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento (the state’s largest nonprofit musical theater company) had donated $1,000 to the “Yes on 8″ campaign.

Shaiman’s “Hairspray” had played at the theater and he said he would never allow anything he wrote to play there because of Eckern’s donation. Others protested and Eckern resigned in November.

In an interview Wednesday, Shaiman regretted that it came to Eckern losing his job and said: “It’s a tragedy for everyone involved. You’ll certainly see that no one called for him to resign.”

The video for Funny or Die was a lighter-hearted protest.

Shaiman wrote the piece in a day, recorded it the next and shot it in a single day last week.

“It was like, `Eureka! That’s right, that’s what I do!” said Shaiman of the mini-musical. “If I’m going to stand on the soap box, at least let me sing and dance.”

The Yankees versus the Dodgers. Subways versus suburban sprawl. Hot dogs versus hummus. New York and Los Angeles are opposites in many ways.

Including, it is said, the way two of these town’s most famous entertainment industries — theater in New York, and TV and movies in Los Angeles — treat their openly gay and bisexual actors.

In the anything-goes world of theater, they say, it’s all about the work. But while the creative folks in the Hollywood movie and TV industry may be just as open-minded as their New York counter-parts, the financial stakes are higher — and they’re producing entertainment for more than just a liberal New York audience.

According to the conventional wisdom, this has made them far less accepting of actors who are out to the general public.

But is the conventional wisdom true? And even if it is, how have things changed in recent years?

In looking for answers, AfterElton.com turned to insiders in both New York and Los Angeles, as well as out TV and theater actors including Chad Allen, Mad Men’s Bryan Batt, Cheyenne Jackson, and Christopher Sieber.

City of Illusions

For decades after its founding as the movie capital of the world, there were no openly gay actors in Los Angeles.

“We live in such a different world today when everyone knows [about gay people],” says David Ehrenstein, author of Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928-1998.

“In the 30s, 40s, and 50s, “’gay’ was not talked about anywhere, ever, publicly. But if you were gay in show business, you were a hell of a lot better off than if you were a clerk back in Sheboygan. People worked at the studios all day, then they went home and lived their lives and no one bothered them.”

There were definitely arranged marriages and fake opposite-sex “dates” for gay actors, Ehrenstein says, but these were for the public’s benefit, not the Hollywood community, which practiced an early form of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In the 1960s and 70s, flamboyant comedians such as Rip Taylor, Paul Lynde, Alan Sues, and Charles Nelson Reilly camped it up on television, displaying what seems, in retrospect, to be obviously stereotypically “gay” characteristics. But none of these actors were openly gay — Nelson Reilly finally came out a few years before his death in 2007 — and most of Middle America perceived them to be colorful eccentrics, not “gay” per se.

“Paul felt stigmatized by the industry about being gay,” Steve Wilson, one of the authors of Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story, told Salon.com. “He got very fed up with [Hollywood Squares] and after a while, through a combination of the writers getting more risqué as the ’70s wore on and Paul not caring one way or the other, he gradually let his guard down. Eventually, his gayness became incredibly obvious. His jokes came straight from gay culture, but mainstream America back then had practically nil exposure to that world.”

Everything changed in 1985, when Rock Hudson, formerly one of the biggest movie stars in the world and a strapping, supposedly heterosexual heartthrob, died of AIDS and was subsequently revealed to have been gay — something widely known in Hollywood circles.

“A big beloved star has his secret come out,” Ehrenstein says. “Everyone suddenly was given leave to discuss the idea of being closeted in Hollywood. That was the start of it, when the dam burst. You could no longer talk of ‘gay’ as this secret, shameful thing.”

Few Hollywood celebrities voluntarily came out in the years that followed — though British actors Ian McKellen and Rupert Everett were exceptions to that rule, coming out in 1988 and 1989, respectively.

Meanwhile, other gay actors were outed. Thorn Birds hunk Richard Chamberlain was revealed to be gay in a French magazine in 1989, though he didn’t actually come out until his 2003 autobiography, Shattered Love, in which he writes that he felt it necessary to stay closeted to protect his career. (Chamberlain declined to speak with AfterElton.com.)

Next Page! Those tabloid rumors about Kevin Spacey!