HBO`s quirky sitcom ”Dream On” turned nominations into awards Sunday night, emerging as the big winner at the National Academy of Cable
Programming`s ACE Awards ceremony, where it received five trophies, including one for best comedy series.
The network continued its dominant streak, collecting 27 awards, followed by Showtime with nine.
After an Emmy shutout, HBO`s ”Tales From the Crypt,” which mixes horror, comedy and drama, got a nail in its coffin, receiving only one award- best direction in a drama series for Walter Hill`s ”Deadline” episode. Its 11 nominations were second only to the 13 for ”Dream On.”
”The Josephine Baker Story,” also on HBO, was an Emmy favorite largely overlooked by ACE. After pulling off an Emmy coup with five awards, including best actress for Lynn Whitfield, its 11 ACE nominations were whittled down to only four wins in minor categories.
Having lost the comedy-series crown it held for two years, Showtime still placed underdog Bob Einstein of ”Super Dave” fame into the winner`s circle as best actor in a comedy series.
A&E and CNN took seven awards each, with CNN`s Persian Gulf war coverage landing several trophies. ESPN received six awards, followed by TNT with five, including best actress in a movie or miniseries for Christine Lahti in ”Crazy From the Heart” and best supporting actress in a movie or miniseries for Vanessa Redgrave in the czarist epic ”Young Catherine.”
The Disney Channel won four awards.
The 13th annual Awards for Cable Excellence ceremony took place Sunday night at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and was broadcast live on TNT. Cybil Shepherd and Danny Glover were the emcees.
Though MTV won only two awards, the combined MTV Networks, including Nickelodeon and VH-1, won five. Similarly, Discovery won three, and its sister service, the Learning Channel, received one.
By that count the Turner services did extremely well, notching 14 between CNN, TNT and TBS, the last of which received two awards.
”Josephine Baker`s” four awards went to Elemer Ragalyi for director of photography, Maria Hruby and Gyorgyi Vidak for costumes, Marie Carter and Julia Fenyvesi for makeup, and George Delerue for original score.
”Josephine” director Brian Gibson lost to Frank Pierson for HBO`s
”Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture,” while the ”Josephine” production as a whole lost to HBO`s ”Doublecrossed” in the best movie or miniseries category.
HBO claimed a large chunk of the major awards, with Beau Bridges winning as best actor in a movie or miniseries for ”Without Warning: The James Brady Story.” Bridges triumphed against such tough competitors as Dennis Hopper for his critically lauded performance in Showtime`s ”Paris Trout.”
”Trout,” which had five nominations, hooked two trophies: writing for a movie or miniseries for Pete Dexter and art direction for Richard Sherman.
Besides winning as best conmedy series, ”Dream On” took the award for best actress in a comedy series for Wendie Malick`s work.
Einstein was up against a couple of two-time nominees-”Dream On” star Brian Benben and Mark McKinney of ”The Kids in the Hall.”
Showtime, which had several major wins in comedy categories, notched a biggie with ”Kurt Vonnegut`s Monkey House: `All the King`s Horses` ” taking best drama or theatrical special.
A&E won for its controversial ”Naked Hollywood” in the category of best international documentary series. A&E also was tops in the categories of actor and actress in a drama series, with Darren McGavin winning for ”Clara” and Olympia Dukakis for ”The Last Act Is a Solo,” which also won for writing.
CNN`s gulf war coverage earned it the coveted Golden ACE for overall excellence as well as a separate ACE for extended news or public-affairs coverage. The network`s Bernard Shaw also was chosen best newscaster.
The network also won in the program-interviewer category for
”Crossfire” co-hosts Pat Buchanan and Michael Kinsley; in the consumer news category for ”MoneyLine with Lou Dobbs”; and in the news special or series category for ”Famine in Africa.”
CNN Talk tycoon Larry King continued a multiyear winning streak in the area of best talk-show special or series for ”Larry King Live.”
ESPN won six awards, including one for Roy Firestone`s ”Up Close,”
though the network lost to HBO in the sports-information-special race. HBO won that for its critically acclaimed baseball nostalgia trip, ”When It Was a Game.”
Surprise wins included:
– Paula Poundstone in the category of best standup comedy special for
”HBO Comedy Hour: Paula Poundstone: Cats, Cops and Stuff,” against a field that included Garry Shandling, Steven Wright and Mike MacDonald.
– ”VH-1 to One” (music series), which beat out MTV`s critically adored
”Unplugged.”
– Cinemax (cultural or performing arts special or series) for ”Crazy About the Movies: Robert Mitchum-the Reluctant Star”; Bravo or A&E usually take that category.
– Jane Curtin (entertainment host) for Lifetime`s ”Retaining Laughter.” Also, the merged Comedy Central entity picked up its first two wins, for the international series ”Whose Line Is It Anyway” and for John Leguizamo`s performance in a comedy special in ”Talent Pool.”
