Openly gay actors Jane Lynch, Neil
Patrick Harris, Lily Tomlin and Alan Cumming are nominated in
Saturday's Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
The Creative Arts Emmys honor many of
the behind-the-scenes categories such as costumes, lighting and
make-up, but it also includes the guest performance category.
An openly gay actor has been nominated
in each of the four guest spot categories, opening up the possibility
of an all-gay sweep in the guest category today at the Nokia Theater
in Los Angeles.
Gay-dad-to-be
Neil Patrick Harris, who plays heterosexual sex hound Barney
Stinson on CBS' How I Met Your Mother, is nominated in the
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category for an appearance
on Fox's Glee. And Jane Lynch, who plays sharp-tongued coach
Sue Sylvester on Glee, is nominated in the Outstanding Guest
Actress in a Comedy Series category for an appearance on CBS' Two
And A Half Men.
In the drama department, Lily Tomlin is
nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress category for her work on
FX's Damages, while Alan Cumming is up for an award in the
Outstanding Guest Actor category for an appearance on CBS' The
Good Wife.
They face stiff competition from big
names, including Betty White (for her appearance on Saturday Night
Live), Jon Hamm (30 Rock), Kristin Chenoweth (Glee),
John Lithgow (Dexter), Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live)
and Ted Danson (Damages).
The three-hour ceremony won't be
televised live, but cabler E! will broadcast an edited version on
Friday.