Cherry Jones Takes Home Third Emmy Win

Eugene Lee, Alana Billingsley, Javier Grillo-Marxuach are also repeat winners

By Pam Wigley

Four Carnegie Mellon University alumni took home statues as part of the 72nd Emmy Awards.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honors individuals for their artistic, educational and technical achievements in the television industry. Late last week, the Academy announced the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Carnegie Mellon alumni winners were:

Eugene Lee, College of Fine Arts 1962: Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Reality or Reality Competition Series, Production Designer, “Saturday Night Live”
Alana Billingsley, College of Fine Arts 2004: Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special, Art Director, “The Oscars”
Cherry Jones, College of Fine Arts 1978: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, “Succession”
Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences 1991: Outstanding Children’s Programming, Co-executive Producer, “Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” (Tied for the win with “We Are The Dream: The Kids Of The Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest.”)

Cherry Jones delivered her acceptance speech during a Creative Arts Emmy presentation last week.

This year, 17 CMU alumni earned 18 nominations in 12 categories. Lee has won five Emmys, Jones has won three and Billingsley and Grillo-Marxuach have each won two. Carnegie Mellon alumni and faculty have received more than 130 Emmy Awards to date.

The Emmys took on a decidedly different look and tone this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the pre-show and prime-time telecast Sunday night still managed to present beaming stars at home and at a deserted Staples Center in Los Angeles with host Jimmy Kimmel. One CMU alumnus who was among the few stars in attendance was Anthony Carrigan, a 2006 graduate of CMU’s College of Fine Arts. Classmates Josh Gad and Leslie Odom Jr., who both graduated in 2003, were presenters during the Creative Arts ceremonies earlier last week. All of the participants except Grillo-Marxuach are graduates of CMU’s School of Drama.