The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony has come to a close and was not without its fair share of humor, drama, and of course, heartwarming moments.
Susan Lucci Wins Lifetime Achievement Award
There was no more iconic Daytime Emmy moment than in 1999 when Shemar Moore presented Susan Lucci with a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress on her 19th nomination. When Moore opened the envelope and yelled out “The streak is over!” the audience at New York’s Radio City Music Hall stood on its feet, creating an electric feeling in the famed auditorium.
Moore was on hand in Los Angeles to present the 76-year-old Lucci with another Emmy. This time, Lucci was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work as All My Children’s Erica Kane from the day the show premiered in 1970 until it left the airwaves in 2011.
Fans were treated to video tributes from stars Lucci worked with on AMC, including comedy legend Carol Burnett (Verla Grubbs), as well as Kelly Ripa (Hayley Vaughan Santos), Mark Consuelos (Mateo Santos), and Eva LaRue (Maria Santos Grey).
When a tear-filled Lucci got to the stage, she thanked AMC creator Agnes Nixon for creating a glorious ch
racter like Erica Kane, as well as her late husband, Helmut Huber, who Lucci said had “everything to do with my standing here tonight and receiving this incredible award.”
Lucci was accompanied to the event by her son, Andreas Huber.
Sonya Eddy’s Posthumous Emmy Award
Sonya Eddy, the longtime General Hospital star who played Epiphany Johnson from 2006 until her death on December 19, 2022, won her first Daytime Emmy on Friday night for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Eddy’s death came as a shock to fans, cast, and crew last December. She was remembered again a few minutes later during the award ceremony when Robert Gossett, who played Eiphany’s new love interest, Marshall, took home his own gold for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Remembering Tyler Christopher
General Hospital favorite Tyler Christopher passed away in October and took home his first Emmy in 2016, shortly before he left GH for good. He’d played the role of Nikolas Cassadine on and off since 1996. Christopher’s close relationship with current Days of Our Lives star Stephen Nichols, who played Nikolas’ beloved Uncle Stefan, developed early in his run on the soap.
Nichols remembered both Christopher and his Emmy win. During his acceptance speech in 2016, Christopher held up the book To The Actor by Michael Chekhov, something Nichols gifted him many years ago.
“In 2016, Daytime Emmys, Tyler wins for Outstanding Lead Actor,” clearly choked up Nichols said. “What did he do then? He wanted to thank everyone who got him there. And the next thing he did was, he scanned the audience and he said, ‘Where’s Stephen?…and we caught each other’s eyes, and then he held up that very same, now dog-eared copy of the book that I had given him and he thanked me.
Emmy Nostalgia
The Young and the Restless fans are getting a kick out of seeing long-ago lovers Christine and Danny giving it another go decades after their marriage ended, still played by Lauralee Bell, and a newly-returned Michael Damian.
Seeing them together presenting the award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series brought back memories. They also got to present the award to their own show when the writing team from Y&R won.