Memorable Emmy Award Moments Include 'Rock My Chain' & The Maggie Smith Rule

COUNT ON THE DOWAGER COUNTESS

Maggie Smith, who had won three Emmys for playing the snarky and witty Dowager Countess on “Downton Abbey” — and been nominated for six more — won again in absentia for the final season of the PBS series. But Kimmel chastised her at the top of the show for her consistent no-shows with a new law, the Maggie Smith Rule — winners had to be present to accept the award or it would go to the next person on the list. So when Smith won for best supporting actress, Kimmel pulled a Kanye West and, unscripted and hilariously, returned to the stage to snag the trophy himself. “No, no, no, no, no,” Kimmel said. “We’re not mailing this to her. Maggie, if you want this, it’ll be in the lost and found.”

THANK YOUR DATE

Sarah Paulson, who played former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark, brought Clark to the Emmys and apologized to her in front of millions for not being kind in the past. “The more I learned about the real Marcia Clark, not the two-dimensional cardboard cutout that I saw on the news, but the complicated, whip-smart, giant-hearted, mother of two who woke up every day, put both feet on the floor, and dedicated herself to righting an unconscionable wrong,” Paulson said, “the more I had to recognize that I, along with the rest of the world, had been superficial and careless in my judgment and I am glad to be able to stand here today in front of everyone and tell you I’m sorry.”