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Emerson Alums Rack Up Emmy Nominations

Dozens of Emerson alums working in television and emerging media were nominated for Emmy Awards on Wednesday, July 17, including some familiar names and first time appearances.

Randy Barbato ’82, LHD ’24, Executive Producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race, got his 20th Emmy nomination and will look to make it six wins when the awards are announced on September 15. And Sound Editor David Klotz ’94,  now has 23 nominations, and will look to win his ninth Emmy.

Here are Emerson alums who got a nod from the Television Academy. Did we miss anyone? If so, let us know at alumni@emerson.edu.!

Series Nominations

Laura Streicher ’97 is Co-Executive Producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Fallout, of which Skye Wathen ’07 is a Producer, is up for Oustanding Drama Series.

Headshot of Randy Barbato.
Randy Barbato ’82, LHD ’24

Randy Barbato ’82, LHD ’24 is Executive Producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race, nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition. The Voice is also nominated in that category, which is good news for Co-Executive Producer Brittany Martin Porter ’10.

Brian Smith ’95 is Executive Producer of Love Is Blind, and Maggie Morlath ’16 is Producer of Shark Tank. Both shows are nominated for Outstanding Structured Reality Program.

Man with glasses, grey blazer from waist up
Opus Moreschi ’00 (Photo by Mindy Tucker)

Opus Moreschi ’00 is Co-Executive Producer, and Ballard C. Boyd ’04 is Producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, up for Outstanding Talk Series.

Rob Paine ’92 is Co-Executive Producer of both The Oscars and The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady, both nominated for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). Steven Kaplan ’11 is a Line Producer on The GROAT.

Taryn Benesta ’09 is Senior Producer on Vanderpump Rules, nominated for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.

James Merrill ’07 is Co-Executive Producer, as well as a Writer, on Scavangers Reign, “The Signal,” up for Outstanding Animated Program.

Up for Outstanding Emerging Media Program is Emperor, directed by Ilan J. Cohen ’06, as well as Fallout: Vault 33, produced by Amazon MGM Studios, where Chris Del Conte ’93 is Director, World Wide Head of Visual Effects & Virtual Production.

Writing

Rosebud Baker ’06 is nominated for Writing for a Variety Series for her work on Saturday Night Live.

Cinematography

Kevin R. Johnson ’95 and Ryan Shaw ’21, both camera operators on The Amazing Race, are nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program.

Music

Scott Wittman ’76 wrote “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” featured in the “Sitzprobe” episode of Only Murders in the Building, and earned himself a nomination for Outstanding Original Music & Lyrics.

Production Design

Art Director Laura Ballinger Gardner ’94 was nominated for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) for her work on the Fallout episode, “The End,” and Ellen Jaworski ’11 earned a nod for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special after serving as Art Director for the 66th Grammy Awards.

Picture Editing

Catherine Trasborg ’11, Editor on The Daily Show, was nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming (Segment) for her work on “The Dailyshowography of Vivek Ramaswamy: Enter the Ramaverse.”

The Amazing RaceEditor Eric Beetner ’92 was nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program, and Editor Steve Welch ’92 was nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program for his work on Welcome to Wrexham, “Up the Town?”

Lighting Design/Direction

Matt Benson ’18 is up for three Emmys in Lighting Design/Lighting Direction: two for a Variety Series for America’s Got Talent, Ep. 1818, and Dancing with the Stars “Semi Finals (he was Gaffer on both), and one for a Variety Special for his work on the 66th Grammy Awards, where he was Lighting Director. Tyler Ericson ’19 was Lighting Director on the 76th Annual Tony Awards, and was nominated for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.

Sound Editing/Mixing

Headshot of man in black shirt, blue jacket
David Klotz ’94

Music Editor David Klotz ’94 is nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) for his work on the 3 Body Problem episode, “Judgment Day.”

Samuel Ejnes ’10, a Re-Recording Mixer on the What We Do in the Shadows episode “Local News,” is up for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour), and Christopher Costello ’08, Monitor Mixer for the Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Kristen Wiig, is nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

Acting

And honorary alum Carol Burnett, LHD ’80, was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Norma Dellacorte in the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale.

The Emmys will be broadcast Sunday, September 15, on ABC and streamed on Hulu.

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