'L.A. Law' and 'Golden Girls' Win Series Emmys (original) (raw)

PASADENA, Calif., Sept. 20— ''Promise,'' a stark drama about mental illness, won five awards at a four-hour-long Emmy ceremony today, while ''L.A. Law'' won four awards to help NBC dominate the presentation.

NBC's ''Golden Girls'' won as best comedy for the second year, as the network won 16 of the 31 awards. Its former president, Grant Tinker, won the Governors' Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

CBS had 11 awards and ABC had four.

''L.A. Law,'' the slick program about high-powered lawyers, was honored as outstanding drama series in its first season. It also won a technical Emmy earlier, for a total of five.

Counting the technical awards distributed earlier, NBC won 32, ABC 19, CBS 15 and PBS 8. Fox Broadcasting, which carried the show for the first time, had none.

Running 20 seconds short of four hours, it was the longest Emmy program ever.

Bruce Willis of ''Moonlighting'' and Sharon Gless of ''Cagney and Lacey'' won Emmys for their work in dramatic series.

Ms. Gless won her second consecutive award; her partner in the CBS show about two detectives, Tyne Daley, had won the three previous years.

James Woods, who portrayed the schizophrenic brother in ''Promise,'' won an acting Emmy.

The ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'' presentation on CBS also produced awards for Glenn Jordan for directing, Piper Laurie for supporting actress and Richard Friedenburg, Tennyson Flowers and Kenneth Blackwell for writing.

Gena Rowlands was honored as best actress in a dramatic special for ''The Betty Ford Story'' on ABC.

Rue McClanahan of NBC's ''Golden Girls'' won for best comedy actress; her co-star Betty White won last year.

Michael J. Fox of NBC's ''Family Ties'' won best comedy actor for the second year. 'L.A. Law' Creators

The creators of ''L.A. Law,'' Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, won for writing and Gregory Hoblit was honored for directing the show's pilot. Alfre Woodward won an Emmy as best guest performer for her portrayal of a rape victim in the pilot.

John Larroquette of NBC's ''Night Court'' won his third Emmy for his supporting role. Other NBC winners included Jackee Harry of ''227,'' Bonnie Bartlett of ''St. Elsewhere,'' Gary David Goldberg and Alan Unger for writing in ''Family Ties'' and John Cleese for a guest role on ''Cheers.''

Joan Rivers, who made her first television appearance since the death of her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, received prolonged applause. She presented Mr. Larroquette's award.

It was her first appearance on the new Fox network since she left its ''Late Show.''

Ms. Bartlett won her second award for her role in ''St. Elsewhere,'' and John Hillerman won in the supporting dramatic actor category, his first award after four nominations for ''Magnum, P.I'' on CBS. 'Hill Street' Tribute

Robin Williams, who didn't attend, won an Emmy for his performance in an ABC special, ''Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin.'' The cartoonist Cathy Guisewhite won in the animated category for ''Cathy'' on CBS.

Tonight's broadcast featured a tribute to ''Hill Street Blues,'' which ended last season, as well as to the late Fred Astaire and Jackie Gleason.

Miss White presented the Governors' Award to her old ''Mary Tyler Moore Show'' boss, Mr. Tinker, who as head of NBC helped lift the network out of the cellar and into No. 1 in the ratings. These are other winners of the Emmy Awards: Writing in a comedy series: ''Family Ties:

'A,' My Name is Alex,'' NBC. Writing in a drama series: ''L.A. Law: Venus Butterfly,'' NBC. Directing in a variety or music program:

''The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts,'' CBS. Directing in a comedy series: ''The Golden Girls: Isn't It Romantic?,'' NBC. Cinematography for a mini-series or a special: ''Christmas Snow,'' NBC. Technical direction-camerawork-video for a mini-series or a special: ''Barbara Mandrell's Christmas: A Family Reunion,''

CBS. Supporting actor in a mini-series or a special:

Dabney Coleman, ''Sworn to Silence,'' ABC. Writing in a variety or music program: ''Late Night With David Letterman: Fifth Anniversary Special,'' NBC. Outstanding variety, music or comedy program: ''The 1987 Tony Awards,'' CBS.