I’m forever amazed when I rub elbow with famous people I think are cool and intriguing. Take Ellie Kemper, for example. She plays the new dingbat secretary Erin Hatton on NBC’s hit “The Office”. I have loved that show since its inception and watch it religiously. (Well, I DVR it religiously, and watch it later.)
Kemper was hosting the Mid-America Emmy Awards on Saturday night in St. Louis. It was old home week for Kemper who is a native of The Lou. (Jenna “Pam Beasly” Fisher is also a hometown girl … and so is homeboy Jon “Don Draper” Hamm.)
Kemper was a huge hit from the minute she walked on the stage. She was goofy, affable and quirky. (Maybe she just decided to stay in character?) She started making up “invisible awards” throughout the course of the evening. “That little girl wins the prize for the cutest little girl,” she said when a dad brought his daughter on stage.
One guy who won an Emmy ran up on stage and gave a great speech. And then asked for Kemper to come back on stage so he could give her a “Dundie”. (If you watch “The Office”, you’ll know what a “Dundie” is. It’s the show’s trophy equivalent. It was funny, ironic and thoughtful at the same time.)
I was blessed enough to have Kemper present my award for Best Host. When she announced my name, I was over the moon. I immediately jumped and made my way to the stage, completely blank on what I was going to say. Really didn’t matter, though. I had won the night’s big award, against well-known people from Fox Sports and Metro Sports among others. I am now the universe’s Best On-Camera Personality/Host. Screw modesty, I won!
Backstage I was lucky enough to talk to Kemper one-on-one. We talked about how cool it was to be back home (uh, she brought her brother as her date) and how I would like a cameo on the show. She then gave me the night’s coolest compliment when she said, “You are right at home up there on the stage. Great speech.”
You could have knocked me over with a feather. Well, two feathers. Those Emmy awards are kinda heavy.