NEW YORK – "Saturday Night Live" (search) cast member Darrell Hammond (search) has been tapped to host the 25th annual news and documentary Emmy Awards.
Unlike "SNL," the ceremony won't be live from New York. Instead, it will be taped at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Sept. 13 and then telecast on Sept. 25 on the Discovery Times Channel.
"We are pleased to have Darrell Hammond join these prestigious news personalities at this year's celebration," Peter Price, president of the National Television Academy (search), said Tuesday. "Mr. Hammond brings the special credential of having impersonated many of America's most prominent newsmakers and newscasters."
Peter Jennings, Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer, Brian Williams and Dan Rather will present awards. Rather is among many newsmen and political pundits Hammond has imitated during his eight-season run on NBC's "SNL." He's taken on almost everyone in the Bush administration (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Colin Powell (search), Tom Ridge, and is well-known for his portrayal of former President Bill Clinton (search).
"We're delighted that Darrell Hammond has agreed to host this year's ceremony," said Discovery Times General Manager Vivian Schiller. "It's only fitting that he stand up in front of the very people he routinely skewers in his hilarious and incisive comedy sketches."
The Academy's lifetime achievement award for news and documentary will be presented to Tom Brokaw, who's retiring as the anchor of "NBC Nightly News" later this year.
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