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Los Angeles, California–
Two Tufts graduates were among those honored for their work on the
Late Show with David Letterman during the 51st Emmy Awards
Ceremony on September 12. Late Show Executive Producer Rob
Burnett, who graduated from Tufts in 1984, accepted the award for
“Outstanding variety, music or comedy series” on behalf of his colleagues,
including fellow Tufts graduate Josh Weintraub, during the televised
event.
Also
present at the awards show was Tufts graduate Hank Azaria, whose
wife, Helen Hunt, received the Emmy for the “Outstanding leading
actress in a comedy show.” Burnett and Weintraub join Neal Shapiro
and Meredith Vieira as Tufts' Emmy Award winners. Since Shapiro
(a two-time Emmy Award winner) joined Dateline NBC as the
broadcast’s executive producer in 1993, the program has been honored
with 16 Emmys and 29 Emmy nominations.
In
May, eighty Tufts students had an opportunity to meet Burnett following
a taping of a special "Beantown" episode of the Late Show.
The students were flown down to New York with 300 other Bostonians.
As part of the all-expense paid trip, the show's staff chartered
four planes to bring the Boston audience down to New York -- even
the New York City Police Department was called in to block off streets
as the 400-person audience walked between the group's downtown hotel
and the Ed Sullivan Theater.
Following
the broadcast, the students were invited onto Letterman's set for
a photo with Burnett. Among the students were Tufts' sailors, student
government leaders and the Tufts Beezlebubs -- the University's
all-male a capella group. The group was granted a special performance
after they repeatedly asked (bugged) Letterman during his pre-show
warm-up.
A
few weeks after they sang Stevie Wonder's "Signed, sealed and delivered"
on the broadcast, the Bubs were invited to perform during the All-Star
Game pre-show festivities at Boston's Fenway Park. The Boston
Herald wrote, "Now that's music to our ears!"
    

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