Jane Lynch did her best to explain to viewers and angry descendants of deceased TV industry notables why Cory Monteith was among those selected to receive a special tribute at the Primetime Emmy Awards. “This summer our show Glee suffered a painful death in our family,” she began. “From the first time you saw Cory he had a star quality and sweetness that made it impossible not to fall in love with him. He was “a beautiful soul and a gifted and wonderful young man” whose death, she said, is a reminder of the “rapaciousness” and “senseless destruction…brought on by addiction.”
Related: R.I.P. Cory Monteith
“We mourn the loss of all he could have been to a generation that loved Cory so… This gifted and wonderful young man was worthy of your love…” she said to those viewers, promising that if they had seen more of him “you would have loved him even more.”
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Emmy exec producer Ken Ehrlich had explained earlier this week to dubious reporters that Monteith would be among the deceased to whom special tribute is paid at tonight’s Primetime Emmy Awards in an effort to appeal to a younger generation. Other tributes would be given to figures James Gandolfini, Gary David Goldberg, Jonathan Winters, and Jean Stapleton. Adam Klugman called “criminal” the decision to pay tribute to Monteith but not his father, Jack Klugman, who died in December. “My dad was at the inception of television and helped build it in the early days.” Jack Klugman, a three-time Emmy winner, was star of The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E.
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