The Betty White phenomenon keeps getting bigger.
White won an Emmy Award for best guest actress in a comedy series for her turn as "Saturday Night Live" host. The honor came Saturday at the creative arts ceremony that is precursor to the main Aug. 29 Emmy show.
The trophy is the fifth prime-time Emmy received by the 88-year-old White, according to the TV academy. Her previous honors came for classic sitcoms including "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Golden Girls."
So far this year, besides the "SNL" gig, White made a splash with the new TV Land sitcom "Hot in Cleveland," scored with a clever Super Bowl commercial and played a mad librarian on ABC’s sitcom "The Middle."
She did not attend Saturday’s ceremony, which included presenters Jane Lynch of "Glee," Elizabeth Mitchell of "Lost" and Christina Hendricks of "Mad Men."
Neil Patrick Harris was a presenter and winner, taking the trophy for best guest actor in a comedy series for his appearance on "Glee." The guest acting trophies for drama series went to John Lithgow for "Dexter" and Ann-Margret for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," which has won Emmy acting honors for six consecutive years.
Harris, who stars in "How I Met Your Mother," shared in another award. The Tony Awards show, which he hosted to critical acclaim, was recognized as best special class program.
The top network winner was HBO with 17 trophies, followed by ABC with 15 and Fox with nine. CBS, NBC and PBS each claimed seven. "The Pacific," HBO’s World War II miniseries, captured a leading seven creative arts awards.
Four trophies went to "Disney Prep & Landing," an animated Christmas special. Other big winners, with three trophies each, were freshman sitcom "Modern Family," "Saturday Night Live" and "The 25th Anniversary Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Concert."
Randy Newman won a trophy for original music and lyrics for "When I’m Gone," written for the departed series "Monk."
John Leverence, senior vice president of awards, received the Syd Cassyd Founders Award for his service to the TV academy.
The creative arts ceremony will air Friday on the E! channel. Next Sunday’s 62nd annual prime-time Emmy ceremony, with Jimmy Fallon as host, will air live on NBC.
Other winners at the creative arts Emmys, which honor technical and other achievements, included:
Host, reality or reality-competition series: Jeff Probst, "Survivor," CBS.
Voice-over performance: Anne Hathaway, "The Simpsons: Once Upon a Time in Springfield," Fox.
Reality program: "Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution," ABC.
