BEHIND THE SCENES ON TV'S BIG NIGHT.

Byline: Marla Matzer Staff Writer

Now that ``Mad About You'' is off the air, Helen Hunt said,``I'm doing creative things with my time, which I finally have back.'' The Oscar winner for ``As Good as It Gets'' won best actress in comedy award for the fourth straight time. Hunt said she has movies coming up with Tom Hanks and Richard Gere.

``Every actor in this town thinks that what I do (on the show) is completely disgraceful,'' joked John Lithgow who won his third Emmy for best actor in a comedy series. ``But I'm very, very proud of `3rd Rock from the Sun' . . . We're all exploding with pride on this show . . . many wonderful things have happened to me in my life, but truly two of the best have been `3rd Rock' and my dear family.''

There were no gasps of surprise when Kristen Johnston was named outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her role in ``3rd Rock From the Sun.'' But the second-time winner claimed she was anything but confident of winning when she arrived at the Shrine Auditorium.

``I knew without a doubt that I wouldn't win this year,'' said Johnston, who wore a form-fitting, champagne-colored Randolph Duke dress. Continued the actress, ``But when Michael J. Fox came out to present the award, I started to say, wait a minute . . . he gave me the award two years ago . . . I was able to be very relaxed, because I'd already won.''

Director Thomas Schlamme, on the other hand, said he was on the edge of his seat with nerves. Schlamme, who won for directing in a comedy series for the critically acclaimed but still-trying-to-find-an-audience ``Sports Night,'' said bluntly, ``I was much more nervous this year than last . . . I felt like I was going to throw up.'' He added that he hopes the continued recognition will help the program in the ratings.

On a more topical note, outstanding variety performer John Leguizamo received applause when he said during his acceptance speech that the ``Latin voice'' was underrepresented on television. He jokingly dubbed HBO, which aired his special, ``Hispanic Box Office.'' He said he welcomed the chance to do his one-man show for TV because ``the Latin voice is something that's lacking and missing in the media.'' Leguizamo made his remarks on the opening day of a two-week television viewing boycott organized by Hispanic groups angry at television because of its lack of ethnic diversity. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is considering similar action.

Often-controversial comedian Chris Rock, whose show won for writing, agreed that there are too few minorities on prime-time television, but said, ``White people own it. They don't want us on it, fine . . . we'll do our own stuff, is how I look at it. I went out and wrote my own movie so I could work. You can't sit around waiting for white people to give you stuff.''

Leguizamo agreed with Rock's assessment that minority actors often need to take matters into their own hands in order to get good roles. ``You have to write and create . . . if I got offered one more cocaine-dealing Mafia prince, I was going to have to go out there and hurt somebody. We're not offered roles as lawyers and doctors. They're embarrassing sorts of parts.''

When asked about being ``America's funniest man,'' a title Time magazine recently bestowed on him, Rock said, ``Jim Carrey is the funniest man in America. Anyone who knows anything about comedy knows that. It's flattering, but there . . . are guys a lot funnier than me that I can learn a lot from,'' he said.

Best supporting actress in a dramatic series Holland Taylor, who plays an older, oversexed judge on ``The Practice,'' was celebrating a strike for another kind of TV minority. ``Older ladies are wise, they've lived . . . they know how to do some things better than younger women,'' said Taylor, who was radiant in a black velvet gown. Asked why she thought there weren't more great TV roles for older women, she put the blame more on society than on producers. ``I think it's America, not just Hollywood,'' said the actress. ``They accept women being successes in business . . . now, they have to see that we're whole human beings.''

Jim Chase, creator of ``The Sopranos,'' said his winning co-writer on a ``Sopranos'' episode, James Manos Jr., was ``in the bathroom'' when their names were called, explaining his absence.

``I'm not nominated this year because there's apparently a little rule that you have to have a show on the air. It's always something.'' - Garry Shandling, who was a presenter.

THE WINNERS

Winners at Sunday night's 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards:

DRAMA SERIES: ``The Practice,'' ABC.

COMEDY SERIES: ``Ally McBeal,'' Fox.

MINISERIES: ``Horatio Hornblower,'' A&E.

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE: ``A Lesson Before Dying,'' HBO.

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL: ``1998 Tony Awards,'' CBS.

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES: ``Late Show with David Letterman,'' CBS.

ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES: Dennis Franz, ``NYPD Blue,'' ABC.

ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES: Edie Falco, ``The Sopranos,'' HBO.

ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES: John Lithgow, ``3rd Rock From the Sun,'' NBC.

ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES: Helen Hunt, ``Mad About You,'' NBC.

ACTOR, MINISERIES OR MOVIE: Stanley Tucci, ``Winchell,'' HBO.

ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR A MOVIE: Helen Mirren, ``The Passion of Ayn Rand,'' Showtime.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: David Hyde Pierce, ``Frasier,'' NBC.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Michael Badalucco, ``The Practice,'' ABC.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Holland Taylor, ``The Practice,'' ABC.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Kristen Johnston, ``3rd Rock From the Sun,'' NBC.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE: Peter O'Toole, ``Joan of Arc,'' CBS.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE: Anne Bancroft, ``Deep in my Heart,'' CBS.

PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM: John Leguizamo, ``John Leguizamo's Freak,'' HBO.

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES: Paris Barclay, ``NYPD Blue: Hearts And Souls,'' ABC.

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES: Thomas Schlamme, ``Sports Night: Pilot,'' ABC.

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE: Allan Arkush, ``The Temptations,'' NBC.

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM: Paul Miller, ``1998 Tony Awards,'' CBS.

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES: ``The Sopranos: College,'' HBO.

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES: ``Frasier: Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz,'' NBC.

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE: ``A Lesson Before Dying,'' HBO.

WRITING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM: ``The Chris Rock Show,'' HBO.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo: (1) Flanked by co-writers of his self-titled HBO comedy show, Chris Rock holds his Emmy for Writing for a Variety or Music Program.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

(2) Kristen Johnston is pleasantly surprised by her second consecutive Emmy for her role on ``3rd Rock From the Sun.''

Terry Pierson/Staff Photographer

Box: The winners (see text)