Billy Porter's Emmys Suit Was Embellished with More Than 100,000 Crystals

The first Emmy award ceremony was held on January 25th, 1949. The party was thrown at the Hollywood Athletic Club, and tickets only cost $5. Here are the Emmy Awards by the Numbers. [MUSIC] [SOUND] COINAGE. Life, well spent. Presented by Geico. Just 6 awards were handed out that night The first one was given to ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale for The Judy Splinter Show. The name for the award ceremony comes from the word immy, an image tube in classic TVs. It was soon changed to Emmy because of the feminine award. There were 47 design proposals for the original statue, all of which were rejected. It wasn't until Louis McManus, a television engineer Creating a woman with wings holding an atom. His design was modeled off of his wife, Dorothy, and would continue to be the symbol for years to come. Statuettes cost $400 and take five and a half hours to create. Each golden lady is moulded and then coated in copper, nickel, silver, and gold. If you get lucky enough to land your hands on the coveted golden statue, you may have to pay to keep the award. That's right, for some of the categories where the winners include a large group of people, they have to pay a fee to the television academy. Lorne Michaels, famed TV producer known for creating the acclaimed series Saturday Night Live holds the record for most Emmy nominations. Out of 81 nominations Lorne has won 15 times. SNL is currently the most celebrated in Emmy history. With 231 nominations and 64 wins, it seems like those players were definitely ready for prime time. [MUSIC] Coinage, life, well spent, presented by GEICO.

It’s a weekend of celebration for Billy Porter, who, in addition to celebrating his first Emmy nomination tonight, rang in his 50th birthday on Saturday.

In a short time, the Pose star has become not just a red carpet staple, but a veritable fashion legend. Extravagant J.Lo-esque ball gowns, statement-making hats, and even full Sun God garb (which included six shirtless men to carry him, of course) are all par for Porter’s red carpet course.

Naturally, the actor’s Emmys debut was no exception. The first-time nominee got ready for the show with Ketel One, dressing in a black Michael Kors suit embellished with silver stripes made of more than 100,000 crystals. And as though the two-piece wasn't extravagant enough, he topped the look off with a custom black Stephen Jones hat bearing an asymmetrical brim.

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Though Pose recently concluded its second season, it’s the show’s first that’s eligible for Emmys recognition tonight. The series, which focuses on the LGBTQ community in N.Y.C. at the height of the AIDS crisis, is nominated for six awards at the 2019 ceremony, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Porter as Ballroom “Master of Ceremonies” Pray Tell). He'll be competing against a slate of worthy opponents: Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Jason Bateman (Ozark), Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us).