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SEPTEMBER 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
ON SEPT. 23,
Jimmy Kimmel will
makehis debut as host of theEmmy
Awards, on his home network of
ABC. While he sums up the honor
in classic Kimmel fashion—“Either
I’ve go en classier or the culturehas
go en coarser, I’m not sure which”
—the real reason he was chosen is
simple. He’s very funny. He’s very popular. And if you com-
binehisTVandWebplatforms, he’s absolutelyeverywhere.
A smart and reasonably regular guy who divided his
childhood between Brooklyn and Las Vegas, Kimmel cut
his teeth at radio stations around the country before
moving into TV with a sideman gig on “Win Ben Stein’s
Money.” In 1999 he created Comedy Central’s hilariously
boorish “The Man Show” with friend and comic Adam
Carolla. And four years later he parlayed that success into
a show of his own, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC, which
has surpassed chat-fests from the likes of Dick Cave
and Bill Maher to become the longest-running late-night
talk show in the network’s history. While Kimmel slogged
through his share of interviews with C-listers early on
(the tedium of which he alleviated with a recurring fib
about Ma Damon), he’s now a must-do for big names
promoting big projects.
We gave Kimmel a call to talk about hosting the Emmys
—as well as his own show and, recently, theWhite House
correspondents’ dinner—but what we really wanted
to know is the extent to which you’re allowed to go to
pieces if you endupholding some hardware on television’s
night of nights.
GOING GLOBAL
From top, Jimmy Kimmel
on “The Man Show” with
co-host Adam Carolla;
interviewing singer Katy
Perry; high-fiving
the president at the
2012 White House
correspondents’ dinner
THE
HEMI
Q&A:
JIMMY KIMMEL