Toronto's Furnish wins Emmy for 'Elton John Live,' Matheson takes the stage for 'The Bear'

Toronto producer David Furnish won an Emmy for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium” at a televised bash that included revved-up Canadian chef-turned-actor Matty Matheson of “The Bear” helping to accept the best comedy trophy.

British-Canadian filmmaker Furnish and his music superstar husband Elton John were among the team of producers who won the best live variety special category Monday night but the singer was absent.

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The win made John an EGOT winner - with the Emmy achievement joining previous wins for Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

After accepting the trophy, Furnish told reporters backstage that John was unable to attend because he was having his left knee replaced in the United Kingdom.

“We FaceTimed (John), we woke him up in the middle of the night,” Furnish said in video clips posted to social media immediately after the triumph.

“He screamed out loud. He was like, 'Yes!' He's really happy and incredibly honoured,” said Furnish, originally from Scarborough, an east-end Toronto neighbourhood.

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The Disney Plus film documents John's final North American show from L.A.'s Dodger Stadium in 2022 as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

The concert special beat out rivals including Fox's Super Bowl halftime show featuring Rihanna, Netflix's “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” ABC's Oscars telecast and CBS's Tony Awards broadcast.

Later in the night, Matheson was among the crew from “The Bear” to take the stage for the best comedy series win, sharing a long kiss on the mouth from co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Matheson, who plays the childhood friend of Moss-Bachrach's character Richie, thanked cast, crew and family while eliciting applause and laughter from the audience.

“All of us here get to make a show together and we get to make people feel good or feel anxiety or triggered,” said Matheson, who led several Toronto restaurants before leaping to the Disney Plus show about a fictional Chicago eatery.

“I've never acted before, I love all these people so much!”

“The Bear” also won best supporting actor for Moss-Bachrach, best supporting actress for Ayo Edebiri and best lead actor for Jeremy Allen White.

“Succession” reigned supreme at the event, with the HBO/Crave series picking up six awards, including best drama and trophies for actors Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen.

In other categories, Toronto-based producer Susan Coyne was among the Canadian nominees for best limited series for her work on “Daisy Jones & the Six.” She faced off against Toronto's Deborah Chow in the same category for her work on “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” They both lost to “Beef,” which dominated the evening with five awards.

Hamilton-born Martin Short was up for best lead actor in a comedy series for his role in “Only Murders in the Building” but lost to White of “The Bear.”

A photo of U.S.-Canadian actor Matthew Perry closed out the In Memoriam segment of the show as the “Friends” theme song was performed by The War and Treaty and Charlie Puth.

The 75th Emmy Awards aired on Fox, CTV2, CTV.ca and the CTV app.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2024.