Even with football game, Emmys draw in viewers

Even with football game, Emmys draw in viewers

NEW YORK — The Emmy Awards can boast of an audience bigger than it’s been in three years, despite some tough competition from pro football.

The Nielsen Company estimates that 13.3 million people watched Sunday’s Emmy telecast. That’s 1 million more than last year’s show, which was the least-watched Emmys ever, and the most since the 16.1 million who watched in 2006.

This increase came despite a Giants-Cowboys game on NBC that scored the best overnight ratings of any prime time pro football game in 11 years. Nielsen doesn’t have a final estimate for the football viewership, but network analysts say it’s likely to be in the 20 million to 25 million range.

Neil Patrick Harris earned strong reviews for his turn as Emmy host.

Movie pianist Ferrante dies

LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. — Famed 1960s-era movie pianist Art Ferrante has died at his Florida home at age 88.

Ferrante’s longtime manager says he died Saturday of natural causes in Longboat Key, about 60 miles south of Tampa. Along with partner Lou Teicher, Ferrante recorded themes to movies such as “The Apartment,” “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Cleopatra.”

Ferrante and Teicher were known as “The Movie Theme Team” and performed together for 40 years after meeting as children at The Juilliard School in New York.

Teicher died last year at age 83.

Ferrante is survived by his wife, daughter and two granddaughters.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Paul Le Mat is 63. Singer David Coverdale (Whitesnake, Deep Purple) is 58. Actress Shari Belafonte is 55. Singer Debby Boone is 53. Country singer June Forester of The Forester Sisters is 53. Singer Nick Cave is 52. Singer Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde is 52. Singer Joan Jett is 51. Opera singer Andrea Bocelli is 51. Actress Catherine Oxenberg is 48. Actor Scott Baio is 48. Actor Singer Big Rube of Society of Soul is 38. Actor Tom Felton (“Harry Potter” films) is 22.