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Big Emmy wins for Jon Hamm, Viola Davis, 'Veep' and 'Transparent'

LOS ANGELES — Emmy made history Sunday night, with a diverse slate of nominees and winners that reflected that.

Viola Davis became the first black woman to win the top drama Emmy for portraying the dynamic law school professor Annalise Keating in ABC's How to Get Away With Murder.

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"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," an emotional Davis said. "You cannot win Emmys with roles that are simply not there."

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HBO's Game of Thrones delivered one of the night's few surprises by winning best drama, which is not often awarded to a fantasy series. The show'steam accepted its award from comedy actor Tracy Morgan, who was making his first major appearance after suffering a severe brain injury last year.

And Jon Hamm finally won in his last chance for his career-defining role as Don Draper in AMC's drama Mad Men. Hamm, who lost to Breaking Bad'sBryan Cranston in past years, bypassed the steps to the Emmy stage, scrambling onto it on his stomach.

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"There has been a terrible mistake, clearly," Hamm said of the last-season win that eluded him seven times before.

Emmy Awards photo gallery:

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The transgender comedy Transparent emerged as an early winner, capturing a trophy for best comedy actor for Jeffrey Tambor, a directing award for its creator and giving both winners a chance to pay tribute to the Amazon Instant Video show's trangender themes.

Tambor, who plays Maura — formerly Mort — Pfefferman, dedicated his Emmy to the transgender community, thanking them for their patience, courage and inspiration.

Jill Soloway, who based the series on her own father's story, thanked her "moppa," as she calls her parent, and used her acceptance speech to ask for equal rights for transgender individuals.

The awards were a big coup for the streaming service, with Amazon beating networks such as ABC, Fox, Showtime and FX.

HBO's Olive Kitteridge, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Elizabeth Strout, swept through the limited series category with six wins: series, Frances McDormand in the title role, Richard Jenkins for best actor and Bill Murray for supporting actor, plus awards for writing and directing honors.

The only non-Kitteridge winner in that category was Regina King, who won for supporting actress in ABC's American Crime.

Uzo Aduba won the supporting actress in a drama trophy for Orange Is the New Black, which was switched under academy rules this year from comedy competition. Aduba won a guest actress award last year for her portrayal of Crazy Eyes in the series.

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Emmy voters didn't give up their fondness for choosing the familiar over the groundbreaking in other categories as well.

HBO took home four trophies in the comedy competition for Veep: comedy series, Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the lead role (for the fourth time), Tony Hale repeating for supporting actor and a writing award.

Jon Stewart is gone from The Daily Show but not forgotten by Emmy voters, who gave the late-night show the best variety talk series award, plus directing and writing awards to its staff.

Stewart, who left the Daily Show earlier this year, warned the theater audience that the perils of leaving TV include no applause or free food.

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"To everybody on television, I just want to tell you, cling to it as long as you can," joked Stewart, who's turning over The Daily Show to Trevor Noah.

Staff writer Leslie Snyder, The Associated Press

The winners:

List of winners at Sunday's 67th prime-time Emmy Awards in Los Angeles:

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Drama Series: Game of Thrones," HBO.

Actor, Drama Series: Jon Hamm, "Mad Men," AMC.

Actress, Drama Series: Viola Davis, "How to Get Away With Murder," ABC.

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones," HBO.

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Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Uzo Aduba, "Orange is the New Black," Netflix.

Directing, Drama Series: David Nutter, "Game of Thrones," HBO.

Writing, Drama Series: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, "Game of Thrones," HBO.

Comedy Series: "Veep," HBO.

Jeffrey Tambor with his Emmy
Jeffrey Tambor with his Emmy(Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP)

Actor, Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent," Amazon Instant Video.

Actress, Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep," HBO.

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Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Tony Hale, "Veep," HBO.

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Allison Janney, "Mom," CBS.

Directing, Comedy Series: Jill Soloway, "Transparent," Amazon Instant Video.

Writing, Comedy Series: Simon Blackwell, Amando Iannucci, Tony Roche, "Veep," HBO.

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Limited Series: "Olive Kitteridge," HBO.

Actor, Limited Series or Movie: Richard Jenkins, "Olive Kitteridge," HBO.

Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Frances McDormand, "Olive Kitteridge," HBO.

Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie: Bill Murray, "Olive Kitteridge," HBO.

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Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Regina King, "American Crime," ABC.

Directing, Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special: Lisa Cholodenko, "Olive Kitteridge," HBO.

Writing, Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special: Jane Anderson, "Olive Kitteridge," HBO.

Variety Talk Series: "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central.

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Directing, Variety Series: Chuck O'Neil, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."

Variety Sketch Series: "Inside Amy Schumer," Comedy Central.

Writing, Variety Series: "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central.

Reality-Competition Program: "The Voice," NBC.