Emmy Drama: 'West Wing' Wins

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/29/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Emmy all but snubbed the mob on "The Sopranos," giving the politicians on "The West Wing" a veritable landslide. The NBC drama set inside the White House picked up a record nine Emmys last night, topping the previous standard of eight once lavished upon "Hill Street Blues" (in 1981) and "ER" (in 1995). President Jed Bartlet -- Martin Sheen -- was shut out of the sweep, losing the best dramatic series actor award to James Gandolfini, who plays boss Tony Soprano in the critically lauded HBO series (which, like "The West Wing," went into last night's race with 18 nominations). "I can't really explain this," Gandolfini, who picked up the only award to his show, said during his acceptance speech, "except the academy maybe has an affinity for slightly overweight bald men." He then apologized to Dennis Franz of "NYPD Blue."

• For more on the Emmys, click here.