Image Credit: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images; Raul F. Rubiera/WireImage.com; Janet Mayer/PR PhotosFor folks who hold fast to the belief that good TV does not begin and end during prime-time hours, tonight’s Daytime Emmy Awards — airing from 9-11 p.m. ET on CBS — are a major event on the pop-culture calendar. Fans of CBS’ canceled Guiding Light and soon-to-end As the World Turns will have rooting interests in the race for Best Actress in a Drama, where those shows’ respective stars, Crystal Chappell and Maura West (pictured, left and center), will face off against The Young and the Restless‘ Michelle Stafford, General Hospital‘s Sarah Brown, and All My Children‘s Bobbie Eakes.
Me? I’m rooting for The Martha Stewart Show in the Outstanding Lifestyle Program category, as well as Kelly Ripa (and her cohost Regis Philbin) for Outstanding Talk Show Host. What can I say, Martha’s cooking segments are as indispensable as her interviews are bizarre. And Kelly’s brand of perky/twisted enthusiasm is irresistible to me.
Check out the full list of Daytime Emmy nominees here, then tell us: Who are you rooting for tonight?
UPDATE: Daytime Emmys winners: ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ takes best drama
Barbara Walters will have surgery to replace one faulty heart valve, she announced on The View this morning. She’s known of her condition for months, and agreed with her doctors that with the summer coming up and the show’s August hiatus, this was the best time for her to have the surgery. The recovery process can be anywhere from a month to three months, she said, adding “I expect to be calling in from time to time….I love you all, and that’s my hot topic of this morning,” she said.
Well, this is a refreshing change. Dame Edna is co-hosting The View today. File under 
