Moments before the announcement was made McCarthy and her fellow nominees broke with tradition and jumped up on stage as their names were called. They were led by Amy Poehler of Parks and Recreation.
The audience were evidently impressed as they gave them a standing ovation.
Meanwhile Parsons appeared to be genuinely surpassed by the victory and he told the amused audience that he had been "assured by many people in my life that this was never going to happen..."
The ceremony was aired by Fox and opened with a taped comedy sketch that generated some controversy because Alec Baldwin's jokes about phone-hacking at News Corporation - which owns Fox - were cut from the skit.
Sofia Vergara won the first of four Emmys for Modern Family. Julie Bown and Ty Burrell, the husband-and-wife team won best supporting actor honours. It received the best writing and best direction awards as well.
The Washington Post reports that this year's awards attracted an average of 12,5-million viewers, the smallest audience since 2008. Admittedly the Emmys were competing with a rousing football game.
More on the Emmy Awards.
Read the full article on www.washingtonpost.com.
