Emmys: Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph pre-party with host Lorne Michaels

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Lorne Michaels is no stranger to weekend productions, though for the Saturday night before the 2011 Emmy Awards he put on a different kind of show in Los Angeles: an Emmys pre-party welcoming his famous friends and former employees.

On the terrace at the Sunset Tower Hotel, ‘Saturday Night Live’ executive producer Michaels greeted husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler and Jon Hamm, all nominees, plus Hamm’s partner, Jennifer Westfeldt, Paul Rudd, Andy Samberg and Maya Rudolph.

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Aziz Ansari joked with Jimmy Fallon and Bravo’s Andy Cohen in the company of Melissa McCarthy, Maulik Pancholy, Jack McBrayer, Rashida Jones, actress-director Penny Marshall and Bryan Cranston, last year’s Emmy winner for best actor in a drama for ‘Breaking Bad.’

Guests sipped novelty cocktails including the ‘Liz Lemonade,’ a nod to Tina Fey’s ’30 Rock’ character, and the ‘Saturday Night Imbibe’ by 42 Below.

For comedy diehards, a fun fact: Former cast member Ana Gasteyer turned up and was quite amused by the passed desserts: mini containers of Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls ice cream, a product inspired by the skit that she, Molly Shannon and Alec Baldwin made famous on ‘SNL.’

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-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Top photo: Amy Poehler, left, Will Arnett, Paul Rudd and Jennifer Westfeldt cuddle up at Lorne Michaels’ pre-Emmy party at the Sunset Tower Hotel. Credit: Associated Press