Judith Light remembers late manager after Emmy nomination

LOS ANGELES – Judith Light’s third Primetime Emmy nomination came Thursday morning, but not without a pang of grief.

This will be Light’s first awards season in 36 years without her manager, Herb Hamsher, who died in October. Light dedicated her nomination to him during an interview Thursday afternoon.

“I think of him now because I think, ‘Oh I want to call him and tell him.’ We would be jumping up and down together,” Light said.

This is Light’s second nomination for playing Shelly Pfefferman, the ex-wife of Jeffrey Tambor’s character in Amazon’s “Transparent.”

She won two Daytime Emmys for her role on the soap “One Life to Live.”

Light was nominated for “Transparent” last year when Hamsher was sick. She said Hamsher managed to pull himself through the awards ceremony, but died a few weeks later.

Hamsher was alongside for most of her career including her first Primetime Emmy nomination in 2007 for “Ugly Betty.”

“In a way, I feel him watching over me. That means a great deal to me,” she said. After a brief pause, she continued, “Oh yeah, you guided this for so long.”

Light, 68, isn’t new to acclaim. She’s a two-time Tony winner and a Golden Globe nominee. However, she said industry awards are often viewed too heavily as competition.

She is focused on promoting the importance of arts education through her work. She said she takes great responsibility in her “very privileged position.”

“We are in service to the people who watch it, and we can’t do this without them,” she said. “We have an opportunity to do that, to give and to be out there doing our service through our art.”

Light is also a longtime LGBT advocate. It’s also how she’s celebrating her nomination.

Outfest, an LGBT film festival, is hosting a screening of two episodes from “Transparent’s” upcoming fourth season. Light, creator Jill Soloway and other cast members are expected to attend the screening Saturday.

“If you consider that celebratory, then yes indeed. I am celebrating,” Light said.

“Transparent” received seven nominations on Thursday, including bids for Tambor and co-star Kathryn Hahn.