That was certainly the case for Jon Cryer, one of the stars of the CBS hit "Two and a Half Men," who somewhere in the swirl of people, cameras, lights, security, reporters and handlers on the red carpet, lost his mother, Gretchen, a singer, actress and writer.

Not to worry. It was temporary.

"Jon, Jon," shouted Howie Mandel, one of the Emmys co-hosts. "I found your mom."

What most people watching the Emmys on TV donšt realize is that the red carpet has two incarnations.

Even the guests of the stars -- husbands, wives, children and other relatives, friends and significant others -- had to make their way past the shrieking fans outside the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. But a red velvet rope discreetly divided the many of the famous from the non-famous.

Actress Angela Kinsey of "The Office," a petite blonde, ducked under the rope to sign autographs and when she tried to get back on the celeb side, found that security wouldn't let her through.

"But I'm talent," she said, politely. "I'm on that show 'The Office,' and we're nominated for best comedy."

Eventually, the guard relented.

Of course, temperatures in the 80s and running a two-hour gauntlet to get inside didn't help matters.

But most of the stars are troopers who are used to the frenzy.

Debra Messing calmly powdered her nose before posing for the paparazzi, Teri Hatcher expertly squeezed her way through the tightly sandwiched throng and Vanessa Williams thumbed a message on her Blackberry before doing an interview with E! And then there was America Ferrara, who was momentarily stumped when asked during an interview who made her jewelry. Luckily, her boyfriend came to the rescue with the answer. Sometimes those guests come in handy.