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 Morgan, 46, one of the stars of "30 Rock" and a former cast
member of "Saturday Night Live," walked confidently on stage to
a standing ovation as he presented the night's top award for
best drama series.
"Last year Jimmy Kimmel said on this stage, 'We'll see you next
year, Tracy Morgan.' Well Jimmy, thanks to my amazing doctors,
beautiful family and wife, I'm here, standing on my own two
feet," Morgan said.
"It's been a long road back, I suffered a traumatic brain injury
that put me in a coma for eight days and when I finally regained
consciousness, I was ecstatic to learn I wasn't the one who
messed up."
In a year when the surprises came from the winners rather than
on-stage antics at the Emmy awards, Morgan's return was a
standout moment on the night honoring television's top
achievements.
The comedian suffered broken bones as well as a serious brain
injury in the June 2014 highway accident in New Jersey that left
another passenger in the limousine van they were traveling in,
comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair, dead. A speeding Wal-mart
truck driver who had been awake for 28 hours was held
responsible for the accident.
While Morgan was still not fully back to his bawdy, wisecracking
self, he did tap his trademark humor on Sunday ahead of
presenting the Emmy award for best drama series to "Game of
Thrones."
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"It's only recently that I've started to feel like myself again,
which means a whole lot of women, y'all gonna get pregnant at the
after-party," he quipped, receiving loud laughs from his peers.
Backstage, an emotional Morgan, with tears in his eyes, told
reporters that being back on stage was "very overwhelming."
"Part of my therapy was seeing TV and seeing my friends and saying,
One day I'll be back," he said.
Morgan said his publicist had encouraged him to come to the Emmys,
saying, "Maybe you should let Hollywood welcome you back home."
It's been a long road to recovery for Morgan, who in a television
interview earlier this year was seen wiping away tears and holding a
black cane, saying he needed more time to heal.
Morgan will host of the Oct. 17 episode of "Saturday Night Live."
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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