Friends Gig Nets Willis an Emmy

August 28 -- Maybe Bruce Willis should work in TV more often.

In Saturday's non-televised ceremony, the Die Hard star took home an early Emmy for his three-episode appearance last season on Friends as the scary father of David Schwimmer's college-age love interest. Willis' character also showed off his kinder, gentler, very weepy side when he got romantically involved with Ross' ex, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).

Willis guested on the NBC hit sitcom after befriending Matthew Perry, his co-star in the comedy The Whole Nine Yards, and donated his unspecified acting fee from the sitcom to charities.

Perry, by the way, won't be up for an Emmy this year — he asked that his name be withdrawn from the ballot entirely after he was mistakenly nominated in the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category.

Willis' Emmy for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series is the second TV trophy for the 45-year-old actor. If you'll recall, Willis' pre-blockbuster days were lived on TV, in the role of wisecracking P.I. David Addison on Moonlighting; that role earned him an Emmy in 1987 for Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Willis received his latest Emmy during the creative arts portion of the Primetime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif. Early Emmy awards were handed out Saturday night in a non-televised ceremony. Other guest acting awards include a Guest Actress in a Comedy Series award to Jean Smart (who gave Willis some life advice in Disney's The Kid), for her turn on NBC's Frasier, and Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series awards to James Whitmore and Beah Richards, for their spots on ABC's The Practice.

Most of the awards were given out for technical achievements, such as makeup, sound, editing, and choreography. The main awards ceremony will take place Sept. 10.

Reuters contributed to this story.