Two of the most memorable Golden Globes moments in the history of the show took place on the same night, at the 1998 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. The first event, was when Alan Rickman and Jada Pinkett Smith announced the nominees and winners for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.
The star-studded room erupted into applause when Pinkett Smith shouted the name of the winner, Ving Rhames, who took the stage and spoke. “Stanislavsky said, ‘Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art’ and I love the art in all of you here,” he said. “And is Mr. Jack Lemmon here? Would you please come up here sir?”
Jim Carrey and Jack Nicholson were seen in the audience exchanging curious glances, and the audience cheered on the understandably confused Lemmon as he made his way to the stage.

“I feel that being an artist is about giving and I’d like to give this to you, Mr. Lemmon,” Rhames declared as he pushed the Golden Globe statuette into the reluctant hands of the Oscar-winning legend. Rhames refused to take it back, and Lemmon eventually responded, “That is one of the nicest, sweetest moments I’ve ever known in my life, seriously. And if you think you appreciate the art in someone else, man, we appreciate the art in you — that performance was brilliant!”

Lemmon tried to give it back, as a crowd including Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, Goldie Hawn, and Shirley MacLaine all joined a standing ovation.
Eventually, Lemmon stopped protesting and, with the statue in his hand, humbly confessed, “That is one of the nicest, sweetest moments I’ve ever known in my life, seriously. And if you think you appreciate the art in someone else, man, we appreciate the art in you — that performance was brilliant!”

A few years later, in a press conference with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Rhames explained that the idea to give his award to Lemmon was not premeditated in any way. “God really inspired me to give that award to Jack Lemmon,” he insisted, “and I think from talking to everyone that night, from Robin Williams to Matt Damon to Samuel L. Jackson to Tom Cruise, it made Hollywood sit and think for a minute about what art is about. I can look at a Van Gogh and I can look at a Picasso and I can’t really say one is better than the other, they’re just different,” he added. “I can never say I’m a better actor than Jack Lemmon.” 
Lemmon passed away three years later, still possessing that Golden Globe, but the HFPA also made sure Rhames got one of his own, too.

Later that same night, when presenters Michael J. Fox and Laura San Giacomo announced the nominees in the Best Actress – TV Drama category, another completely unpredictable moment occurred. Chicago Hope star Christine Lahti was the winner, but nowhere in sight. So her husband, director Thomas Schlamme, got on stage and told the audience she was in the bathroom. Robin Williams also jumped on stage, providing some humor while everyone watched and waited for Lahti to finally re-enter the room and take the stage, wiping her hands on a towel brought to her onstage before accepting the award by saying, “I was in the bathroom, mom!”