Clooney was presented with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the Primetime Emmy Awards for his work to raise awareness of the crisis in Darfur, and fund-raising efforts for causes ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the Haiti earthquake and the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC.
"It's important to remember how much good can get done because we live in such strange times where bad behavior sucks up all of the attention and the press," Clooney said as he accepted the award.
The actor said he hoped there were others who could step in and "help find a way to keep the spotlight burning on these heart-breaking situations that continue to be heartbreaking long after the cameras go away."
Television Academy Chairman John Shaffner said Clooney, 49, was "an obvious choice" for the humanitarian award because he had "understood and harnessed the power of television...to reach into the hearts of people around the world."
