Michael Urie may play a scheming suck up on "Ugly Betty" each week, but Thursday night he showed nothing but love for co-star Judith Light as he presented her with the Outfest Legacy Award for her support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender films.
Light, nominated for an Emmy this year for her role in "Betty," became the first straight ally to be honored in the 25 year history of Outfest at a fun gala event held at the Directors Guild of America before a crowd that included David Duchovny, Marlee Matlin, Ana Ortiz, Jane Lynch, Caroline Rhea, Wilson Cruz, Fionnula Flanagan, Thea Gill, Erik King and Peter Paige.
If only I coulda gotten my hand on a gift bag - they were stuffed with DVDs of such showtime shows as "Dexter" and "Weeds" and I looked longingly at anyone who had one. Of course, they actually PAID for their ticket. But the crowd could not be beat and I'll be sharing my interviews with lots of the stars in the coming days here and on my Out In Hollywood blog.
Beloved by the gay community, Light has attended L.A.'s Outfest film festival for each of the last 15 years and this year, co-starred in the event's opening night film "Save Me." She is the real deal.
"You are my teachers, you are my role models," Light said during an emotional and stirring speech. "You risk everything to be authentic. Do you know how rare that is in this culture? ...People who are out and who are willing to risk in order to lead."
Also honored Thursday was Showtime's President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt whose network has had such pioneering LGBT shows as "Queer As Folk" and "The L Word," such films as "Soldier's Girl" as well as gay characters in current hits "Weeds" and "The Tudors."
"We have this awesome track record of gay and lesbian stories and characters - we've done it, I think, more consistently than anybody I can think of," Greenblatt told me before the event. "It's just a lot of representation. The audience has been building for years and we've done a lot of stuff that keeps the audience there."
The hilarious Rhea, far more potty-mouthed than on television, hosted the event and no celeb not in attendance was safe. She shared her passion for "Dancing With the Stars" but joked: "I voted for Wayne Newton...I thought it was Marie Osmond." She also told an unflattering story about an Oscar-winning actress who she refused to name (She said her name rhymed with "Gay Runaway") who she met at last year's event and said to Rhea that she was directing a film and "I need a younger, thinner version of you...we're not young anymore."
"She's 119 and I'm 38!" Reah said, the audience roaring."I wanted to be nice to her because everyone says she's evil and maybe everyone's wrong."
"They were RIGHT."
Rhea described honoree Light as "my favorite prostitute in the history of television - ever. She made me the hooker that I am today." She was referring to Light's celebrated run as housewive-turned-prostitute Karen Wolek on ABC's "One Life To Live," a role that won her two Emmys.
The audience was shown brief clips from "The 25 Films that Changed Our Lives" which celebrates such groundbreaking LGBT films as "Parting Glances," "Making Love" "Desert Hearts," and "Longtime Companion." The Outfest Legacy Project is dedicated to film preservation and restoration.
"...This community gets itself," Light said. "You recognize the importance of your history.'