Lifeworks event: John Amaechi, Ellen Pompeo and mac & cheese balls...

So I'm all ready to head out to this "Live Out Loud" fundraiser for the Lifeworks organization Saturday night and have an address but no map! Mapquest, Yahoo maps and Google maps all reject me because I must have too much crap stored in my computer and am lacking memory. At least this is what my friend Ted tells me as I frantically call him and say: "Where the HELL is the 1100 block of Las Palmas Avenue?" As we gab on the phone I suddenly see this big sign that says "Live Out Loud."
I try and park in the free VIP lot before I am kindly directed to the $6 lot across the street. The first person I see that I recognize is John Amaechi! He just happened to be the main celeb guest along with "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo and is going to be the grand marshall of Sunday's gay pride parade in West Hollywood. What a BIG improvement over the grand marshall just two years ago: Paris Hilton. That remains a head scratcher.
Anyway, standing on a red carpet getting his picture taken, John sees me and says, "You're everywhere!" Once inside, I see actor Jason Stuart who is so talented and funny and we are soon joined by Mr. Amaechi himself. We gab awhile then John goes to circulate and Jason and I are joined by John Taylor, a voiceover artist and former radio personality who looks kinda like Kevin Bacon. We hung out on and off throughout the night.
John introduced me to Max Mutchnick (creator of "Will & Grace" with David Kohan). I had been assigned to do a piece for AfterElton.com on their recent pilot for CBS but had to beg off due to schedule overload. But I was curious about what what was happening. Max told me that the network had passed on the homo/hetero buddy pilot and he was disappointed. Clearly this was a pilot close to his heart since it was based on his real-life friendship and professional partnership with Kohan who he has been friends with since their days at Beverly Hills High School. CBS, the number one network with the most returning shows, has precious little prime time real estate available and, along with the other broadcast networks, are leaving less room for sitcoms. He said he was planning to get into the one-hour television business now but he's not yet quite sure which genre.
As I'm doing the schmooze thing, trays of bite-sized food are being offered and everyone is getting hooked on these macaroni and cheese balls which were as addicting as crack cocaine. They were literally battered and deep=fried balls of mac & cheese that you would dip in horseradish sauce. I tried not to count but I do believe I had seven of them. John Amaechi confessed to the crowd during his remarks that he was also "having issues" with the cheesy mac balls.
John, always so eloquent and wise, was introduced by Ellen Pompeo who was beaming as she took the stage for a short presentation about Lifeworks. It is a very worthy organization that teams LGBT youth with mentors who help them create a roadmap and set goals in five areas: career, education, wellness, home, and personal development. John and Ellen were followed by a teen who is being mentored and he talked about what it has done for his life. I didn't get his name but he got a rousing ovation and I could see in his face that standing on a stage like that in front of all of these people and telling his story so well would be something he would never forget.
At the end of the evening, I got to say hello to Michael J. Ferrera, the organization's co-founder and executive director. He's an old friend of my pal, Eddie, and we were introduced last month in Palm Springs at the Wang's in the Desert happy hour.
I congratulated him in a sensational event...