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The presidency of Barack Obama was never far from people's minds during the 40th annual NAACP Image Awards on Thursday night where Will Smith, Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, Taraji P. Henson, Sean Combs and Angela Bassett were among the winners.

"This is a rare opportunity for me to stand on this stage today after a dream that I've wanted for a long time. We have an African-American president!" Smith said as he accepted the award for best actor in a motion picture for "Seven Pounds."

"Just know that you can!" he added.

Tyler Perry, who co-hosted the event at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles with Halle Berry,said the president "has most definitely made us all want to step up our game."

The 40th anniversary of the awards coincides with the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which is kicking off a year-long celebration in honor of its centennial

"If there had been no N-A-A-C-P, there would have been no O-B-A-M-A." Perry said. "What better way to celebrate than to watch an African-American man take the oath as the 44th president of the United States?"

Obama's Harvard Law School classmate, Hill Harper, won the award for best actor in a drama series for "CSI: NY." Harper worked hard on the Obama campaign and said backstage that "we have to continue our involvement. We need to be points of light outside and continue our grassroots activism."

Fresh off of her Grammy win, Hudson won three awards to cap a triumphant week for a young woman still coping with an unimaginable family tragedy. Her mother, brother and nephew were murdered last year and in recent weeks, she has emerged to make high-profile appearances at the Super Bowl, the Grammys then the Image Awards.

Hudson got a standing ovation as she took the stage to accept the award for best new artist for her self-titled debut album.

"Now don't start me crying again," she said to a crowd ."It always feels like home coming here ..Thank you all so much for all of your amazing support. It's always an honor to come home and to feel welcome and to feel the love...I have to thank God who is keeping me and my family back home."

Hudson lost in the female singer category to her "Dreamgirls" co-star Beyonce Knowles who said she was taken aback when producers signaled for her to wrap things up because she had never before felt so chatty.

"This has never happened because I usually get all nervous and don't know what to say," she said.

Beyonce won in a category that also included singer Rihanna who was reportedly involved in a domestic dispute with boyfriend Chris Brown on the eve of the Grammys. Both Rihanna and Brown missed the Grammys as well as the Image Awards where both were nominees.

"The Secret Life of Bees," which starred Hudson, Queen Latifah, and Dakota Fanning among others, was named outstanding motion picture while Smith's "Seven Pounds" co-star Rosario Dawson won best actress. Oscar nominee Henson won the supporting actress prize of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" while Columbus Short took home the supporting actor award for "Cadillac Records."

The television film "A Raisin in the Sun" won for outstanding television movie with stars Combs and Phylicia Rashad taking awards for their performances in it. The sitcom "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" won for outstanding comedy and acting awards for stars LaVan Davis, Lance Gross and Keshia Knight Pulliam.

Other television winners included Basset ("ER"), Tracee Ellis Ross ("Girlfriends"), Taye Diggs ("Private Practice"), and Chandra Wilson ("Grey's Anatomy").

Special honors were presented during the ceremony to former Vice President Al Gore and to sports legend Muhammad Ali was given the President's Award.

NOTE: This is the story I filed for the paper. I'll have some red carpet stuff - with a little attitude - for you in the morning!

It's a bit of a crazy day today as I rush to finish two stories for the paper then get ready to head to the Shrine Auditorium for the 40th Annual NAACP Image Awards. I'll be blogging from there tonight and have a full report by morning. In the meantime, I wanted to share some photos and memories from my experiences during awards season so far.
GRAMMY AWARDS

If you want to feel incredibly average looking, then pose for a photo with Cameron Mathison. Still, I have no regrets! The sexy "All My Children" star was at the awards as a correspondent for "Good Morning America." He's so motivated and energetic that it seems like Cameron needs at least two jobs going at once as we learned from he flew across the country each week during his successful stint on "Dancing With the Stars."

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At the Grammys, chatted up this trio of friendly guys: The Daylights. Twin brothers Ran Jackson and Ricky Jackson were at the Grammys for the first time with their bandmate Svend Lerche. Ran looks a bit like Sawyer on ABC's "Lost" while Ricky is a bit of a cleaner-cut version. Both adorable.

The gospel-roick group After Edmond caught my eye on the red carpet because of their wild hairstyles. When they came over, I was shocked to find out they are gospel singers! I told them they looked much too edgy and cool to be in this genre.

Kathy Griffin, who didn't have time to chat with me, had ALL the time in the world for Ross Mathews. Whatever.

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DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARDS
That's your faithful blogger with Dustin Lance Black who was at the DGAs to lend support to "Milk" director Gus Van Sant. A week later, Lance won the WGA award for best original screenplay and has a good chance of taking home the Oscar on Feb. 22. Here's hoping!

Lucky me with 2009 Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo who will compete with Meryl Streep, Kate Winslett, Anne Hathaway and Angelina Jolie for the coveted prize on Oscar night. Melissa is nominated for "Frozen River."

My pal Lorna Harris was a wonderful date to the DGA dinner. We've had so many adventures over the years from taking in matches on centre court of Wimbledon 17 years ago to rubbing elbows with celebs at the DGAs. Good times.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES LUNCHEON
It was fun hanging out with Sandy Cohen, entertainment writer for Associated Press and Stacy Jenel Smith, longtime writer for the Marilyn Beck column. Stacy got to sit next to Robert Downey Jr. at lunch.

Director Danny Boyle had reason to be in a good mood. Just two days earlier, he had won the DGA Award for "Slumdog Millionaire." Might as well engrave that Oscar for him now.

Better late than never. Had some drama with my photo card and feared these photos would be lost forever. But, here they are!

The Sept. 21 Emmy Awards were great fun - at least the red carpet was! I know the show itself was lacking but it's nothing a good host can't fix. Just pick a comedian, puleeze! Anyway, I had free reign on the red carpet so I was able to get all kinds of exclusive photos. Well, they look a lot like the ones you see in all the magazines but just know that I took them all with Out In Hollywood readers in mind (that probably explains why there are so many pics of Mario Lopez!)

Speaking of Mario Lopez, he really suits his new role as anchor of "Extra" so well. Every big star on the red carpet made sure to stop by Mario's booth includiing "How i Met Mother" nominee Neil Patrick Harris who, in ,my opinion, was robbed of his first Emmy win by Jeremy Piven who took home his third in a row. Gimme a break. Enough!

As Neil Patrick Harris did interviews, I hung out with his adorable boyfriend David Burtka for awhile. They seem very supportive of each other and made a very handsome couple on Emmy day.

Lee Pace, nominated for "Pushing Daisies," gave me a sorta smile after he got interviewed by Joey Fatone and Lisa Rinna for TV Guide Channel. Lee is an absolute dreamboat don't you think?

Speaking of dreamboats, David Boreanaz was one of the most dapper dudes on the red carpet. I managed to snap a photo of him. The rest of the time, I was just sorta staring at him.

I snapped a photo of Kathie Lee Gifford waving to me but am sharing this one with you instead because it's got Kathy Griffin in it!
Kathie Lee and her "Today Show" co-host Hoda Kotb chatted up all the big stars but didn't get any special digs.

They had to stand out there in the hot sun behind a velvet rope just like most of the rest of the media while "Access Hollywood," "Entertainment Tonight," "The Insider," "Extra," "TV Guide Channel" and "E!" had fancy booths with staircaises etc.

It was one of those elaborate booths that caused the most horrifying moment on the red carpet. The legendary Mary Tyler Moore (seen here leaving the 'Access Hollywood' booth with Cloris Leachman) later slipped on the top step of the "Insider' booth and fell down hard. I was about 15 feet away, saw it happen, and felt awful until near the end of the show when I saw Mary walk out on the stage, smiling, and paying tribute to her friend Betty White.

The star of the classic sitcoms "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," is a seven-time Emmy winner and is doing a series of guest spots on NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" as Brooke Shields' mother.

And speaking of Brooke Shields (don't ya just love my silly segues?), here she is with Mario Lopez (Him? Again?). I have noticed this the three times I've seen Brooke Shields in person: she is even more beautiful in person than on television. And she carries herself with such class and grace. I'm a big fan.

Here is the glorious Mary-Louise Parker, the Emmy nominated star of "Weeds" who probably deserved the Emmy more than Tina Fey. The night before, I iinterviewed Mary-Louise at a pre-Emmy party and she had on dramatic make-up and a super lowcut dress. She changed her look dramatically for the actual ceremony. I thought she looked senesational both times!

AFTER THE JUMP: Teri Hatcher, Jeff Probst,Mariska Hargitay, Steve Carell,Daniel Dae KimJohn Krazincki and probably more Mario Lopez! Keep reading...

Anyone who saw this episode knows it had Emmy written all over it. Out actress Cynthia Nixon played a woman with multiple personalities on an episode of "Law & Order: SVU" last fall and was just stunning as she segued from one persona to another. Not many actresses could have pulled it off but Cynthia did and at Saturday's Creative Arts Emmys, she won for outstanding guest actress in a drama.

It;s the second Emmy for Cynthia who won her first trophy in 2004 for playing Miranda on "Sex and the City." She also won a Tony Award a few years back for the Broadway play "Rabbit Hole."

Congratulations to Cynthia!

I spent the afternoon covering the red carpet at the Ceative Arts Emmys and it was well-worth my time since I snagged some great interviews that I'll be sharing with you throughout the coming days. I was most excited to talk to Elaine Stritch, Sharon Gless and, as always, Kathy Griffin.

Here is the column I wrote for tomorrow's paper which I share with you now:

So what if she calls them "The Schemmys." It's Kathy Griffin who really put the Creative Arts Emmys on the map with her wild acceptance speech antics last year.

On Saturday afternoon, I chatted with Kathy as she made her way into the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles for this year's show and wondered if she felt maybe a tad remorseful for giving the event what is now a pretty famous nickname.

Not a chance.

"Shmemmys is an endearment that I say with complete love because of the fact that it starts at 2:30 (p.m.) is not something a real award show would ever do," Kathy said. "I got up for hair and make-up around 4 (a.m.), it was still dark out. But there's also a lot of big stars here so I'm really excited. I'm also excited to see who's too famous to walk the red carpet. I, of course, am not."

Plenty of stars - both nominees and presenters - did show up including James Gandolfini, Lee Pace, Jennifer Beals, Valerie Bertinelli, James Pickens, Joe Mantegna, Chloe Sevegny, Bryan Cranston, Masi Oka, Seth Green, and Sarah Chalke, who co-hosted the evening with Neil Patrick Harris.

These are the Emmys given the week before the televised prime-time
Emmy telecast to animated programs, reality shows, guest spots on comedy and dramatic series and in technical categories including make-up and editing.

Highlights from the show will air on E! on September 20.

I wondered how Miss Griffin felt about returning as the reigning reality
show queen after her win last year for "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List."

"It's a little bit of a middle finger up at high school, it's not
even against Hollywood," she said. "It's more against the cheerleaders who tortured me in high school. I actually wish they were all here right now - every pom pom girl and cheerleader. Then I would finally have my moment."

Sharon Gless has two Emmys at home for "Cagney and Lacey" but was excited to be nominated in the guest actress category for an episode she did of FX's "Nip/Tuck."

"This my ninth nomination but I've never been nominated in this category and I've never been to the Creative Arts (Emmys)," said Sharon, who added that she was surprised to get the nomination but gave credit to series creator Ryan Murphy who she said had "written the sickest most twisted thing he's ever written" for her to play.

Also nominated was Broadway legend Elaine Stritch, already a
two-time Emmy winner going into Saturday's ceremony. We had a good laugh when Elaine, nominated again as guest actress for her role as Alec Baldwin's mother on NBC's "30 Rock," talked about a letter she got from a man at the Television Academy "telling me how to behave."

"The part I really loved about it was when he said, 'And don't pay any attention to those people who hug you on your way up (to the stage) because they just want to get their faces on camera,'" she said, laughing. "Are you kidding? He told me how to do it! It's the funniest thing. He tells you how to behave emotionally, physically. I thought, 'This is Stella Adler's class!' And then he said, 'And please do this in 33 seconds."

It was also great to see Marissa Jaret Winokur, the Tony winner
("Hairpsray") who made it to the semifinals of "Dancing With the Stars" last season. She and her Emmy nominated husband Judah Miller ("King of the Hill") said the event was essentially their first date since the arrival of their son, Zev Isaac Miller, seven weeks ago.

"My husband had to get nominated for an Emmy for us to go out,"
Marissa said. "I put our son in a little onesie today with a little tuxedo and bow tie. I got him dressed up to take pictures with us so it was very exciting. It's a big day."

Happy 27th birthday to the great Roger Federer! How cool is it that on this day, the tennis champ from Switzerland was chosen to carry his country's flag to lead out the delegation during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics at the National Stadium in Beijing, China.

"As the World Turns" on-screen couple Luke and Noah (Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann) presented Ellen DeGeneres with the Daytime Emmy Award Friday night for outstanding talk show host.

Bizarre that I did not even notice this until after the ceremony. Backstage, you have can watch the ceremony on TVs but when another winner comes backstage for a Q&A you often stop paying attention to the show for a few minutes. I think Tyra was holding court backstage when Nuke gave Ellen her award. They certainly are a dashing duo and Ellen, of course, is a goddess...

BEST SPEECH: Tyra Banks, hands down. Here is the best part: "They said "The Tyra Banks Show" would last two weeks, and we are entering our fourth season this September. And I just have a message for everybody out there. When you have a dream, there are going to be many people that tell you that you cannot do it, that you are not good enough. And I want you to tell them to kiss your dimply, flat, juicy, bootilicious, skinny, jiggly, saggy, fat ass."

MOST WINS: Anthony Geary, who has played Luke Spencer on "General Hospital" for about 30 years, showed, once again, that his performance and his character remain the best in daytime televisioin - with or without Laura! After picking up his record sixth Emmy Award for outstanding actor, Geary reflected backstage on why he was so emotional about it: "It gets more exciting. Soap operas are becoming the young persons game so at my age, I become more excited every time I'm nominated."

LONGTIME COMING: Jeanne Cooper, at last, won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress for her longtime role on "The Young and the Restless." The 79-year-old actress had a hilarious opening line to her speech: "I bet you thought I died." Then the xx-year-old reflected on how unforgiving technology can be on one's features: "Oh dear...high definition, it;s a bitch, isn't it?"
Backstage, Miss Cooper said she only made up her kind to come to the kudofest on Monday after some pressure from various higher ups on the show and the network. Her win, she said, "is totally shocking to me. So many good, performances turned in. It's always shocking (pause) When you lose...There are about three times I thought I should have (won)" "I received lifetime achievement award and that, of course, is a thrill, a big thrill. Winning was a different kind of thrill:"

HOSTS WITH THE MOST: Big kudos to Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepard who brought so much energy and fun to their jobs and, in the process, re-invigorated the entire Daytime Emmys franchise. Producers wisely had nominees sitting at tables like the Golden Globe Awards and this allowed our completely charming hosts to mingle with the high profile guests like Barbara Walters and other nominees. ABC would be very wise to ask these two back in the future. Sherri looked sensationally slim in all three of her outfits and Cameron is so good looking that you want to slap him but don't because he also seems like a genuinely nice guy. He told us backstage that while the hosting part of his career has taken off, "All My Children" remains his top gig because it's like family and, frankly, "it pays the best." Meanwhile, Sherri thinks the two of them should headline some kind of sitcom together.

In closing, I have some thoughts about this whole Daytime Emmy Awards experience. The funny thing about daytime stars is that when you see one like Susan Lucci or one that is on a show you watch like Van Hansis, you get excited and want to talk to them. But if you don 't watch their show, you could have no idea who the heck they are. You totally blow them off on the red carpet and an hour later, they are on national television accepting an Emmy! But whoever they are, I've never seen a group more accessible to their fans and to the press. It was such a fun event because of all the good vibes in the air. I had a great time!

When it comes to the red carpet at the Daytime Emmy Awards, EllenDeGeneres is an absolute rock star.

"Ellen! Ellen! Over here!" "Ellen! Look this way!" Ellen, just one question!" That last urgent request came from me and Ellen and fiancee Portia de Rossi did pause for a quick question and I asked how badly she wanted to win.

"Sure I want to win," she said. "But if you don't win, it doesn't really matter because happy for other people to win. But of course I want to win."

So I asked Portia: "Would she really be happy for someone else?"

"Oh yeah," Portia said. "She really is happy for other people. The ladies on "The View" have been nominated 11 times and they haven't won yet."

As it turned out, Ellen could be happy for herself as she won outstanding talk show host - her fourth consecutuve triumph in the category and the co-hosts of "The View" are starting their olwn streak of Susan Lucci proportions. Lucci was famously nominated 19 times before finally winning for her role as Erica Kane on "All My Children."

Ellen and Portia were among the stars sweating under the intense afternoon heat in Hollywood as they made their way up a long red carpet leading to the Kodak Theatre.

But soap opera queen Lucci was regal and cool as a cucumber with someone from ABC keeping her shaded underneath an umbrella. I'm going to feature our interview in a seperate column next week.

Just about an hour before showtime, co-hosts Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepard did red carpet interviews and I gabbed with both of them wanting to know how they were holding up.

Cameron said Sherri "keeps coming up with funnier and funnier stuff. I'm just her straight man. i just love working with her."

Sherri looked glamorous and slimmer than every in her blue gown and told me: "I stopped eating so I could fit into my dress, I haven't eaten in about three or four days. I'm really hungry."

My spot on the red carpet was right next to a bank of male photgraphers who kept telling the actresses how gorgeous they looked and snapping a gazilion pics of them and all but ignored Luke and Noah from "As the world Turns." Nominee Van Hansis and on-screen partner Jake Silbermann stood akwardlly for a bit then moved on as the clueless photogs did not realize that these two good looking guys are involved in one of the hottest storylines in the history of daytime TV.

I chatted up handsome as ever Tuc Watkins of "One Live to Live," Tracy Bregman, a nominee and past winner for "The Young and the Restless" and her co-star Doug Davidson, Stephen Macht of "General Hospital," Jay Kenneth Johnson of "Days of Our Lives," and John Hensley who plays Luke's dad on "ATWT." My very favorite was a chat I had with Hillary B. Smith, a past Emmy winner for her role as Nora on "One Life to Live." I'll post some of these encounters in the coming days.

...ha!

Hey, I can't help it if the guy is newsworthy. It's just been announced that NPH will join the adorable Kristin Chenoweth on July 17 to reveal the nominees for the Emmy Awards which will be marking their 60th year.

I think Neil has an awfully good chance of snagging his second supporting actor in a comedy nod for "How I Met Your Mother" and it would really be cool if Tony winner Kristin was recognized for "Pushing Daisies."

The Emmy awards will air on Sunday, Sept. 21 on ABC.

What a terrific show! I watched the telecast honoring the best of Broadway at the 12th Annual Los Angeles Tony Awards Party at the Skirball Center in LA. Florence Henderson charmingly hosted the evening where Carol Channing presented Tommy Tune with a lifetime achievement award after the Tonys were over.

I can't imagine a more fun way to watch the Tonys (except maybe actually being there at Radio City Music Hall in New York). What a crowd! At my table was Tony winning composer Jeff Marx, who co-wrote "Avenue Q," and throughout the room were such stars as Charles Durning, Betty Garrett, Carol Cooke, Anne Jeffreys, Charlotte Rae, Shari Belafonte, and William Schallart, among others.

I did a joint interview with Miss Channing and Mr. Tune that I will share with you in a post later today as well as an interview with Florence Henderson.

Here are some of my impressions from the ceremony:

HOSTESS W/THE MOSTEST: Whoopi Goldberg, God bless ya. You were perfection as you showed up for little comic bits at just the right time and held the show together wonderfully. Please host again next year.

POPULAR PATTI: The crowd, which watched the show on giant screens as well as smaller flat screen TVs, was really wild about Patti LuPone. When she finished singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from "Gypsy," the room burst into sustained applause. Then when she won, the crowd erupted with cheers. A very popular win for this Broadway legend who, stunningly, had not won a Tony in 28 years. She had three losses since her 1980 win for "Evita" including a few years back for "Sweeney Todd." It was Patti's night and everyone loved how she takked the orchestra down when it tried to play over her.

BEST REUNION: The original cast of "Rent" did a moving tribute to the late Jonathan Larsen who died before his ground-breaking show opened. It has now passed 5000 performances on Broadway.

NICE TOUCH: Having Jack Klugman, Broadway's original Herbie in "Gypsy," introduce LuPone's musical number.

ANNOYING PRESENTER: Julie Chen. She did a fine job, for a robot. (Her nickname is Chenbot). So why, other than the fact that she is married to CBS honcho Les Moonves, is the host of "Big Brother" on the Tony telecast? As if she's not already rammed down our throats enough already. A completely uninteresting television "personality."

SCARIEST PRESENTER: Was the the Unibomber accepting Stephen Sondheim's lifetime achievement award? No, it was Mandy Patinkin who doesn't seem to have shaved since quitting "Criminal Minds" a year ago.

HOTTEST GUYS: Hands down, Cheyene Jackson wearing those short shorts and singing a number from "Xanadu." He's so handsome, so built, so talented and so gay! The perfect man. Runners-up: Anthony Rapp and Taye Diggs from "Rent" cast and, one of the sexiest men alive: Harry Connick Jr.

LOOKING GOOD: A pair of sixtysomething actresses who are also three-time Tony winners looked as good as they ever have when they walked out to present awards: Liza Minnelli and Glenn Close. Glenn always seems to look sensational as she is clearly fit and either has the best genes on Earth or a really superb plastic surgeon. Either way, she's still hot! As for Liza, she walked out in a little black dress and she's thin again! I love Liza even when she married that creepy hair plugs dude so I'm glad to see she is in one of her healthy stretches. Still, Is it just me or did it seem like one side of her mouth was kind of paralyzed?

OK, so back at the Skirball: there was a silent auction and I bid on beautifully framed and signed posters of Bernadette Peters' "Gypsy" (bidding for LuPone's started at $250) and "The Country Girl" signed by Peter Gallagher, Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand. I checked moments before the auction closed and had been outbid on "Gypsy" but "Country Girl" seemed to be mine. But, in the end, someone else got there under the wire and outbid me! Dammit!

Still, it was a good dinner, good wine, nice company. I asked Jeff Marx where his "Avenue Q" Tony Award is kept and he said at his parent's house in Hollywood, FL. "but it comes back to visit every once in awhile if I need it to speak at a college or something." Florence was kind enough to keep the crowd updated on the score of the Lskers-Celtics game during commercial breaks as well as Tiger Woods' US Open progress. They oughta let her host the Tonys themselves. Florence Henderson is an amazing woman and one of the real, great showbiz pros.

The year was 1980 and Patti LuPone beat out, among others, Sandy Duncan in "Peter Pan" and Ann Miller in "Sugar Babies."

It is 28 years later and again Tony Award night. Miss LuPone is the front-runner to win her second Tony, this time for "Gypsy." I'm rooting for her and will be watching the telecast live at a Tony event in LA where Tommy Tune will be honored and Carol Channing will be among the celebrity guests.

I'll have a recap later...

Here is a Tony Awards number from the mid-90s with then-host Rosie O'Donnell, Patti LuPone, Betty Buckley and Jennifer Holliday...

Whoopi Goldberg, so perfect as the moderator on "The View," seems to have done it all in showbiz. She's an Oscar winner ("Ghost"), she's headlined big box office hits ("Sister Act") and a classic ("The Color Purple"), headlined on Broadway ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom") had her own talk show, sitcom and radio show, and hosted everything from the Academy Awards to the Grammys to Comic Relief.

But she has never hosted the Tony Awards. Until now.

Whoopi will emcee the 2008 telecast of Broadway's big night, after two years in which the award ceremony had no single host. In 2005 Hugh Jackman served as host for the third year in a row. A large group of presenters and performers served as collective hosts in 2006 and 2007. Other multiple-year hosts have included Rosie O'Donnell who did three years in a row in the 90s and Angela Lansbury.

CBS will broadcast the Tonys live from Radio City Music Hall on June 15. Nominations will be announced Tuesday.

I'm watching "The View" (Elisabeth Hasselbeck is beyond irritating today but Whoopi controls her better than Rosie could) and they are announcing the Daytime Emmy nominations. Van Hansis walked out to announce the outstanding young actress contenders and when he was finished, it was announced that he had been nominated for outstanding young male actor. I have raved about his skillful performance as gay teen Luke . He makes us believe in Luke and care about him no matter how outrageous the storylines and no matter how many months pass without him kissing his boyfriend.

Also nominated in the talk show categories: Ellen DeGeneres nominated as host and her show got a nod as did "The View" and its five co-hosts - even Hasselbeck.

Next to the Oscars, the GLAAD Awards are probably my favorite kudofest to cover all damned year. It's just so GAY and fun. Everyone there is either gay or gay-friendly. Well, I guess it really isn't very different from the Academy Awards!

I arrived at the Kodak Theatre just after 4 p.m. to make sure I got checked in and situated on the red carpet. I had both a press credential and a VIP ticket for the cocktail party, the show itself and the gala dinner following the show. Last year, I wandered back and forth from the red carpet to the cocktail party but this year, things were roped off in a very imposing way. But I spotted these bottles of some kind of vitamin water at the bar and decided to grab one. I stupidly asked the guard near me if that was cool with him. Of course it wasn't! It may have been 10 feet from us but he was not gonna let me fetch a drink despite my ticket. I remarked that it is better to say sorry than ask permission and got a fellow journalist - Japhy Grant - to toss me a bottle. He was standing in this forbidden area with Logo's Jason Belini and Itay Hod. They didn't ask permission. Smart guys.

As stars began to appear, I noticed a strange phenomenon: red carpet squatters! Some woman with booze on her breath and slurring her words planted herself next to me and said she was friends with one of the sponsors and was taking photos. I held my tongue until she interrupted my interview with Kathy Griffin. After Kathy left, I turned to her and said, "You have got to move before I turn you in." Booze breath disappeared quick! Then there was the woman on my left who said she was from KCBS/KCAL. She had a generic mic and was shooting her own video. i know there have been budget cuts but pul-eeze. She didn't interrupt my interviews so I let her stay.

The frustrating thing about red carpets is unless you are one of the first 5-6 outlets in the line, the handlers try to limit you to one or two questions before they pull the star. So you have to really try and keep the star engaged and just ignore the handler who is making that sign across their neck that means "cut it off!"

I'll be sharing the interviews throughout the week but here is a rundown of who I gabbed with and my impressions: Janet Jackson (Speak up! Can't hear ya!), Tom Ford (Hello, gorgeous!), Jackie Warner of Bravo's "Workout" (absolutely awesome and inspiring), TR Knight (Can I see your boyfriend's ID?), Christopher Gorham (having a very good hair day and a very cute face day), Lesie Jordan (A delight!), Jeff Lewis of Bravo's "Flipping Out" (just like he is on television!), Maeve Quinlan who plays the mother of a gay teen on "South of Nowhere" (Could every actress please be this articulate and thoughtful?), Billy Baldwin (You really are the cutest Baldwin brother!), Ron Rifkin of "Ugly Betty" (Do you really want to be giving this interview? You look like you'd rather have needles in your eyes), Sofia Vergara (my new girl crush!), Rufus Wainwright (fabulous in so many ways), Andrea James and Calpernia Adams (Gorgeous gals!) and Jennifer Beals (Why are you so damned serious all the time!).

By the time the show started, I was happy to be able to sit down! I sat next to a cute writer-actor named Troy who I gabbed with before the show and felt really stupid when I complained about how high up our seats were. Mine was a complimentary seat. His cost $450.

Gulp.

Will write about the show in a seperate post. So let's zip on ahead to the after-party.. First of all, I had not eaten since 10 a.m. and forgot to put a Clif bar or something in my bag which I usually do at awards shows. So by the time the show was at the half-way point, i started to imagine that everyone sitting in front of me was a drumstick and all the little people way down there on the stage were french fries!

So once the show ended, basically bolted for the escalator upstairs to the ballroom where there was suddenly a logjam. I ask a security guard what the hold-up is. He says they have not yet opened the doors to the dinner. Ugh. But I forget about my hunger when John Amaechi stepped out of an elevator near me (John, a former NBA player, is hard to miss!) and we exchanged hellos and a hug. Then the doors open and I head straight to my table, wolf down the salad that is already at my spot then go outside to briefly hunt for stars with my pal Jim Key (pictured w/me, above). We see Billy Baldwin and get a picture snapped with this tall drink of water. I head back in and the entree is waiting for me (I had asked the waiter to [place it there even if I wasn't back at my seat). It was chicken and some kind of potsticker things. I ate it fast, made minimal chit chat, plowed through the gift bag then headed back out. Worked the room and saw Wilson Cruz who I adore and got a picture with he and Mr. Amaechi and remarked that I was in the middle of an interesting sandwich. (Is that naughty? I didn't mean it that way, honest!)

But it was best running into Tuc Watkins, the handsome actor who plays one-half of the gay couple on "Desperate Housewives," has played the scheming David Vickers on "One Life to Live" on and off for more than 10 years, and played a gay TV exec on one of my favorite all-time shows: "Beggars and Choosers." As I walked up, he said, "Greg, right?" I figured he got a copy of the column I wrote on him last fall. He never got it but said, "I remember talking to you because you ask really insightful questions. I remember it was a really good interview."

I loved the compliment for sure but wanted some scoop: What about this gay commitment ceremony on the season finale. Tuc said they are just beginning to work on it and seemed unsure of just how much he could say about. Just then Marc Cherry, his boss on the show, walked up and I moved on to let them chat. Good thing Marc had earlier provided me with some info.

That was about it. Saw lots of friends and fellow journalists but I don't want to bore you with all that! I know you just want the glitz, the glamour and the celeb dish!

-- Thanks to photographer extraordinaire Brian Putman for the pics!

The GLAAD Media Awards were a pretty star-studded affair but there was no star who burned brighter than the event's big honoree Janet Jackson who got the night's only standing ovation.

She only did a few non-televised red carpet interviews and, somehow, one of them was with me. So it was quite surreal experience to be talking to her then to suddenly be surrounded by, literally, dozens of tape recorders and microphones of other reporters horning in on our chat.

Janet just kept talking like it happens all the time, which I'm sure it does! I wanted to know how she felt about being honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation with its Vanguard Award for her influence in increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS and LGBT equality in the mainstream media.

"I love it," Janet said. "I never expected it in a million years so when I heard they wanted to honor me, I was really taken aback. It's just for the work that I've done with AIDS and acknowledging the gay and lesbian community through my music and so on. I'm just very appreciative."

Janet, whose chart-topping single "Together Again" was a tribute to the close friends she lost to AIDS, said she grew up in a very gay-friendly household.

"Even when I was younger, when I was growing up, my mother was very religious but there were a lot of kids who were dancers that she brought into the home and now that I think about it, think back, they were gay. They all called her mother and she treated every one of them like they were her children. And that's where it kind of started I suppose and I've been around the community all my life."

Janet's award was presented Saturday night inside a sold-out Kodak Theater in Hollywood by Ellen DeGeneres. Other stars in attendance included Billy Baldwin, Wilson Cruz, Jennifer Beals, Cindy Crawford, Sharon Stone, Christopher Gorham, Sally Field, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Leslie Jordan, Becki Newton, Michael Urie and Candis Cayne, among others.

More reports from the GLAAD Awards to come over the next several days!

I had a ringside seat for the 40th Annual Academy of Magical Arts Awards show on Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and it was certainly worth putting on my tuxedo for. I didn't know much about this great entertainment tradition but sure learned a lot about it over the course of a very entertaining evening. There were plenty of celebrity presenters mixed in with performances of various magicians who did some amazing tricks that I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around.

You also know it's gonna be a fun awards show when among the celebs on stage are Neil Patrick Harris and Bruce Vilanch.

Neil to Bruce: "There's a lot more to show business than just doing tricks!"
Bruce: "This is not what Bette Midler told me."

Later, the famously overweight and shaggy-haired Bruce (wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Big Boned") suddenly noticed his image being projected on a large video screen and said: "That's a very scary close up. I look like Anna Nicole's mother!"

Jason Alexander performed a magic trick with Loni Anderson and also provided some comic relief by taking the stage on several occasions to poke fun at some of anything and everything including the ballroom's sound system: "I sound like I'm ground control at NASA" and the unfortunate height of the podium: "I like when I'm standing here in front of a roomful of people, to be able to rest my nipples."

I was seated at the same table near the stage as Rose Marie, the great star of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Hollywood Squares" and scores of other TV shows. She addressed the crowd from the table, told a few stories, and described the castle as "the most wonderful place in the world...I have worked with every damned magician and that goes way back...I had a magician come over to me and say, 'You worked with my father' and he was 80 years old!

I started the evening on the red carpet chatting up the various celebs on hand including a gorgeous Loni Anderson, actor Bruce Davison who was Oscar-nominated for "Longtime Companion," Bob Barker, Julie Newmar and several others. My interviews with them will be popping up on the site in the coming days and weeks. Also there were Tippi Hedren, June Lockhart, and Hal Sparks, among others.

As the start of dinner grew closer, there was a bit of a red carpet log jam. Jason Alexander and I had been trying to connect but he kept getting pulled away then when he was finally ready, I was deep in conversation with Neil Patrick Harris. So what did this great star of "Seinfeld," the Broadway stage and films do? He casually leans against a wall and waits a good five minutes for me to finish with NHP.

While Jason was a great sport, the same cannot be said of David Krumholtz who stars in the CBS drama "Numb3rs" as a crime-solving math professor. I've never seen the show so I didn't recognize Krumholtz right off the bat but saw him being interviewed by a few people and was curious. So when he walked by, I (gasp!) asked him his name.
A star of his magnitude clearly was not pleased: "What a question," he snapped. "I'm not gonna answer that." Then he walked away shaking his head in that "Can you believe that guy?" kinda way. I was still curious so I asked the TV reporter who had just finished interviewing him before my David Spade-like "SNL" moment ("And you are???") and the TV dude said: "I don't know his name but he was in "10 Things I Hate About You." So OK, I've since looked up his credits. He's done many TV shows and feature films including playing Bernard the elf in "The Santa Clause" and its first sequel. Ironically, one of his other movie credits is 2005's "Guess Who."

The week began on such a high with all the Oscar hoopla and ended quite emotionally with layoffs in my newsrooms and having to abruptly say goodbye to 22 people. So, I want to make my final post of the day a collection of happy memories from the Academy Awards. Here are most of the other Oscar-related posts from this week in case ya missed some of them:

-- On the Red Carpet at the Academy Awards

-- Academy Awards: Backstage Moments with the winners...

-- Academy Awards: Inside the Governors Ball

-- Scott Rudin ends Oscar telecast on a queer note...

-- Academy Awards: Greg's Red Carpet Snaps...

-- Red Carpet Slight of Hand...

-- Chatting up Donny Osmond on Oscar's red carpet...

-- My thoughts on the Whoopi Oscar snub...

-- Gary Busey is a red carpet menace...

I gotta say, this was the most fun that I've ever had at the Academy Awards. It was just one of those years that was filled with good vibes. good interviews and a lot of excitement. It's days like this that make me so grateful for what I do and to be able to have the opportunities to have a front row seat to some of these big Hollywood events. I am so not over it! I wanted to share with you some of the snapshots I took while on the red carpet. Some aren't the best because I was juggling a tape recorder, cell phone and camera kinda all at once.

The Denzel Washington-directed drama "The Great Debaters" may have been ignored by Oscar voters, but the movie about a college debate team was the big winner at the 39th annual NAACP Image Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday night. I was backstage when Washington celebrated winning best picture and best actor along with the movie's Jurnee Smollett (best actress) and Denzel Whitaker (supporting actor).

"I'm happy for everybody up here," a beaming Denzel said. "I've been very fortunate to be at a lot of awards but I'm very grateful for this one and happy that some of these young people are being recognized."

Denzel, who had longer hair than usual in the film, was asked about why he was now sporting a completely bald head. He explained that he is about to start shooting a film with Tony Scott and John Travolta and "I'm fiddling around with different looks."

Actor/writer/filmmaker Tyler Perry also a big winner. His TBS series "House of Payne" won three awards including comedy series and Janet Jackson won best supporting actress for Perry's film "Why Did I Get Married?" Backstage, he said it wasn't as difficult as people think for him to juggle his different roles in each production: "It's whatever I'm doing a the time. Acting has its place, writing has its place, producing has its place."
But, Perry admitted, he is a busy man.
"This year has been crazy, it's been very, very overwhelming for me," he said. "There's a lot going on.

Herbie Hancock, fresh off his shock Grammy win for Album of the Year, talked backstage about the experience of that victory on Sunday night: "I think it's very clear that I was truly, like, stunned. But there was amazing joy that I felt. I really wanted to share that feeling with the people there that night. It was a really humbling moment for me and for jazz."

Presenter India.Arie didn't win a Grammy and had mentioned on the air that she had pointedly skipped the show despite being nominated. Backstage, she elaborated a bit: "It was a very quiet boycott but I boycotted it...I was tired of the politics. It hurts to know that you are going to be ignored. Yes, the Grammys, they annoy me... I was at home on the couch eating chocolates and laughing and crying and watching the TV and yelling. It was more authentic for me. I didn't feel I had any reason to be there and I was right. Some things are so predictable that it just makes you mad."

"CSI: NY" star Hill Harper, winner of the best actor in a drama series award, talked more
backstage about campaigning for Barack Obama than about his win: "Barack Obama and I have known each other 20 years, we went to Harvard Law School together. I've been working very hard. It's been a wonderful experience, a wonderful journey. We have a long way to go. He's running against an incredible candidate. I've known for all these years how magnificant and brilliant and caring he is as an individual."

Since special honoree Ruby Dee has been an inspiration to so many, she was asked backstage who had been her inspiration. She shared a story about Emma, the woman who raised her and her three siblings and who she considers her mother: "She turned my life in a whole different course than it might have been having come from teenaged parents...kids who were parents before they should have been. ...She was 13 years older than my father and wanted to raise us all...I had a gift for words and language and expressing myself and she recognized that. Being an educator herself, she was atuned to these kinds of things of in all four of these children. She had become the mother of us.... We have to pay attention to our chidlren, she taught me that. My mother, Emma."

Things started a little dodgy with having to park in the assigned lot that is a full city block away from The Shrine. It included having to walk under the freeway lugging a laptop and I gotta say, I was royally pissed. I've never covered these awards before and vowed to never do it again. I mean, no shuttles? Then a bottleneck at the entrance to the red carpet. The only cool part was at least I was stuck next to Chandra Wilson of "Grey's Anatomy" (pictured above).

Anyway, the red carpet at the NAACP Image Awards was kinda like watching a NASCAR race: Oh, there went Vanessa Williams. Whoosh! Taye Diggs...whoosh! Stevie Wonder...whoosh! No time to talk to do print inrerviews it seems. People to see, places to go I guess.

But some of the stars I did chat up more than made walking under the freeway well worth it. First of all, there was the divine Loretta Devine who is such a hoot! And right before they closed down the carpet, got to have a chat with Audra MacDonald, the four time Tony winner and star of ABC's "Private Practice." Also great to talk to CCH Pounder from "The Shield" and Regina Taylor of "The Unit" but to me, will always be the star of the sublime "I'll Fly away." Had a nice talk with Denzel Whittaker who was so terrific in "The Great Debaters" and "Everybody Loves Chris" star Tyler James Williams.

Then headed backstage

Well, I'm backstage at the NAACP Awards and the show is just getting started. Janet Jackson has just won the supporting actress prize for "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married" beating out Oscar nominee Ruby Dee. (huh?)

"I was really not expecting this," she said.

Me neither honey.

Host DL Hughley made a crack about Aretha Franklin, making sure to introduce her as "The Queen of Soul" to avoid getting a nasty email from her majesty, She's in the front row and being honored right now and is wearing some kinda crazy of wacky outfit. I like the wig though.

Jordin Sparks at the choir The Sounds of Blackness sing "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" and Tyler Perry introduced her as "the one and only queen of soul." Aretha is clearly having a better night than the one on Sunday when she was dethroned by Beyonce who dared to call Tina Turner the queen.

"This is the icing on the cake for me," Aretha said as she accepted the Vanguard Award. "I've had a wonderful and memorable two weeks out here in Los Angeles and I'm going home in a couple of days with wonderful memories..."