Whoopi will be hosting the Tonys...
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.
OK, the Emmys are probably never gonna be as gay at the Tonys where all kinds of gay men and women have been known to thank their spouses on stage and have often given them a nice kiss on the lips. But last night's Emmy Awards had more gay to them than usual starting with the presence of out Emmy nominees T.R. Knight (seen here helping hunky co-star Eric Dane with his tie) and Neil Patrick Harris who walked the red carpet with his cute boyfriend, actor David Burtka. 
What a difference a year makes for these two. Each lost in the supporting actor category (Knight for drama, Harris for comedy) but both are winners to me! They have shown that not only can out gay men convincingly play straight characters on television, they can get nominated for an Emmy for it! 
And then there was the front-row presence of nominee and presenter Ellen DeGeneres who cuddled with her beautiful girlfriend Portia de Rossi for all the world to see. They got a lot of camera time on the FOX telecast despite Ellen's loss in the variety performance category to Tony Bennett. 
Christina is the anti-Britney in duet with Tony Bennett...
Al Gore wins an Emmy!
OK, back to the show: Sally Field has just won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for "Brothers & Sisters." She plays Nora Walker on the ABC show, the mother of five adult children, including a son sent to serve in Iraq. Field was giving a terrific speech about motherswhen that damned orchestra ruined her flow. But she collected herself to finish strong: "Let's face it, if mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any goddamed wars in the first place!"
Backstage with the cast of "Roots"
Helen Mirren has just left the press room with her second Emmy in two years - this time for "Prime Suspect." She also won the Oscar this year and she'll take it all: "Other years, I've sat out there and not won so I'm very familiar with that feeling as well." Miiren was asked if she has m et Queen Elizabeth yet, who she played in "The Queen" and won the Oscar for. the answer is no. The Queen had invited Mirren to the White House State Dinner this year but the actress was busy filming the sequel to "National Treasure." "It's embarrassing. I felt mortified and very, very bad about it but there was nothing I could do."
Drama Series: 
No, I didn't ask her about her famous lips so I don't know if they are from Mother Nature or from Dr. 90210.
It's been four years since Deborah Gibson co-starred with Neil Patrick Harris in the Broadway production of "Cabaret." But the teen pop princess turned stage star still feels warmly toward the "How I Met Your Mother Star" who is up for the outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series Emmy on Sunday.
We gabbed last night at the Los Angeles Confidential magazine party and she told me how proud she is of the way NPH came out publicly came out last fall.
A source tells me that joining Lisa Rinna on the red carpet for the TV Guide Channel Emmy pre-show will be...Joey Fatone! Ryan, as you already know, is hosting the ceremony, the E! pre-show, checking tickets at the door, vacuuming the red carpet, working as a seat filler AND making deserts for the Governor's Ball.
I admit it, I've been kind of a bitch today. It's part sleep-deprivation and part being annoyed with a lot of stuff going on in the world right now! 
“With the expansion of cable channels and niche programming, LGBT created and consumed media is more readily available than ever before,” stated GLAAD President Neil Giuliano. (pictured below with Ang Lee) “Our Board has decided to incorporate LGBT media submissions into the existing competitive categories. We welcome the opportunity for LGBT media to submit their journalism and programming for consideration.” 
Here are some highlights of that conversation:
It seems that a different Isaiah Washington showed up to talk to "Access Hollywood" yesterday than the one who appeared on "Larry King Live" a few weeks back disparaging his former "Grey's Anatomy" co-star T.R. Knight and essentially blaming him for everything and himsefl for nothing.
In the guest actress category: the year of Judith Light continues! Judith was nominated for her role as Claire Meade. Next year she will have to compete in the best supporting actress category because she is now a regular cast member. Congrats Judith!!! Among Judith's competition is Salma Hayak, nominated as guest actress for the same show.
OK, on to "Brothers & Sisters." Hooray for Sally Field! She nabbed one of the six spots in the best actress in a drama series category for her consistently wonderful work as Nora Walker in the ABC drama. It marks her seventh Emmy nomination overall. She has won twice [not to mention those two Oscars}. I'd love to see Sally win but I think Kyra Sedgwick should take it for "The Closer." She carries that show and is the reason it's the highest-rated drama in the history of standard cable. Rachel Griffiths, who plays Field's daughter on "Brothers & Sister," earned a well-deserved best supporting actress nomination.
Isn't this great?
Meanwhile, the mega-talented Neil Patrick Harris was the only member of the ensemble cast of the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother" to get an Emmy nomination. He was nominated in the best supporting actor category for his hilarious performance as the womanizing Barney.
And then there is that crazy gal, that fun, dancing, glorious Ellen DeGeneres. She already has an Emmy for her old ABC sitcom and a truckload of daytime Emmys for her talk show and on Thursday, she was nominated for her turn as host of the Academy Awards. I also don't want to forget the great Ian McKellen, nominated for guest actor in a comedy series for an appearance on "Extras."
And speaking of the BET Awards, there is much buzz today over the unbelievable duet of "And I'm Tellin' You, I'm Not Going" by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Tony winner Jennifer Holliday who originated the role of Effie on Broadway 25 years ago. Holliday had complained loudly that she felt snubbed by those involved in the making of the "Dreamgirls" movie ih which Hudson played Effie. But the two divas were aq dynamic duo and gave each other plenty of room to soar. Hudson introduced Holliday as "my Dreamgirl, a true Dreamgirl." I came away feeling that the performances were so different that each has carved out their own piece of history. We don't have to engage in a silly "who is better game." They are both...SENSATIONAL!
Happy Saturday... I'm in Palm Springs for a getaway weekend at
The Tony Awards dropped steadily from 7.2 million at 8 p.m. to 6.4 million at 9 p.m., when it competed against "The Sopranos" conclusion on HBO and the tipoff of the NBA finals. It fell to 5.3 million viewers at 10:30 p.m., when the major awards were being handed out.
FAVORITE SPEECH: Julie White, best actress in a drama ("The Little Dog Laughed") beat, among others, past winners Angela Lansbury, Vanessa Redgrave and Swoosie Kurtz. "Oh my goodness, you Tony voters, what a buncha wacky kids...I can't feel my hands! Is that a bad thing?" She played the "hideous agent" of a closeted actor who she is discouraging from coming out. "My agents have never been hideous to me," she said, "to my face!"
PERFECT CHOICE: The evening started off perfectly with four-time Tony winner Angela Lansbury, who is back on Broadway for the first time in ages and a 2007 nominee for "Deuce," opening the show. She recalled how this was the 40th year the awards have had a full televised broadcast and recalled hosting back in 1967 when she and her "Mame" co-star Bea Arthur sang "Bosom Buddies" from the show that won them both Tonys. 
Then this adorable kid named John Gallagher Jr.(right), just 22 years old, wins for featured actor in a musical for "Spring Awakenings" and i didn't recognize him with his normal hair. In the show, he's got a real wacky do which you saw later in the telecast and that I saw when he performed on "Regis & Kelly" a few days ago.
It was the mega-talented Eberlose's second Tony win and she also performed magnificantly on the show. She said in her speech: "I left Hollywood when they told me I was over the hill. Now I'm standing here with this most distinguished award for what I consider to be the role of a lifetime..I'm over the hill in the role of a lifetime, This is so encouraging."
Wow! David Hyde Pierce has had quite a week. First he publicly acknowledges that he is a gay man (surprising few but still, it is nice) and on Sunday, he won the Tony Award for best actor in a musical for "Curtains." 
Here are "Fantastic Four" co-stars Chris Evans and Ioan Gruffudd who have a sequel out later this summer. I'm stating the obvious but is Chris Evans not the most adorable man alive? I remember the first thing I saw him in: "Cellular." I thought he was terrific in that movie, co-starring Kim Basinger. And I'm glad to see that his stardom has grown since then since that means we get to see lots and lots of him!