Gay/Lesbian Alliance Award Rewards Visibility

The Scene: Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton, where the Los Angeles chapter of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation held its fourth annual awards banquet. GLAAD/LA advocates visibility for gays and lesbians in the media, providing spin doctoring to counteract what it sees as anti-gay propaganda and skewed portrayals. Lots of stars filled the packed ballroom for the event, which was both optimistic and cumbrous.

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The Honorees: Roseanne and Tom Arnold, Sir Ian McKellen and several members of the U.S. armed services who were discharged when their homosexuality became known: Col. Margarethe Cammemeyer, Sgt. Perry Watkins, the Rev. Dusty Pruitt and Staff Sgt. Tom Paniccia.

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Who Was There: Steve Allen, Beatrice Arthur, Rene Auberjonois, Polly Bergen, Bruce Davison, Amanda Donohoe, Jill Eikenberry, Ella Joyce, Sheila James Kuehl, Judith Light, Paul Monette, Lisa Pelikan, Della Reese, Doris Roberts, Doug Savant, Rip Taylor, Michael Tucker and JoBeth Williams.

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Dress Code: Black-tie creative. Watkins accessorized his uniform with a prominent nose ring.

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Mayoral Race Watch: Three candidates showed up--Linda Griego, Joel Wachs and Michael Woo. Wachs worked hard pressing the flesh at a cocktail reception beforehand, but Woo cinched the Mr. Congeniality title by standing in the doorway to the ballroom and personally greeting guests as they arrived. (You’re not gonna be able to leave the house in the next few months without running into at least one of these candidates.)

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Network Bashing: ABC took out a congratulatory ad in the souvenir program, but that didn’t stop Tom Arnold from taking a slap at the network. He accepted his award with the words, “I want to thank ABC for helping--by not getting involved.”

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Running Time: Four and a half hours. Even the Oscars aren’t that long.

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Triumphs: Tom and Roseanne Arnold’s acceptance speeches, which perked up the evening considerably. Roseanne talked about performing comedy in a lesbian collective next door to an International House of Pancakes, while Tom said, “You can call me Sir Tom. I just got knighted by a queen backstage.”

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Glitches: The affair was, to use the politically correct term, organizationally impaired--volunteers were grumbling that no one had told them what to do. The crowd didn’t help either: During the speeches, Steve Allen even had to leave his seat, come onstage to commandeer the microphone and beg guests to be quiet.