The belle of Laguna finds the right words

“There’s everybody else, and then there’s Julie Harris.”

With those words, actor Charles Durning launched a tribute to the actress that had guests at the benefit for Laguna Playhouse tearing up even as they giddily cheered the five-time Tony Award winner. “No one talks less but knows more about acting,” he added. Her skill is like “light ... the way moonlight exists. It’s out there, all right, but distant, unreachable for most of us. The rest of us steal, but not her. She far surpasses all actors.”

As applause for the stage and screen actress thundered through the ballroom of the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach, Harris took her place in the spotlight.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she told supporters of the theater where, three years ago, she had launched her 25th anniversary tour of “The Belle of Amherst.” “It’s wonderful to be here. I love you all.”

Seated during the cocktail reception, the 77-year-old star, who suffered a stroke in the spring of 2001, expressed concern about speaking at the gala.

“I can’t talk,” she said, straining for the words. But when she took the stage alongside good friends Durning and Charles Nelson Reilly, her expressions of thanks flowed effortlessly. Among her appreciative fans was singer Ed Ames, who attended with his wife, Jeanne. “Julie Harris is the first lady of theater,” he said.

There is hope for her full recovery, said Reilly, who has directed Harris in 19 plays. “Just tonight, we asked her to star with Charles Durning in ‘Harvey,’ which is opening at the Laguna Playhouse in July and goes on to Broadway.” Overhearing Reilly, the actress whispered, “We’ll see.”

Harris is a rare breed of performer, Reilly added. “She’s not out to be a famous person, but to glorify the people she impersonates. With Julie, it’s not about career -- it’s about humanity.”

During the April 12 dinner, guests watched a biographical video that included clips from Harris’ films -- “A Member of the Wedding,” “East of Eden,” “I Am a Camera” -- and an interview she once gave about her love of theater: “Ah, it’s a magical place, home to me, where I can be a beautiful young woman, an evil person -- anything! It’s magic,” she said. “We all come together and some writer ... some Arthur Miller, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams ... tells us a story of what we are as human beings. What could be more exciting?”