GLAAD Media Awards recap: “Modern Family” and “Glee” win; Kirstin Chenowith honored; Dolly Parton surprise guest!

I must say, Sunday night’s GLAAD Media Awards in downtown Los Angeles was one of the most emotional that I can remember in about a decade of covering the LA ceremony, Reports  Greg in Hollywood.

Modern Family and Glee tied for outstanding comedy series. While accepting for Family, Jesse Tyler Ferguson joked: ‘I’ve always actually kind of dreamed of holding a Tony Award but this is just as cool – and just as gay! … We’re thrilled to accept it and honored to be here.”

Chris Colfer and Mike O’Malley, who play father and son on Glee, accepted their show’s award. Said Chris: “GLAAD has made Glee so happy.”

O’Malley found it ironic to accepting a comedy award because “I have yet to say a funny thing on the show.”

Project Runway won the outstanding reality show award with one of the show’s contestants (sorry, didn’t get the name!) telling the audience that “my mom and dad found out that I’m gay and have a partner on Project Runway.”

MSNBC’s Laurence O’Donnell won the outstanding TV Journalism Segment Award for his coverage of openly gay Ft. Worth City Councilman Joel Burns’ emotional speech to gay teens telling them: “I know that life can seem unbearable. I know that the people in your household, or the people in your school, may not understand you, and they may physically harm you. But I want you to know that it gets better.”

O’Donnell ran the entire speech and then had Joel and his husband on his show. He told the crowd that the award really belongs to Burns and called the councilman to the stage. Burns said: “I’d like to say through the work of GLAAD and responsible journalists like Laurence O’Donnell, I think societal attitudes have changed in the last six months.”

“It’s not the responsibility of those kids to end bullying in their schools,” Burns said. “It’s the responsibility of every single person and all of us.”

Kristin Chenoweth was such a worthy recipient of the Vanguard Award (presented to her by her Promises, Promises leading man Sean Hayes). She’s a beloved figure in the LGBT community and that affection only deepened after her heartfelt acceptance speech.

She talked about her Christian faith and how it never prevented her from accepting gay people. Her parents, she said, told her early on: “You will love everyone the same.”

Her father was more proud of the award she got from The Point Foundation than for the Emmy Award she was nominated for in the same year.

Kristin’s speech was funny and honest as she talked about the gay people in her life dating back to a friend in elementary school who the kids cruelly called a “dyke” and the boy who lived across the street “and got beat up for wearing pink” and her cousin Pam or “Pam the man who came out of the womb wearing overalls.” Then she had to pause so to not break down in tears as she spoke of her best friend Danny who she met in college and who immediately assured her they would fix her highlights adding “I don’t care what it costs.”

Then, the Tony winner (You’re A Good Men, Charlie Brown) and the Emmy winner (Pushing Daisies) wrapped up her wonderful speech by telling the adoring crowd: “This is the biggest honor I have ever received.”

Sean Hayes clearly adores Kristin but began his presentation with some good-natured jokes: “The first time I saw her, I thought the first thing most people thought: ‘The circus was in town.’”

Then he added, more seriously: “Every day with Kristin was special … Aside from being the most talented person person, Kristin is the kindest human being that I’ve ever known which is more important than anything. She is light and I love her and would do anything for her.”

The evening was co-hosted by Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones who were pretty much a riot. Amy, a former regular on Saturday Night Live, kicked things off by assuring the crowd: “I’m not Victoria Jackson!” [Jackson, a former SNL regular, is very publicly anti-gay]. Then when someone in the crowd yelled out that they loved her, Poehler cracked: “Colin Farrell, sit down!”

Speaking of the dashing Mr. Farrell, he was the evening’s first presenter and remarked: “We should all be accepted and respected how we are and as we are.” [Farrell read poetry at Elizabeth Taylor's funeral last month and I was surprised there was no public mention of the former Vanguard Award recipient during the event.]

Dolly Parton was the evening’s surprise guest. She had flown into LA just an hour before taking the stage to present Robert Greenblatt with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award then was due to board a plane to London after the ceremony.

“I’ve been trying to get here to you folks for years and years – I guess you could say I’m coming out tonight!” Dolly said with her usual high level of enthusiasm.

She worked on the Broadway musical version of 9 to 5 with Greenblatt and said of her friend: “He’s never been afraid to push the envelope or stand behind things that make a difference in the world.”

Greenblatt, former president of entertainment a Showtime, recently joined NBC as chairman of NBC Entertainment.

“We can change the way the world thinks about LGBT entertainment,” he said, “and how LGBT  people feel about themselves.”