Monica Lewinsky– you know her from the 1998 TV drama “I Didn’t Have Sex with That Woman” starring Bill Clinton as president of the United States.
Monica, looking trim and acting sassy, made a surprise appearance last night at the Creative Coalition’s Television Industry Advocacy Awards. She presented an award to “Good Wife” actor Alan Cumming, who — it turns out– is her great friend. Why was she there? Even she asked that question when she took the microphone. But she handled herself with aplomb.
The Advocacy Awards were like a little oasis of intelligence in the middle of an ocean of ridiculousness. Not all the attendees were Mensa members, however. Sitting on a couch and listening to the proceedings, I joked to the very short skirted, high heeled young woman next to me that all anyone was talking about was LGBT. “No one mentions the BLT community,” I lamented. She looked up from her phone, where she’d been studying pictures of herself, and said, “What? I don’t understand.”
Luckily, just about everyone else was on point. All the winners spoke from the heart and extemporaneously. Alfre Woodard, Christina Hendricks, Constance Zimmer, Beth Behrs from “2 Broke Girls,” Neal Baer, Laverne Cox, and Jeffrey Tambor among them. Creative Coalition chief Robin Bronk put on a solid and inspiring presentation.
I was most impressed by Eva Longoria. Did you know she was awarded a Master’s Degree from Cal State Northridge in Chicano studies? She did it while she was in “Desperate Housewives” and got the degree — a real one, not honorary– in 2013.
I also really enjoyed meeting Lana Parilla, the bad witch from ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.” She’s a real beauty, and couldn’t be nicer.
Also in the audience: Cinedigm’s Chris McGurk and wife Jamie, producer Cassian Elwes, and famed legendary songwriter Mike Stoller (of Leibera and… fame).
Nicely done– and refreshing to hear actors talking in a non partisan way about giving back on civic projects. Just hearing Alfre Woodard talking about her work in education and the arts makes you want to sign up right away!
