Amfar’s annual Inspiration Gala on Thursday honored Kevin Huvane, or as host Chelsea Handler described him, “The man in this town who knows more beautiful women than anyone and has no idea what to do with them.”
Handler also introduced special guest Sarah Jessica Parker and performer Katy Perry, saying, “It’s refreshing to be in a room with two famous women whose last name isn’t Kardashian.”
A tribute video featured an original song by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, decked out in wigs on the set of “August: Osage County,” where Streep thanked Huvane for “taking my call even though I’m so old.”
Huvane started by thanking his many famous clients, or as he explained, “I’m just going to name celebrities because that’s what I do for a living.”
The honoree then went on to tell the story of how Elizabeth Taylor got him involved in Amfar with a discussion at the Abbey in WeHo. “She went there two to three times a week. Why? Because she was surrounded by gay men and booze. Same reason I was there,” Huvane recalled.
An auction included a night at the Abbey with Perry and polo lessons with Nacho Figueras.
“And a private meeting with Nacho in the barn,” Jennifer Coolidge added. “Nacho swings both ways … I mean the horse!”
On Saturday night, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan were honored at Outfest’s Legacy Awards. From the stage of the Orpheum, “Partners” thesp Michael Urie took the opportunity to audition for next year’s Academy Awards.
“I know you’ve got Seth MacFarlane,” he told the Oscar’s two new producers. “Is the ink dry? I hear sometimes hosts quit.”
Urie thought he might have competish from other presenters that night, like Sean Hayes and Darren Criss. “And Neil Patrick Harris is not here, thank God!” he added.
Hayes joked, “Just when you thought it couldn’t get any gayer than a Darren Criss ‘Glee’ song, poof! Here I am!” And regarding the night’s honorees, he opined, “I was absolutely thrilled to learn they were still alive.”
Meron, for his part, said he was happy to be back at the Orpheum, where he and Zadan filmed “Rose’s Turn” with Bette Midler from their 1993 “Gypsy” and “watched the rats go by our feet.” Meron added that the Orpheum had been “beautifully restored” since then.
