GLAAD to honor Minnelli, Condon, Beals, and others

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation will honor Liza Minnelli and writer-director Bill Condon at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 30, according to a statement issued by the organization. GLAAD also announced it will honor Jennifer Beals and PlanetOut Inc. at the GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco on June 11. In the Los Angeles gala, sponsored by Absolut Vodka, GLAAD will present Minnelli with the Vanguard Award. The Vanguard Award honors a member of the entertainment community who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for LGBT people. Past recipients include Antonio Banderas, Eric McCormack, Shirley MacLaine, Vanessa Redgrave, Elizabeth Taylor, and Whoopi Goldberg. Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey) will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. The Stephen F. Kolzak Award is named for a successful Los Angeles casting director who devoted the last part of his life to fighting AIDS-phobia and homophobia in the entertainment industry. The award is given to an openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender member of the entertainment or media community for his or her work toward eliminating homophobia. Previous Stephen F. Kolzak honorees include Todd Haynes, Alan Ball, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ian McKellen. At its final GLAAD Media Awards event on June 11 in San Francisco , GLAAD will present actress Jennifer Beals with the Golden Gate Award, given to members of the entertainment and media industries who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for LGBT people. Past award recipients include Megan Mullally, Stockard Channing, Brooke Shields, and Margaret Cho. Also at the San Francisco awards show, PlanetOut Inc. will be presented with the Barbara Gittings Award, which honors a pioneering individual, group, or community media outlet that has made a significant contribution to the development of GLBT media. The first recipient was Barbara Gittings in recognition of her groundbreaking work as editor of The Ladder and for her appearances as an out lesbian on national news media throughout the 1970s and '80s. Other recipients include The Advocate and In the Life. This year marks the first time the GLAAD Media Awards will be televised. MTVN's Logo, the ad-supported network targeting GLBT viewers, will air the ceremony this summer, supporting the telecast with a week-long original programming event dedicated to the history and highlights of the GLAAD Media Awards over the past 15 years. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will executive-produce the television program. The first of GLAAD's three events was held in New York City on March 28 at the Marriott Marquis. The remaining events will be held in Los Angeles on April 30 at the Kodak Theatre and in San Francisco on June 11 at the Westin St. Francis.