AIDS Walk Los Angeles gets star-studded launch from Mary-Louise Parker, George Takei and many others

By Greg Hernandez on Oct 19, 2009 12:00 am | Comments (0) |

Mary Louise Parker was jet-lagged but charmingly welcomed the estimated 40,000 walkers to the 25th Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles on Sunday morning in West Hollywood. The event raises money for AIDS Project Los Angeles and other local AIDS services organizations.

“I know we all hope one day we won’t have to be here,” the Weeds star told the crowd. “But until then, I’m really passionate about being here and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

I don’t think there is a more cool actress out there than Miss Parker . She’s always so down-to-Earth in interviews and Sunday was no exception when we chatted after the opening ceremony.

I told her that when I saw her up on the stage, I couldn’t help but think of the landmark AIDS drama Longtime Companion, in which she co-starred, and told her so.

She felt it too but wanted to keep her emotions in check: “I know dude. Don’t even … I can’t go there. I won’t be able to walk.”

“We’ve all lost people and we want to walk with people that we don’t want to lose,” she added.

The actress, an Emmy winner for Angels in America, laments that AIDS awareness has fallen among younger people: “They feel like they’re immune to it. I feel like they’re not as afraid as we were. I think that’s something that kids should be educated about.”

Mary Louise was at the walk with her on-screen Weeds son Hunter Parish who she called “one of my favorite people in the while entire world, who, because I’m so jet-lagged, showed up this morning to being me Aderol and a viser.”

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has always been supportive of AIDS events and LGBT causes: He paid tribute to the walk’s creator Craig Miller: “He had a vision. When it started, some people thought there’d be a couple dozen (participants) and today, hundreds of thousands of people have walked here in LA, millions across the nation.”

Actress Zelda Rubenstein of Poltergeist fame has been participating in the event from the very beginning joining fellow celebs Ann-Margaret, Doris Roberts and George Takei at that first walk which had 4,500 participants. On Sunday she told the crowd: “It’s wonderful to be here. I wish everyone a comfortable walk but not so comfortable that you forget why you’re walking but comfortable enough to make you want to come back year after year until this virus is totally eradicated.”

La Toya Jackson may not have had the career success of siblings Michael and Janet, but she was clearly the most sought-after celebrity at the walk.

Michael’s tragic death in June has increased interest in all things Jackson and La Toya, now 53, has had a higher public profile in recent months than she has had in years. She is still recording albums including the most recent called Startin’ Over.

At the AIDS Walk, photographers clamored after her, fans called her name and she basked in the attention. But she also had her heart in the right place and said after the rally: “I told (walk organizers) if they ever need anything, I’m here.”

George Takei, standing at the podium with AIDS Walk LA founder Craig Miller, addressed the crowd with his booming voice and remembered being with Miller, Zelda and others at that first walk 25 years ago. “It was an amazing gathering of 4,500 people on the Paramount (Studios) lot. But this is even more amazing: that 4,500 people has grown to over 40,000 people this morning. Bravo to all of you. This is a magnificant day.”

George put this year’s walk in the context of the raging battle for equal rights: “We are walking today for a large cause. To fight AIDS and to find a cure but to fight for equality – the great struggle for equality.”

Candis Cayne appeared with Wilson Cruz and Darryl Stephens in a fun “fashion show” during which the trio talked about the various prizes participants. The crowd roared with approval when Wilson changed his shirt in front of everyone revealing a very buff body while Noah’s Arc star Darryl playfully showed off a duffle bag.

The amazing John Lloyd Young may have won a Tony Award for Jersey Boys, but he had never sung You’ll Never Walk Alone before publicly. He did a sensational job!

“I don’t think I’ve sung for this many people at once since New Years Eve in Times Square. You could see people on and on and on all the way down the street. This is the 25th anniversary of the walk and 40,000 people are still showing up. It’s great to be involved with that.”

John followed in the footsteps of such performers as Anika Noni Rose and John Schneider in singing You’ll Never Walk Alone at the close of the opening ceremony as the walkers began their 6-mile plus journey..

“It’s such an inspiring song,” he told me later. “This is the 25th anniversary of the walk and people are still suffering and people forget that AIDS is still a very serious disease. People are still contracting it, far more than they should be. It’s something that falls out of a news cycle but it’s something that you can’t stop doing the research on and you can’t stop trying to eradicate the disease.”

Kathryn Joosten and Felicity Huffman, both Emmy winners for Desperate Housewives, introduced the various public officials in attendance. I later spoke with Felicity briefly before she embarked on the walk: “I’m so happy to be here. It brought tears to my eyes and made me want to cry. It was so powerful and so moving. My God, there was 40,000 people. I thought it was just right in front of the podium and then it went on for miles back then. What a powerful, wonderful thing.”

I asked Felicity about Miss Joosten who had lung cancer surgery just a few weeks ago and is already back on the set: “God bless her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s a phenomenal actress and she’s a pull-yourself-up by your bootstraps and move on person.”

West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran waves to the walkers as they begin the six-mile journey through the streets of the city. John has been a member of the council since 2001 and is one of the few HIV-positive elected officials in the United States.

He told his moving life story at this year’s Human Rights Campaign dinner in LA where he was honored. Since John did not speak at Sunday’s rally, I found a quote from the HRC event that is particularly inspiring: “I think it feels like a more important time to be gay or lesbian today because there’s so much going on on so many fronts. We challenged the government, we challenged the military, we challenged the churches, we challenged the institution of marriage. I mean, you talk about a romantic period of time to be alive – to be openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. These are historic times. We’ve suffered many defeats. The thousands of men we lost during the AIDS epidemic was a huge defeat. Challenges to the military a huge defeat. But after every defeat, there’s often a victory and a win. It’s just staying the course, staying the course. I think if you look at it as sort of an era of one’s life in a lifespan of work.”

The LGBT community could not have a bigger straight ally than my dad’s favorite actress, Pauley Perrette of NCIS. She hs been quite outspoken about marriage equality.

“I refuse to shut up about it – refuse,” she told me. “And we’re gonna win! I’m gonna keep talking, I’m gonna keep writing articles, I’m gonna keep doing interviews, I’m gonna keep marching. I refuse to be quiet about it because it’s absolutely wrong. It’s a civil injustice, Prop. 8 and marriage inequality. In the history of civil injustice, it takes everybody to get together to support whichever community, whichever group is being discriminated against. This is our cause.”

La Toya Jackson talks with reporters after the opening ceremony.

Ricki Lake was at the event to support AIDS Walk LA and also honor Marie Da Silva who was a CNN Here Award recipient for her AIDS activism which included starting a school for AIDS orphans in Africa. Marie worked for many years as a nanny for Ricki’s family. Said Ricki: “She’s the real deal.”

FINE YOUNG MAN: This is 21-year-old actor Charlie Carver who plays the trouble-making son of Felicity Huffman and Doug Savant on Desperate Housewives. His twin brother, Max Carver, also plays his twin on the show. “It’s great,” he said of being part of Housewives. “It’s such a honor to join a show that was kind of our first job.”

Charlie was at the walk to do his part: “AIDS is an epidemic that is worth stopping. I think being a part of building awareness and standing up and being part of the community of LA at large is something I really want to do. I think it’s important.”