SHOWBIZ SURVIVORS: Can you think of two more deserving stars than Betty White and Jeff Bridges?

Both have been around for so long, never stopped working, and this year are receiving all kinds of renewed attention and well-deserved accolades.

It’s just been announced that both will be honored in November by The British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA) at its annual Britannia Awards.

Bridges, who won the Oscar, Golden Globes and SAG award this year for his superb performance in Crazy Heart, will receive the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film. The red-hot Miss White, winner of a 2010 Emmy Award for her hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, will receive the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.

BAFTA/LA Chairman Nigel Lythgoe said in a statement: “It doesn’t get much better than honoring two true Hollywood veterans in their own right. Betty White is a comedy icon whose quick wit and everlasting energy is second to none; and Jeff Bridges’ remarkable ability to immerse himself into each role he plays epitomizes his multi-faceted career. I am very pleased that BAFTA/LA has selected Ms. White and Mr. Bridges to receive this outstanding honor.”

GOOD AS GOLD: Five-time Olympic medalist Greg Louganis and World Champion swimmer Diana MacManus on Saturday, Sept. 25 will join swimmers from across the country in a 1.7 mile swim along the Malibu coast to raise critical awareness and funds for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in California.

Greg is a real hero of mine and I was so glad to do an interview with him earlier this year. Greg’s story means so much to me because I was coming out in a big way in the mid-90s and it was then that he also came out and wrote a deeply-felt memoir called Breaking the Surface in which he revealed that he had been HIV positive when he won his third and fourth gold  medals at the 1988 Olympics. (His fifth medal was a silver won at the 1976 Olympics).

The event, benefiting Equality California, will challenge experienced swimmers to a course along Point Dume Beach marked by buoys with lifeguards patrolling the swim.

After the swim, participants, team members, sponsors and volunteers will be welcomed to a celebratory post-swim barbeque at the Topanga home of True Blood’s music composer Nathan Barr. To learn more about the Swim for Equality, please visit www.eqca.org/swim

A SAINT: I’m just crazy about New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees whose team is the reigning Super Bowl champion.

This guy is a total heartthrob but he also seems to be a real sweetheart. Boy Culture has some really cool pictures of Drew doing his work out from inside the pages of the magazine.

Check it out!

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