Jan. 07--Oak Park native Thomas Lennon looked surprised as he took the People's Choice Awards stage Wednesday night to accept a new award for an entertainer who has never won a People's Choice Award but deserves one.
"Wow, this is amazing. My high school principal said, 'You'll never amount to anything.' And I said, 'Mom, you're the worst principal this high school ever had,'" said Lennon, who attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and stars on the CBS comedy "The Odd Couple."
But then awards host Jane Lynch broke the bad news. Like Steve Harvey at last month's Miss Universe pageant, Lynch had made a mistake.
The real winner of the award was Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, who was briefly named Miss Universe last month in a gaffe by Harvey.
The parody was one of a few times actors from the Chicago area were in the spotlight in a night anchored by Lynch, an Evergreen Park native.
Plainfield native Melissa McCarthy won favorite comedic movie actress and favorite comedic TV actress as the sixth and likely final season of her Chicago-set show "Mike and Molly" premiered Wednesday.
"The Big Bang Theory," which stars Oak Park-raised Johnny Galecki, won favorite TV show and favorite network TV comedy.
BuzzFeed senior editor Matt Bellassai, who grew up in Alsip and attended Northwestern University, won the award for favorite social media star.
