Whispers With Gina Glickman

DIDDY...TO HOST OR NOT TO HOST?
THAT IS THE QUESTION!

Sean "Diddy" Combs at the RFL Event in East Hampton MVD, Inc.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is usually the one playing host to the A-List crowd, but recently hundreds of VIPs came out, including NY Giant Michael Strahan, NY Knicks star Charles Oakley, Russell Simmons, Nicole Murphy, B. Smith, Dan Gatsby, Sam Champion and O'Neal McKnight, to honor Combs, who was the proud recipient of the Reginald F. Lewis Award. The event, which was hosted by Lewis' wife, Loida, at her East Hampton estate and co-produced by L. Marilyn Crawford's Primetime Omnimedia and MVD Inc., was a huge success, and helped raise over $1 million for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture.

Mrs. Lewis personally chose Combs to receive the award in her late husband's name, honoring RFL's achievements as the first black billionaire and founder of the first African American law firm on Wall Street.

Combs was visibly touched by the award presentation and shared, "To have my name be said in the same sentence as this man is a humbling experience, because of men like this and people that have come before us. To be honest, we take for granted being millionaires, we take for granted being in the Hamptons, we take for granted having opportunities to break down barriers. We struggle, but it's easier now because of men like Reginald Lewis and Frank Savage." Guests certainly witnessed a softer side to Combs that sunny afternoon. The self-made mogul even made sure to acknowledge his mother, Janice Combs, who was sitting in the crowd. "I just want to thank my mother, because she instilled that can't-stop, won't-stop spirit in me."

Combs had several fans in attendance, several of them wondering if he planned to host his annual White Party this season, which has become a summer tradition for some out East. I asked Combs firsthand, and he smiled and then replied, "No. Not this year. I'm taking a break. I'm working." Yet, you never know with Combs and his "can't-stop, won't-stop" way of life. With that motto, anything is possible. Keep the dream alive!

Until next week - Life is short, you only live once, so party on!

Entertainment & Feature Correspondent, Director, Writer and Executive Producer Gina Glickman can be seen on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends starring on News 12 Long Island's "What's Hot in the Hamptons." Log onto Hamptons.com for more celebrity action with Gina, on her "Main Street" series. www.ginaglickman.com

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