The Top Gun actor became the fourth recipient of the group’s Entertainment Icon Award at a star-studded gala, following in the footsteps of showbiz icons Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.
Cruise was set to accept his prize from Lewis, but the veteran entertainer fell ill shortly before the event and was taken to hospital to be treated for low blood sugar.
Picking up his award, Cruise told the crowd, “I am sorry Jerry couldn’t be here tonight, but I know he is going to be fine.”
The 86-year-old actor was released from hospital later that evening, according to the New York Post gossip column Page Six.
The evening, which was a toast to Cruise and not a roast, featured speeches from his former co-stars, including A Few Good Men’s Kevin Pollak and Jerry Maguire’s Cuba Gooding, Jr., as well as performances from Corinne Bailey Rae and Robin Thicke.
Alec Baldwin, who worked with Cruise on new movie musical Rock Of Ages, hosted the celebration at Manhattan’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
The man of the hour turned the evening into a family affair – he brought along his six-year-old daughter Suri and son Connor, 17. However, there was one important person missing – his wife Katie Holmes was in Asia to promote figure-skating show Artistry On Ice.
