Harrison Ford, John Stamos honored by Operation Smile in Beverly Hills

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The Ministry loves a good hero, and on the life-imitating-art-imitating-life front, Harrison Ford is proving to be quite a tasty treat.

Indiana Jones’ alter ego is an experienced pilot, and on Friday evening he was honored for commanding a February airlift of medical volunteers and supplies into Hinche, Haiti, at the request of Operation Smile, which responded to the devastating earthquake by expanding its mission beyond providing corrective cleft-palate surgery to needy children around the world.

Alas, Ford was too busy imitating life -- he was on set -- to pick up his award for imitating art, so wife Calista Flockhart did the honors at Operation Smile’s ninth annual gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Flockhart’s last-minute substitution seemed karmic, because the ‘Brothers & Sisters’ star was to have been honored herself in 2001 until 9/11 intervened.

‘I am very proud to be here to accept this beautiful award for my husband, Harrison Ford,’ she told the crowd, adding that he couldn’t be there because ‘a schedule is at best a work of fiction. But what really matters is he was there in Haiti when it mattered.’

Sing it, sister.

The honorees also included ‘ER’s’ John Stamos, who’s a big supporter of children’s charities like the Starlight Foundation and Project Cuddle, for which he serves as national spokesman. He’s also developing a Lifetime project based on the rescue organization for abandoned babies and guest-starring on ‘Glee,’ which sent Kevin McHale (Artie) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina)to provide the evening’s entertainment.

‘He’s quite a good cuddler,’ ‘Full House’ producer Garry Marshall assured the crowd in presenting the award to the hunky Stamos.

Good to know. Seriously.

– Irene Lacher