Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels' Biggest Fan, Calls 'SNL' Overlord A 'Genius,' 'Legend'

Comic wizard Steve Martin was a delightful surprise at Tuesday night's Costume Designers Guild Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., where he honored close friend Lorne Michaels with the Distinguished Collaborator Award. Martin revealed that he decided to attend the highly fashionable awards show to honor Michaels, but also because "a gift basket is a gift basket."

Michaels, 68, is best known for creating "Saturday Night Live" and the many films and projects that have come out of the show. He is also the Executive Producer of NBC's "Late Night," "30 Rock," and "Up All Night." Reminding guests that the evening was about costumes and fashion, Martin joked, "although you can't tell it from his work, Lorne Michaels has great taste."

The Costume Designers Guild Awards honor the best in costume from the year, and some of the top prizes were awarded to the costume designers for "Skyfall," "Anna Karenina" and "Mirror Mirror." Actress Anne Hathaway won the Spotlight Award.

The ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel was packed with stars dressed to the nines, including Jon Hamm, Russell Crowe, Shirley MacLaine, Connie Britton, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and host Joel McHale.

But it was Steve Martin who garnered the most applause from the room. "Lorne, when I heard you were receiving this honor, I felt nothing but pride," he quipped. "Not happiness, not respect. Nothing. Just pride."

"The word 'genius' is not a word I throw around often. I just thought I'd mention that," he continued. "Lorne Michaels is a legend. And I don't mean one of those things that helps you understand a map."