"Teddy Roosevelt used to compare the presidency to 'riding a wild tiger,' " said "The West Wing's" Bradley Whitford at the Step Up Women's Network Inaugural Inspiration Awards sponsored by Sprint at the Beverly Hilton.

"I don't know anything about working in the real White House," he admitted. "But after 12 years of marriage to Jane Kaczmarek, I know a thing or two about riding a wild tiger."

His remark caused rounds of applause, convulsive laughter and a very red face on the mortified "Malcolm in the Middle" star, there to get an award for her philanthropic work.

When she walked onstage, Kaczmarek used a gold cane because, as hubby explained, she'd had a bad hip and got a new one just two weeks earlier.

But "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton said what everyone was thinking. "Bradley, don't talk about 'knowing what it's like to ride a wild tiger' and then expect us to believe that hip replacement (story) ..."

Also honored were People managing editor Martha Nelson and Emmy-nominated TV producer Caryn Mandabach ("The Cosby Show," "3rd Rock From the Sun"). In the luncheon crowd: Garcelle Beauvais, Jessica Alba, hostess Lisa Rinna and Lisa Edelstein.

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