The Museum of the Moving Image Salutes Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin on the red carpet at Cipriani.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
The Museum of the Moving Image saluted Alec Baldwin Monday night for his years of acting in film and television.

"I'm very honored to be here," Baldwin said as he walked the red carpet at Cipriani in Midtown. "I've been doing this for a while and when you start to get old like I am, they start giving you these awards. I've got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame now too. I'm getting old."

For many years, Baldwin mainly took on film roles, but now is in his fifth season alongside Tina Fey on the hit NBC series "30 Rock."

He revealed his secret to Niteside of how to be a successful comedic actor.

"I had an opportunity to do a TV show and most comedy involves one central thing -- you have to make an ass of yourself," Baldwin said. "It's not about looking good. You're not playing James Bond. I would love to be James Bond, but I'm not James Bond. They hired somebody else for that, so I make an ass of myself on the show and we've had a lot of fun."

With his experience in both film and television, Baldwin said being a part of "30 Rock" has been one of the best things for him.

"Sometimes the hardest thing to get in movies is an audience, but TV people stay with you," Baldwin said. "They like the show and they watch it every week and we have a great response with our show."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Stars Salute Alec Baldwin

Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin share a laugh on the red carpet.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

The Museum of the Moving Image Salute to Alec Baldwin was held at the Cipriani in midtown Monday night, honoring him for his work in films and television - including his roles in It's Complicated, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and Along Came Polly. Baldwin is the 26th Honoree of this award.

What an evening. I met Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Amy Ryan, Jimmy Fallon, Ben Stiller, Richard Gere, Bob Balaban and many others. Check out the photo gallery I created from the night for NBCNewYork.

Bob Balaban Thinks Alec Baldwin Would Make A Great Philanthropist

Actor Bob Balaban on the red carpet.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Alec Baldwin has hinted that after his contract expires with "30 Rock," he will be pursuing something new, and actor Bob Balaban told Niteside what he thinks that should be.

"He could just sit back and be a philanthropist," Balaban said Monday night at Cirpriani in Midtown. "He's really interested in his community ... and he puts his heart where his mouth is. He shows up for every good thing that he cares about and supports it."

Balaban added, "I could think he could he could happily make his life by doing something kind of political but really by supporting the causes he cares about because he's very tuned into that."

Balaban worked alongside Baldwin in the 1990 film "Alice" and came to support Baldwin on the night the Museum of the Moving Image honored him with a Salute, which Balaban said is well deserved.

"I love him -- we've done a lot of things together," Balaban said. "The idea that he figured out to be this handsome leading man who did movies where he was so serious you thought you would die or he would kill you or something bad would happen, it turns out to be that he's just the funniest person."

Balaban said that Baldwin's role as Jack Donaghy on the TV series "30 Rock" is very fitting for him.

"He loves being funny," Balaban said. "I think it makes him happy. I think the idea that he spends his time doing comedies now, it's lighting up his whole life."

"30 Rock" Star Judah Friedlander: Tina Fey Is Always "Several Steps Ahead"

Judah Friedlander refers to himself as "the world champion."

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Judah Friedlander, who is best known for his role as Frank on the hit NBC series "30 Rock," revealed over the weekend that his favorite part of working on the show is interacting with the other actors and writers -- especially Tina Fey.

"Tina is great, and she she's so smart," Friedlander told Niteside. "She's such a clever writer and is always thinking several steps ahead. It's so nice to work on a project like '30 Rock' where they've thought ahead on just about everything."

Alec Baldwin is also someone Friedlander said he enjoys working with on the show, especially when they joke around on set.

"He's so much fun to hang out with and goof around with on the set," Friedlander said. "He's got great energy and great charisma and when you get to work with him, he brings out the best in you."

Friedlander, who did two stand-up comedy shows at Comix in the Meatpacking District Saturday night, also said that he personally designs all of the iconic trucker hats his character wears on the show.

"Some are jokes I've thought out in advance, others are jokes I've thought of last second and some are inspired by what's going on within the script," Friedlander said. "One to three times per season, [the writers] will write the hat and work it into the storyline and do some jokes with it, but pretty much it's me doing all of these."

He added, "I always try to make it add to the show and not to distract from it."

Friedlander recently released the book "How to Beat Up Anybody," which teaches readers how to fight foes such as ninjas and Bigfoot and even your very own shadow.

He often refers to himself as "The World Champion" and said he has an "extra dark black belt" in karate.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

"30 Rock" Actor Dean Winters: I'm Indebted to Tina Fey

Me and Dean Winters at Lucky Strike Lanes

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
"30 Rock" actor Dean Winters, who had a brush with death after his heart stopped one year ago, said he is indebted to co-star and pal Tina Fey.

"Tina Fey is the most caring woman I've worked with in this business," Winters told NiteSide last night at Lucky Strike Lanes during nightlife kingpin Matt DeMatt's birthday bash.

"When I was going through a really hard time she pulled me out, and I have a debt of gratitude to her I'm not sure I can ever repay."

A bacterial infection caused Winters to collapse and his heart to stop beating for two minutes on June 19 of last year. Fey was instrumental in bringing him back to the set of the NBC show, he told the "New York Post" last year.

The health scare is a terrifying incident the actor, also from "Oz" and "Rescue Me," told NiteSide that he is still struggling to recover from.

"Life was rocking and rolling for me and then it just stopped," Winters said. "So now I'm learning how to press the play button again."

The 45-year-old said he values relationships more than he did before the incident.

"I learned what love is and what friendship is and those are things I think I took for granted for a while," Winters said. "Whatever I went through in this past year, it was worth it."

He also said that his roles on "30 Rock" and "Oz" were dream jobs -- but Winters still has at least one career goal.

"I just would love to rumble with Clint [Eastwood]," he said. "I would like to play his son or his long-lost son or whatever."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.