Spielberg in the Pink

10/28/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

A healthy-looking Steven Spielberg was back on his feet to receive the Vanguard Award at the NAACP's annual Image Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday -- one week after the removal of one of his kidneys. "This is the best get-well card I could ever get," the Oscar winner, 53, told the crowd, which included his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, and the evening's host, Diana Ross. "A few days ago, I was in the hospital, and this is my first time out. It all seems like a dream." During a film tribute to Spielberg, complete with baby photos and movie clips, Capshaw held her husband's hand. She then wiped away a flood of tears as he addressed the audience. The director of such films as "Jaws," "The Color Purple" and "Schindler's List" spoke of the need for Hollywood to be brave and to diversify. "This award is based on 'an artist's pioneering courage to promote social justice through creativity,' " he said. "Those heady words force me to look back and see how far I've come, when you consider that my first movie was really about a great white shark that ate only white people."