VIDEO: GLEE's Lea Michele, Darren Criss & More Honor Ryan Murphy with Special Performance

Saturday night, GLEE creator Ryan Murphy was honored by the Family Equality Council at a special event in Los Angeles for "contributing to presenting LGBTQ families and people" on the show.

Shared Murphy in his acceptance speech, "For me, I wanted to do something personal on that show," he said. "I grew up in Indiana behind a corn field and a church... So on Glee, I wanted to write something personal, something about gay characters, something about creating your own family no matter who you are or where you live."

Following the presentation, GLEE cast members saluted the award winning scribe with a special performance. Below, Alex Newell sings "I Will Survive" and later joins Becca Tobin, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chord Overstreet, Lea Michele, Darren Criss, and Harry Shum Jr in performances of "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Dancing Queen."

Now in its sixth and final 13-episode season, the musical comedy GLEE follows a group of ambitious and talented young adults in search of strength, acceptance and, ultimately, their voice.

Since its debut, GLEE has become a bona fide cultural phenomenon, received prestigious honors, including a Golden Globe Award and a Peabody Award, and singlehandedly made GLEE clubs cool again. The series boasts critical acclaim, a die-hard fan base, two Grammy Award nominations, two Platinum and five Gold albums, more than 53 million songs and more than 13 million albums sold worldwide, two sold-out concert tours, a 3-D movie, four Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes, including the award for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical. The series reached its milestone 100th episode this past season with a memorable rendition of the hit that put the show on the map, "Don't Stop Believin'."

Source: Popcrush