Hundreds of fans of the TVLand hit comedy, Hot in Cleveland, turned out to honor stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White on Thursday at Tower City Center in Cleveland. 

As members of the famed Cleveland Orchestra performed the theme music from the comedy, the stars stepped on stage to a thunderous ovation. The cast was honored for presenting the city in a positive, upbeat manner. Neal Mohney, executive coordinator of the Forest City Enterprises, served as master of ceremonies for the event. Bertinelli, Leeves, Malick and White were named honorary "Global Clevelanders" by Global Cleveland - an economic development initiative to bring talent and enterprise into the region.

The stars had the honor of naming two of the newest residents at Cleveland Metropark Zoo: male and female meerkats from the new African Elephant Crossing exhibit. The Hot in Cleveland cast chose Lorato, or "love," for the female and Tebogo, meaning "thanks," for the male. At the naming ceremony, two actors in meerkat costumes accepted their new name-tags on behalf of their fury friends. The Hot in Cleveland actresses said they believed these names best conveyed how they felt about their namesake city. In fact, Betty White spent the previous day at the zoo on a private tour, feeding and holding several of the animals.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson then took the stage to give each of the stars a key to the city, noting that this was a very rare occurrence, reserved only for those who made significant contributions to the city. Each of the actresses then spoke briefly to raucous cheers. Wendie Malick recalled how she graduated from Ohio Wesleyan, which made this trip a homecoming. British actress Jane Leeves had not previously visited the city and called it "a hidden gem." Valerie Bertinelli acknowledged that she had married one of the city's native sons and felt like an unofficial resident - but she drew the biggest roar when she said, "YOU DON'T NEED LEBRON!"

Though the Hot in Cleveland stars received the keys to the city, the overall feeling at the ceremony was that Cleveland had the keys to these actresses' hearts.

Click here for a photo album from the ceremony.