Post by LARRY on Sept 26, 2007 10:01:38 GMT -5
Jay Leno selling 'Tonight Show's set to help Brooklyn kids
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It's no joke. "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno is hoping his old furniture will help a Brooklyn kids program build a new home.
The 57-year-old funnyman is auctioning off the famous set of his late-night NBC show and donating the money to Bailey's Cafe, an after-school program at Paul Robeson High School.
Leno announced his plans on Monday, and called students in the program yesterday to assure them it's no gag.
"Have all your rich friends bid on the set," Leno said over a speaker phone that the kids crowded around in the school library. "Hopefully, we'll call a lot of attention to Bailey's Cafe and get a lot of people interested in it."
Leno is auctioning off his wooden desk and an Ultrasuede guest chair and matching couch that have cushioned the buns of celebrities ranging from Angelina Jolie and Oprah to Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood.
The set also includes a seldom-used ottoman, two cocktail tables and a chocolate brown wool area rug.
English teacher Stefanie Siegel, an old friend of Leno's, began the after-school program in 2002. Named after a Gloria Naylor novel about a cafe where people gather to tell their life stories, it seeks to forge a bond between students and residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights by staging cooking, music and fine arts events.
Siegel, 56, said Leno has been a godsend to the group, donating money in the past. She said the auction will help the program achieve its dream of moving out of shared space in the Albany Ave. school and building a permanent home.
"We're hoping it will really help us to expand into our own," Siegel said.
The eBay auction will run until Oct. 4. As of yesterday afternoon, bidding had reached $7,600.
"This is unbelievable," said James Beca, 18, a Paul Robeson senior who participates in the program. "I was shocked."
************************************************
It's no joke. "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno is hoping his old furniture will help a Brooklyn kids program build a new home.
The 57-year-old funnyman is auctioning off the famous set of his late-night NBC show and donating the money to Bailey's Cafe, an after-school program at Paul Robeson High School.
Leno announced his plans on Monday, and called students in the program yesterday to assure them it's no gag.
"Have all your rich friends bid on the set," Leno said over a speaker phone that the kids crowded around in the school library. "Hopefully, we'll call a lot of attention to Bailey's Cafe and get a lot of people interested in it."
Leno is auctioning off his wooden desk and an Ultrasuede guest chair and matching couch that have cushioned the buns of celebrities ranging from Angelina Jolie and Oprah to Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood.
The set also includes a seldom-used ottoman, two cocktail tables and a chocolate brown wool area rug.
English teacher Stefanie Siegel, an old friend of Leno's, began the after-school program in 2002. Named after a Gloria Naylor novel about a cafe where people gather to tell their life stories, it seeks to forge a bond between students and residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights by staging cooking, music and fine arts events.
Siegel, 56, said Leno has been a godsend to the group, donating money in the past. She said the auction will help the program achieve its dream of moving out of shared space in the Albany Ave. school and building a permanent home.
"We're hoping it will really help us to expand into our own," Siegel said.
The eBay auction will run until Oct. 4. As of yesterday afternoon, bidding had reached $7,600.
"This is unbelievable," said James Beca, 18, a Paul Robeson senior who participates in the program. "I was shocked."
