Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth conducts a live chat on Dec. 15 at the Yahoo Internet site hosting the Actors’ Fund’s “Auction Of 1000 Stars.” Neuwirth goes live today at 1 PM at http://chat.yahoo.com.
As reported earlier, The Actors’ Fund of America, in partnership with YAHOO! and Christie's Auction House is conducting its second “Auction Of 1000 Stars.” Started Dec. 1, the second was launched exclusively on the web in order to maximize holiday sales. To date, $30,000 has been raised in the auction, organizers reported.
Available items feature “amazing celebrity experiences and priceless memorabilia.” Among the big ticket items still available are: a VIP day with the WWF - currently bidding at $2,200; a day on the set of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” - currently at $2,050; a walk-on in Woody Allen's 2001 movie - currently at $8,100; a Steinway Piano from the original cast of Chicago - currently at $7,000; a day at Yankee Stadium with team manager Joe Torre - $8,600; Rosie O'Donnell's LEGO desk - currently at $3090; and a day on the set of “Will And Grace” - currently at $15,101.
The auction site is accessed through the Yahoo! preview page at http://auctions.yahoo.com/booth/actorsfund. At this site, patrons see “special video messages" from auction chair Bebe Neuwirth, as well as Actors’ Fund trustees Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, John Ritter, Bruce Vilanch and Deborah Yates (Contact ).
Among the entertainment experiences being auctioned by the Actors’ Fund are a walk-on role in Woody Allen’s 2001 project and a day on the set of the award-winning “Will & Grace” with stars Eric McCormack and Debra Messing—who will be the bid-winner’s “hostess with the mostest” during the special visit. Jim Dale, who has recorded the Harry Potter books will personalize a bid winner’s answering machine with “the voices of some of your favorite J.K. Rowling characters.”
For theatre fans, auctionable items include the Steinway piano that has been played on stage in Chicago by Steinway Artist Leslie Steffelam since the show’s opening. The completely refurbished Steinway, valued at more than $15,000 has been autographed by Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, James Naughton, and Joel Grey as well as director Walter Bobbie and the collaborating team of John Kander and Fred Ebb.
In addition to VIP backstage visits at “Hollywood Squares,” bid-winners might also experience theatre-related treats like a champagne toast with Lily Tomlin, a private party with David Hasselhoff, dessert with Henry Winkler and John Ritter, walk-on parts in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Best Man, and VIP packages for The Lion King (Los Angeles), The Full Monty, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Death of a Salesman (Boston).
In addition to items donated by Lynn Redgrave and Rosie O’Donnell, a “vast collection of autographed Playbills, one-of-a-kind theatre displays (including 3-sheets and marquees), props and costumes commemorating some of the most memorable moments in Broadway history” are available.
The more than 100 autographed Playbill’s include: A Streetcar Named Desire (Alec Baldwin), All The Way Home (Colleen Dewhurst, Lillian Gish), Picnic (Eileen Heckert, Paul Newman), Seesaw (Michele Lee, Tommy Tune), The Robber Bridegroom (Patti Lupone), The Rink (Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli), The Act (Liza Minnelli, John Kander, Fred Ebb), Putting It Together (Carol Burnett), Side Man (Andrew McCarthy), The Elephant Man (Kevin Conway, Carole Shelley, Philip Anglim), Oh Captain (Tony Randall), Almost Perfect Person(Colleen Dewhurst, George Hearn, Rex Robbins), First Monday In October (Colleen Dewhurst, Jane Alexander), Death Of A Salesman (Dustin Hoffman), The Devils (Jason Robards, Anne Bancroft), Dear World (Angela Lansbury), The Sunshine Boys (opening night, Tony Randall and Jack Klugman) and others too numerous to mention.
To participate in the auction visit http://auctions.yahoo.com/booth/actorsfund
—By Murdoch McBride
