Jay Leno visits Huntsville Hospital, makes surprise donation before Von Braun Center show
Huntsville Hospital staff had no idea comedian Jay Leno was going to donate $10,000 during a Thursday afternoon visit to the facility in advance of his Von Braun Center performance tonight. "It certainly wasn't anything we anticipated," Huntsville Hospital Vice President of Communications Burr Ingram said. "That's a wonderful gift. And it will be used for our intensive care waiting room, which has been an employee project the last several years." Leno announced the gift at the beginning of his visit. However the comic, who hosted NBC's "The Tonight Show" for 22 years, spent most of his hour or so at Huntsville Hospital meeting a handful of patients and posing for a never-ending procession of "selfie" cellphone photos with staff and visitors. Clad in a denim shirt, jeans, black running shoes and his shock of white hair intact, Leno was trailed by an amoeba of hospital leaders, his own people, TV cameras and various media as he made his way about the facility's sixth floor. Leno was posing for a photo with a group of Huntsville Hospital nurses when someone remarked it was Nurses Week. Leno joked, "Nurses Week? I think I watched that movie on cable." Leno visited the rooms of at least three patients while at Huntsville Hospital. He made a point to ask each of them how they were feeling, when they were getting to leave and shake hands and pose for photos with their visiting families. The comic jokingly reminded the patients to abstain from barbecue. And French fries. As Leno was making his way to the first floor front entrance, he posed for a final round of selfies. When a male fan took an extended period of time to get the photo right, Leno joked, "I don't hold my wife this long." Leno had just flown into Huntsville that afternoon from Northern California. Right before he was to depart the hospital, I asked what inspired his donation. "All the employees built that wing with their money," Leno said, "and I'm working here (tonight) so that technically makes me an employee so that's why I have to give some money." Leno performs 8:30 p.m. tonight at Von Braun Center Propst Arena, address 700 Monroe St., as the headliner for 27th annual Huntsville Classic, presented by Huntsville Hospital Foundation. Proceeds from the 2015 Huntsville Classic will be used to provide improved communications devices for Huntsville Hospital nurses. Tickets ($30-$40 plus applicable fees) are available via Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, VBC Box Office or by calling 800-745-3000. Asked if he'd noticed anything interesting about Huntsville yet Leno said, "I've been here before and I know this is the engineering capital of the world pretty much, with the space program and all of that. The 'Rocket City Redneck' guys are buddies of mine and they came out to my garage (in Burbank, Calif.) so I might see if I can dig them up and look around. It's a great area." http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/05/jay_leno_visits_huntsville_hos.html -- Ed Dravecky Dallas, Texas -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
