The husband of Hilaria Thomas donates the money to New York Philharmonic in honor of its outgoing Executive Director Zarin Mehta.
- Jul 3, 2012
AceShowbiz - After briefly reported to have ditched Twitter on Monday, July 2, Alec Baldwin returned to the micro-blogging site with a new handler, @ABFalecbaldwin. On his newly-revived account, he informed his followers that he donated $1 million to New York Philharmonic as his "deepest love and respect to" Zarin Mehta, outgoing Executive Director of the symphony orchestra. He himself is a member of its board.
"I have loved classical music all of my life, but Zarin Mehta made my dream of becoming part of the world of classical music come true," he said. "I will miss working with him directly, but will always bear in mind his passion, commitment, and insight as I continue my work with the New York Philharmonic. Zarin has my best wishes for the future, and I look forward to continuing our rich, musical friendship."
The donation was taken from the proceeds of Baldwin's Capital One campaign in support of arts. Mehta, who would step down from his position as Philharmonic's director at the end of 2011-12 season, stated he was humbled by the donation. "[It] inspires me to continue to contribute to the art form in any way I can," he added.
In the wake of his wedding to Hilaria Thomas, Baldwin appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's August issue. In an interview for its cover story, the "30 Rock" actor revealed his hatred for TMZ honcho Harvey Levin and how he wanted to kill the man who leaked an angry voicemail he left for his teen daughter Ireland.
"I wanted to stick a knife in him and gut him and kill him, and I wanted him to die breathing his last breath looking into my eyes," the 54-year-old newlywed said of his fantasy to finish Levin. He also wanted to murder his ex-wife Kim Basinger's lawyer "with a baseball bat." He's, however, over it now as saying, "You have to let that go. Enough time - I mean, it does heal wounds."
The actor, who had confrontations with paparazzi twice last month, acknowledged his hot-tempered personality that sometimes led him to act "unreasonably" and "childishly." He said, "You know, Hollywood does draw some very strange characters, and then the power of Hollywood and what they can do with it becomes like a blood sport to them."
