Johnny Grant donates $25,000 to Foundation
By Winkie Lee
Published in News on June 30, 2005 1:45 PM
Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant has donated $25,000 to the Foundation of Wayne Community College.
The money will be used to help fund student scholarships.
Grant, a Wayne County radio personality who reached the pinnacle of the entertainment world, was honored in April, along with actress Anne Jeffreys, with a weekend of events and a spot on the college's own version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The donation will be added to an endowment established by the foundation in Grant's name. The principal amount will remain untouched, and interest will be used for scholarships, said Jack Kannan, the executive director of the foundation.
Kannan said Grant's gift came as a surprise. When the foundation contacted him about the festivities honoring him and Miss Jeffreys, planners sought only Grant's appearance. The donation came later.
Grant was born in LaGrange and raised in Goldsboro. His career in entertainment eventually took him to Hollywood, where he was chosen the honorary mayor of the city. As mayor, Grant has presided over many inductions into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For years, his face has been a familiar sight alongside movie stars and starlets as they put their handprints in cement beside Grauman's Chinese Theater.
During his career, Grant has received numerous honors, including his own star on the Walk of Fame, and his hand and footprints immortalized in cement.