[no subject]

Guitar auction strikes a chord for charities 

11/10/02

Donna J. Robb 
Plain Dealer Reporter

What do you do with a 10-foot, one-of-a-kind guitar
that cost you thousands? 

Plop it down next to your indoor swimming pool, of
course. That's what Todd Lewis of Twinsburg said
moments before bidding began on 78 guitars that were
auctioned last night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and Museum to benefit the museum, United Way and the
Make-A-Wish Foundation. The auction raised nearly
$800,000, said Paula Slimak of United Way. 

A guitar painted by Yoko Ono was purchased by George
Simon, a restaurant owner and lawyer with the
Cleveland firm of Grendell & Simon. His high bid:
$105,000. 

Simon and his partners also bought four other guitars,
including the first one auctioned. That one, sponsored
by Rolling Stone magazine and bearing the likeness of
the Who's Pete Townsend, went for $30,000. 

"My partners and I wanted to give back to the
community," Simon said. "We'll display the guitars in
our restaurants, and I'd like to donate one to Case
Western Reserve University's law school. Tell the dean
to call me." 

Simon, who received his law degree from Case Western
Reserve, paid $7,000 for the guitar he plans to donate
to the school. He'll display the others in his
family-owned restaurants, Simon's on Ohio 82 in
Brecksville and Zayda's on Ohio 21 in Independence. 

Howard Lewis, president of the Family Heritage Life
Insurance Co., spent $8,000 on a guitar painted by a
West Geauga High School art teacher. He plans to
display the fiberglass behemoth in the lobby of his
company's new office building on Ohio 82 in
Brecksville. 

The art teacher, Irene Sukle, felt like a celebrity,
seated among more than 400 spectators vying for - or
just ogling - the guitars. 

"Awesome," Sukle said, and then added that she hoped
the four guitars her students painted would fare as
well. They did. The guitars, painted by 10th-, 11th-
and 12th-graders, sold for between $3,000 and $9,500. 

Singer Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young,
who painted his own guitar and named it Arthur, made a
surprise appearance to auction it. His guitar sold for
$25,000. 

Each bidder paid $75 or $150 to attend the catered
gala. The giant replicas of Fender Stratocaster
guitars had spent the summer on display throughout
Cleveland. 

Other celebrities sponsoring guitars were Drew Carey,
Peter Max, Keith Richards, Omar Vizquel, Mickey Hart,
Michael Stanley and Tom Batiuk. Only Nash made an
appearance at the rock hall last night. 

Carey's guitar, bearing his trademark large black
glasses, was autographed by the stars on his show and
was to be the final one auctioned, but no one offered
the starting price of $10,000, so the rock hall will
hang onto it, auctioneer Michael Cheselka said. 

Carey wrote "I love this city" and "Cleveland Rocks"
above his signature.


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