Yesterday afternoon Bing Bar hosted The 2011 Creative Coalition Teachers Making a Difference Awards Luncheon presented by Bing. The purpose of the event was to recognize outstanding teachers and support for education. Cheryl Hines hosted the event as Adrian Grenier and Jeremy Piven were reunited with the teachers who made a difference in their lives. The event was truly moving as both actors reflected on how these teachers served as mentors and helped make them who they are today.
Adrian Grenier Reunited with High School Drama Teacher, his “Strong Force of Positive Influence.”
If you ask Mr. Shifman, a drama teacher at NY’s prestigious LaGuardia High School, what he thought then 11th/12th grade student Adrian Grenier would end up doing with his life, you’d be surprised by his answer. “He had long hair, was good looking… I figured he’d be a gigolo or Chip and Dales dancer” Schifman joked to actress Cheryl Hines at Bing Bar in Park City. The drama teacher was reunited with his former student Adrian Grenier during The Creative Coalition’s 2011 Teachers Making a Difference Awards Luncheon, an event presented by Bing to honor education’s heroes. Schifman, who Grenier calls his “strong force of positive influence” expressed how impressed he is with the talented actor Adrian has become. “Anything I would say about his career, he is doing it. He will be my mentor.” The greatest lesson Grenier learned? The “lesson of empathy. All of the selfish things you go through, the “me, me, me,” doesn’t have a place in mentoring.”
As far as becoming a gigolo, Grenier said “Well, Entourage is almost over…”
Jeremy Piven holds back tears while talking about his mother, his mentor
During an emotional afternoon at Bing Bar in Park City, Jeremy Piven fought back tears as he discussed what it was like having his own mother as his mentor. “I’m about to cry like a grandmother on my knees right now,” joked Piven, during The Creative Coalition’s 2011 Teachers Making a Difference Luncheon. “The hardest role I’ve ever had is not crying right now.” The purpose of the event was to join together actors with their teachers to pay tribute to education’s heroes. Fellow “Entourage” co-star Adrian Grenier paid tribute to his high school drama teacher as well. Mrs. Piven retold charming anecdotes of Jeremy’s training and childhood, including the time she learned he’d be performing his first Shakespeare role. “Did he read his lines? This is going to be a disaster,” she joked. Jeremy turned to the audience and said “this coming from the woman I studied under for 10 years.” As Piven presented his mother with the award, he stressed one last time how education runs deep in his family. “My mom grabbed Michelle Obama by the arm, looked her in the eyes and said ‘don’t forget about the arts.’”
Adrian Grenier, Mr. Shifman, Robin Bronk, Mrs. Piven, Jeremy Piven and Cheryl Hines at Bing Bar for The Creative Coalition’s 2011 Teachers Making a Difference Luncheon
Photo Credits: Bing
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