Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson

Celebrity News

The stars shine bright for Glenn Close

Glenn Close — whose sister and nephew struggle with mental illness — was teary-eyed when bidding at a gala for Bring Change 2 Mind, which deals with the stigma of mental health, surpassed the $1 million goal for the night.

The Tuesday event in Chelsea featured surprise artists who came out from behind doors after frenzied bidders up the ante.

As Seth Meyers emceed, Billy Porter of “Kinky Boots,” violinist Joshua Bell, ukulele sensation Jake Shimabukuro, “Late Show With David Letterman” bandleader Paul Shaffer and Valerie Simpson (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) entertained the likes of George Lucas, Harvey Weinstein and Mariska Hargitay.

Close’s “Fatal Attraction” co-star Michael Douglas bought tickets to the event, but couldn’t come because of a family emergency.

Jeff Goldblum, an accomplished jazz pianist, grabbed the mike and shouted, “Who wants to come up here and sing with me?”

The woman who won the bid sang “Over the Rainbow” as a duet with Meyers.

Three bidders went up to $100,000 each for Paul Simon, who played a three-song set with the other musicians, some of whom seemed flabbergasted to be jamming onstage with the legend.

“Misunderstanding mental illness can be lethal,” Close told me. “We want to erase the stigma so people can get treatment without feeling shame.”