BURBANK : Playground Is Dedicated to ‘Tonight Show’

Here was Jay Leno, rich, popular entertainer, poking fun at himself for contributing to a good cause.

“Like many other great Americans--like Charles Keating and Al Capone--I am attempting to buy my way into respectability,” Leno said, tongue firmly in cheek, during a playground dedication Friday in Burbank attended by about 200 people at Johnny Carson Park, named for his “Tonight Show” predecessor.

Leno gave $15,000 to help build the Tonight Show Playground at the city park across the street from NBC studios. His donation helped a local mother’s campaign to build the playground for her 6-year-old daughter, but he said it also stemmed from his fondness for the city, which had been the butt of many a Carson joke.

“I like Burbank,” said Leno, after slipping away from a mob of television cameras, reporters and autograph seekers. Leno, a fan of cars and engines, pointed out that Burbank, the former home of Lockheed Corp., is still home to many engineering experts.

“You’ve got some of the best specialty mechanics in the world around here,” Leno said.

Bounding around the playground Friday was Jenna Berger, whose mother began the drive for its creation.

“She is very proud of this park,” said her mother, Claire, who started a campaign last year after city officials said they could not afford the project. Berger and her daughter collected $30,000 in donations from neighborhood residents and businesses, including NBC and Walt Disney studios. The city provided a matching grant of $30,000.

“This is really one of the happiest days in her life,” Claire Berger said.

Someone else who got the thrill of a lifetime was Debbie Leaf, a friend of Berger’s. She stood next to Leno to be recognized during the ceremony when the comedian, hamming it up for the cameras, swept her off her feet.

“What can I say, I’m a friend of Claire’s, I made a donation, and the next thing I know I’m being picked up by Jay Leno, literally,” Leaf said.