For 26 years, the MHOF – named for the titular character of the 1995 film Mr. Holland’s Opus (played by Richard Dreyfuss) – has aimed to provide school-aged children from low-income backgrounds with the opportunity to enjoy music education, offering, among other avenues, access to musical instruments.
MHOF CEO Felice Mancini added: “Eddie’s support and friendship over the years meant the world to us and to his fans. His passion for music and our work created a strong bond, which is evident in his extraordinary bequest.
A new plaque has been unveiled in his hometown of Pasadena, California, to remember the musician one year after his passing.
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo and fellow council members placed a plaque close to the city’s Convention Center, which is next to the Civic Auditorium.
As reported on Blabbermouth, this is where Van Halen played a number of times between 1975 and 1978. The public cannot attend because of coronavirus restrictions that are still in place.
The tribute was spearheaded by two Pasadena residents, Randa Schmalfeld and Julie Kimura, who set up a GoFundMe page earlier this year to set up a permanent memorial.
In an update on their GoFundMe page last month, the pair saw the memorial will “honour the early days of Van Halen and the importance of their performances at the Pasadena Civic in the 1970’s.
“In addition to a brief description about the Van Halen family and the band, and their relationship to Pasadena, it will also include the infamous Van Halen logo, which the band has approved for display on the plaque.”
Eddie Van Halen's widow Janie Van Halen (Née Liszewski) says that she is "doing the best" she can, five months after the legendary guitarist's passing.
Janie has dealt with the deaths of her brother last June and her mother in November. (Blabbermouth)
Janie, who is a ballroom dancer, discussed her grieving process while appearing on the "Tony & Dwight" on NewsRadio 840 WHAS this morning (Friday, March 5). She said (hear audio below).
"I'm doing the best I can. I have okay days; I have sad, bad days; but you just have to kind of keep moving. And the things that I post [on social media] as inspiration for other people,
I actually post for myself as well to kind of keep going, keep moving forward. My dance partner also had two losses almost at the same time — his dad, and then his sister's boyfriend. So we kind of support each other in our loss and our grief. And it helps — it definitely helps. And then, obviously, my family members and friends — close friends. I do the best I can. It's not so easy, though."
Last december Julien’s Auctions announced that a trio of Eddie Van Halen guitars sold for more than $422,000 during Julien’s Auctions’ annual Icons & Idols Trilogy: Rock ‘n’ Roll Auction.
Iconic customized Kramer electric guitar played by late rock legend fetched top bid
Variants of the late rock legend’s Frankenstrat were among the instruments fetching the highest bids of the two-day event. His customized Kramer electric guitar, which he built with his guitar tech Matt Bruck at Van Halen’s home studio sold for $231,250. The winning bid for his 2004 EVH Charvel Art Series electric guitar came in at $140,800. A non-playing prop guitar used by child actor Bryan Hitchcock, who played a young Eddie Van Halen in the band’s “Hot for Teacher” video, sold for $50,000.
The auction, which sold nearly 900 items, included instruments and memorabilia from a wide array of music icons. Two Fender guitars smashed by Kurt Cobain sold for a combined $281,600, Bob Marley’s first guitar ever to come to auction sold 
for $153,600 and a mid-1960s Hammond B-3 organ played by Greg Allman garnered $102,400.
