22-year-old Jimmy Whittemore has always wanted to be a star on Broadway, but until this weekend, he hadn’t quite pulled it off. An aspiring actor/dancer/singer, he’s performed in such regional shows as Celebration of the Sixties at a casino in Atlantic City, Twist and Shout! in a casino in Niagara Falls, and We Got the Beat at Six Flags New England. Between auditions he worked as a bartender at a midtown sushi place, but on Saturday night he spent the night out boozing and singing karaoke with friends. As the sun was coming up on Sunday, he passed out drunk in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater, where David Letterman tapes. When he woke up, he discovered that his cell phone had been stolen. It was the second time in a month he’d been robbed. Whittemore flew into a rampage, emptying out his frustrations with New York and Broadway on the fancy wood-and-glass facade of the theater. Cops showed up around 7 a.m. and made him crawl back out from the hole he’d shattered.
Whittemore admitted he’d done it because he was drunk, and he was briefly hospitalized because of cuts he suffered during the outburst. He’s charged with burglary and criminal mischief, although one has to wonder if he’s a little grateful he ended up destroying the entrance to one of the only theaters in Times Square that doesn’t employ Broadway actor/dancer/singers.
David Letterman studio trashed: Suspect Jimmy Whittemore haunted by personal demons, family says [NYDN]
