Radio station, Brown work out a deal

Bobby Brown was bailed out of his latest legal bind yesterday by a Washington, D.C., radio station that's planning to put the R&B singer to work for a week. Stating it is concerned about Brown's children, Hot 99.5, a Top 40 station owned by Clear Channel, cut the court a $22,000 check to cover the singer's overdue child-support payments and spring him from the Norfolk County House of Correction, where he spent three nights this week. "Bobby's not only a legendary, multi platinum recording artist," said Kane, Hot 99.5's morning jock. "He's also a human being, and we decided we should put up the money for him and his kids." In exchange, the Roxbury-bred Brown has agreed, starting today, to go on the air for a week and talk honestly about the substance abuse and other issues that derailed his once-promising career. "Hey, we recognize the power of an icon," Kane said. Soon after he was set free by Judge Paula Carey, Brown telephoned Hot 99.5 from a men's bathroom to promote his radio appearance. Brown, 38, was back in court because he failed to make monthly $5,500 child-support payments for LaPrincia and Bobby III, his two teenage children with former girlfriend Kim Ward. Separated from his wife of 14 years, Whitney Houston, Brown was picked up Sunday by police as he walked into Attleboro High School to see his daughter's cheerleading competition. The judge reluctantly agreed to let Ward take money from college funds Brown created for the kids , should the singer's child-support checks arrive late in the future. "I'm concerned about doing this, because Mr. Brown has fallen off on a number of occasions in the past," Carey said. For all of his financial problems, Brown at least looked the part of a pop star yesterday, showing up in court with brother Tommy and attorney Phaedra Parks in a white Mercedes CLS 500, and wearing a snazzy pinstripe suit. "I'm doing a lot better in my life," he insisted afterward. "I'm moving forward." Brown will be on the air in DC this morning, and then the radio station is flying him home to LA to pick up some clothes. He'll be back on Hot 99.5 Monday.

Leoni’s ties to UNICEF run deep

For actress Tea Leoni, being an ambassador for the US Fund for UNICEF isn't just a passing endorsement. "UNICEF's role in the world is as a humanitarian organization. We're not just there in times of crisis," said Leoni, whose grandmother Helenka Pantaleoni was a founder of the fund and whose father, Anthony Pantaleoni, serves on its board. Leoni was in Boston yesterday for a reception at the Gamble Mansion on Commonwealth Avenue that was followed by a dinner at the Back Bay home of construction magnate Jay Cashman and his wife, actress Christy Scott Cashman. " It's always nice to spend a night not covered in jelly and magic marker," said the mother of two. But it's not all fancy parties catered by top chefs, including Anthony Susi, Dante de Magistris, and Marc Orfaly. Leoni has traveled with her father to Honduras and Vietnam to observe the programs sponsored by the 60-year-old children's charity. "It's important that every ambassador travel in the field," said Leoni, who is married to actor David Duchovny. "We can see what the needs are and speak to that."

It was only a matter of time before Bridget Moynahan had a heart-to-heart with Mary-Louise Parker. The New York Post reported that the actresses were "deep in conversation" over breakfast the other day. Parker was eight months pregnant when her longtime boyfriend, Billy Crudup, ditched her for Claire Danes, and Moynahan broke up with Tom Brady around the time she learned she was carrying the Pats QB's baby. . . . Marshall Crenshaw, who's playing tomorrow at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, loves Boston because his last days as a fake Beatle were spent here. Crenshaw, who played John Lennon in the touring production of "Beatlemania," recalls he was gearing up to go it alone. "On my way back to my hotel from the Shubert, I'd buy two coffees and a brownie and then I'd write a song in, like, 15 minutes," he said, laughing. "I was in a caffeine frenzy in Boston, but that's where I wrote 'Someday, Someway.' " . . . New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is returning to his hometown of Medford as the speaker for Tufts University's May 20 graduation. Bloomberg and five others will receive honorary degrees.

Comic and political satirist Jimmy Tingle joined Senator Ted Kennedy, Governor Deval Patrick, and funnymen Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke in sending well-wishes marking cable news channel NECN's 15th anniversary. . . . Comic Dom Irrera dined at Strega Ristorante in the North End the other night before his shows at the Comedy Connection in Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.