Celebrity telethon to help relief effort
Advertiser Staff and News Services
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| TV stars who will participate include: from left, Calista Flockhart, Dennis Franz, Amy Brenneman, Kelsey Grammer, Conan O'Brien, Ray Romano and Sela Ward. Movie star Robert De Niro also will be featured, along with a number of other celebrities. |
Uniting screen stars, musicians and television personalities, tomorrow night's "America: A Show of Unity" TV telethon will include participation of the four major broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — plus HBO, WB and UPN (seen here on KFVE) and possibly some radio stations. The event, which may expand to three hours from the original two, also will be streamed live on the Internet.
The broadcast time, a question of some interest in the Islands, where air times often differ from the Mainland, is set for 8 p.m. Hawai'i time for the major networks. Oceanic Cable's Kit Beuret says HBO, Lifetime, Court TV, TNN, Showtime and Fox Sports also will carry the broadcast, some live, some delayed, so Hawai'i viewers will have a number of opportunities to tune in at different times.
During air time, and for a period thereafter, phone lines will be open for viewers to donate to charities helping those affected by the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, and the crash of a hijacked jet in Pennsylvania. Tracy Keli'iho'omalu of KITV said network officials confirmed that the lines would be open when Island residents are watching, even if that's later than the Mainland broadcast.
The event will be broadcast live from New York and Los Angeles locations which are being kept secret in the interest of security. Despite the fact that tickets to such an event would likely sell for high prices, there will be no live audience, again for security reasons, but also to simplify logistics. Producers said they didn't want to burden New York police with security or crowd control work, or create a potential terrorism target in Los Angeles.
The one doubt planners of the event expressed when the idea popped up last Friday morning was whether such a massive undertaking could be pulled off in just a week, but there has been no problem lining up talent.
Stars, stations and others are jumping on the bandwagon — everyone working for free — as the networks plan a fund-raiser that will feature live musical acts and a parade of celebrities that is growing by the hour.
Heading the Hollywood contingent are: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey and Clint Eastwood.
Early enlistees from TV include Calista Flockhart, Dennis Franz, Amy Brenneman, Kelsey Grammer, Conan O'Brien, Ray Romano and Sela Ward.
Every facet of the music business will be well represented. The initial roster includes Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow, Alicia Keys, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Neil Young.
The organizers emphasized that this is merely a list of the first volunteers. It is expected to grow substantially before air time and include figures from the world of sports and other performing arts.
It has not been determined precisely what kind of contribution each celebrity will make.
However, the program is expected to be heavily tilted toward entertainment, with a minimum of fund-raising pitches. A host has yet to be named.
Every dollar raised will go to the relief effort because the major networks will absorb production costs and the stars have all donated their services. Whether to donate the proceeds to an existing fund or create a new foundation was still being discussed.
The program is being produced by Joel Gallin, who has created several specials, including the MTV Music Awards.
"The news divisions have been doing an incredible job with coverage, and I think the entertainment divisions wanted to do something of their own to contribute," said one network executive. "This is the true power of broadcast television."
The terrorist attacks in New York and near Washington already have cost the networks considerably. Analysts estimated those costs last week at more than $200 million per network in lost advertising and additional news-gathering expenses. In addition, the major networks decided to delay by a week the premieres of new fall shows, which originally were to have debuted this week.
Most networks had put off their fall season premiers, but WB had planned to go ahead until this special was announced.
Now it has postponed the premieres of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," "Maybe It's Me," "Reba" and "Raising Dad" for the second week in a row to air the telethon.
The New York Daily News, Zap2It.com, the Associated Press, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Bloomberg News Service and Advertiser staff writer Mary Kaye Ritz contributed to this report.
