Word: telethon
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...missing his Best Song award while buying drinks at the bar comes to mind.) But the celebration's muted atmosphere was summed up by Jason Reitman's acceptance speech in which he discussed his Up in the Air star George Clooney, who will be hosting a Hope For Haiti telethon on Jan. 22. "George doesn't even want to be here tonight. He wishes he was in a soundstage setting up 20,000 phone lines for a benefit for Haiti right...
...executives for their handling of the Late Show fiasco. But the embattled NBC brass were generally spared from a night of continuing barbs about the pop scandal of the moment. By minute five, presenter Nicole Kidman turned the attention right back to Haiti and Clooney's telethon. And so it went...
...loyal to Gilda. But it was devastating not being in the movie. John was very hurt by it. We entered into what I like to call a show-business feud. Just like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. But just like Dean and Jerry, we reunited on the Jerry Lewis telethon...
Some might say, though, that the telethon isn't as lucrative a money-getting tactic as it once was. In fact, despite typical production goals of keeping costs at 25 cents to 33 cents of every donated dollar, it's hard to know how much donated money to bank on. Most telethons only collect between 60% and 75% of pledged dollars. During a 1983 Democratic National Committee fundraiser, 800,000 of the 1 million callers rang in just to declare their support for their Republican President Ronald Reagan. Still, Lewis' MDA program remains one of the most enduring hallmarks...
While some have called these programs an overly emotional guilt trip, the star power these occasions manage to draw doesn't hurt their cause. Frank Sinatra's performance in the 1976 MDA telethon proved particularly momentous for both the audience and Lewis himself. When Sinatra emerged, he brought Lewis' former comedic partner Dean Martin on the stage with him, bringing a tear to the host's already tired eyes. A lack of stars proved to be the downfall of a 1980 telethon to raise money for burn victims. After comedian Richard Pryor's nearly fatal burning accident that year, noted...