$81M pledged during SU2C telethon

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- More than $81 million has been pledged as a result of last week's Hollywood telecast, the organization Stand Up to Cancer said Monday.

Friday's fundraising telecast was intended to accelerate ground-breaking research and bring new treatments to patients as quickly as possible, organizers said in a news release.

The broadcast was executive produced by actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions in collaboration with SU2C's production team.

ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC donated one hour of simultaneous, commercial-free prime-time for the nationally televised fundraising special, which was broadcast live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Cable channels Armed Forces Network, BIO, E!, ENCORE, HBO, HBO Latino, ION Television, LMN (Lifetime Movie Network), Logo, MLB Network, mun2, Palladia, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, STARZ, STYLE, TBS and VH1 also donated their air time.

Among the stars who participated were Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Samuel L. Jackson, Tobey Maguire, Jeremy Renner, Seth Rogen, Emma Stone, Justin Timberlake, Sofia Vergara, Robert Pattinson and SU2C co-founder Katie Couric.

Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Tim McGraw offered musical performances.

Also spotted at the event were Simon Baker, Jordana Brewster, Diem Brown, Kobe Bryant, Ty Burrell, Dana Delany, Rocco DiSpirito, Gabrielle Douglas, Donald Faison, Missy Franklin, Jennie Garth, Max Greenfield, Chelsea Handler, Marg Helgenberger, Felicity Huffman, Stacy Keibler, Minka Kelly, Joe Manganiello, Jillian Michaels, Masi Oka, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Ana Maria Polo, Ray Romano, Eric Stonestreet, Alison Sweeney, and Ethan Zohn.

"We are profoundly grateful to the entire entertainment community, particularly the stars who volunteered their time and talent, as well as the networks and cable channels that donated the air time, to make our show a tremendous success," Lisa Paulsen, an SU2C co-founder, said in a statement. "Their support means so much to the millions of cancer patients and survivors who know they are not alone in this fight."

The program included a tribute to beloved film producer Laura Ziskin, who was an SU2C co-founder and executive producer of the telecasts in 2008 and 2010. Ziskin lived with breast cancer for seven years before she died in June 2011.