History Is Made As Hollywood Unites for a Star Studded Telethon

Friday night's two-hour telethon, America: A Tribute to Heroes, raised in excess of $110 million dollars for the United Way’s September 11th fund. Donations are still being taken online at www.tributetoheroes.org. The telethon was shown on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, UPN, the WB, E!, PAX, PBS, BET, Comedy Central, Court TV, TNT, TNN, TVLand, USA, VH1, Discovery, F/X, Fox Family, Hallmark, HBO, MTV, SciFi, Lifetime, Showtime, The Learning Channel, Telemundo, Univision and Galavision. The telethon was also heard on more than 8,000 radio stations and was also on the Web via Yahoo! The telecast was shown in 156 countries. An estimated 89 million viewers and listeners tuned in.

Between heartfelt performances by superstars such as Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Paul Simon and Billy Joel, many stars spoke of the fallen heroes of September 11th. Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise, among others, told of the lives lost in the tragedy. They told of the courage of the many who stayed behind to help others and ultimately lost their lives, of those who tried to thwart their attackers and of the many fire fighters and policeman who died as heroes in the line of duty.

The Celebrity Phone Bank included Brad Pitt, Jack Nicholson, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia, Sally Field, Adam Sandler, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Cindy Crawford, Benicio Del Toro, Al Pacino, Michael Keaton, Salma Hayek, Whoopi Goldberg, Reba McEntire, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Penelope Cruz, Tom Cruise, John Cusack, Halle Berry, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Stiller, Mark Wahlberg, James Woods and Robin Williams. The mood was one of somber remembrance and it was clear that the celebrities were determined to motivate Americans to donate whatever they could. Stars were asked to arrive sans entourage and they appeared on a dark stage lit with candles. The telethon was commercial free and showed taped segments of the victims and the victims family members. The telethon ended with Willie Nelson and the other celebrities singing America, the Beautiful. Is it ever.