LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2014) - Celebrities and television viewers across the United States and Canada joined forces to raise $109 million during the fourth Biennial Stand Up To Cancer telethon. The September 5th event packed the house at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre where among the television and movie industry executives in attendance was Bryan Zuriff, executive producer of Showtime's hit drama series "Ray Donovan." Zuriff walked the red carpet with Audra Moran, Chief Executive Officer at Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
While the evening was devoted to the serious business of raising funds to cure cancer, the telecast began on a lighter note with an Olympics opening ceremony-style relay where Melissa McCarthy handed off a torch to Steve Carell, who then passed it on to Eric Stonestreet. Bryan Zuriff and the others at the Dolby Theatre watched as Stonestreet jogged down the center aisle to the stage with the torch to officially start the fundraising. After an acoustic performance by Dave Matthews, Halle Berry was the evening's first host. She told the packed auditorium and television viewers about some of the cancer treatment advancements Stand Up To Cancer has contributed to. Through the work of some 800 scientists funded by the charity, a single cancer cell can now be detected among one billion in a tablespoon of blood, Berry said. Stand Up To Cancer scientists have also found ways to use sufferers' own DNA and immune systems to fight lung, melanoma, and other types of cancer. "The science coming from this movement is extraordinary. It touches an incredible range of cancer types," Berry said.
The broadcast featured live performances; taped interviews with scientists, cancer patients, and cancer survivors; and on-stage celebrities answering phones and interacting with donors on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Broadcast, cable, and online networks carried the telethon live. As viewers called in and logged onto their social media accounts, they connected with many of today's biggest names in the entertainment industry, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Rob Riggle from "Modern Family."
Pierce Brosnan provided a powerful moment as he recounted losing two dearest women in his life to the devastating disease -- his first wife, Cassie, and his daughter, Charlotte. Many were in tears when the 61-year-old actor said he was "a man who has watched the women he loved so much struggle with great pain," adding that "to watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease -- that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche."