“I’ve been a big believer in the colonoscopy,” Jon Hamm said on the red carpet right before heading into the Dolby Theatre to appear in the Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). He said this while making circular motions over his lower abdomen. “It’s not the sexiest thing, but guess what—it really does work.” The red carpet was filled with doctors and scientists who work in the field of cancer research (real stars in my eyes) along with celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, Common, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jennifer Aniston, Joe Manganiello, Lupe Fiasco, Halle Berry, Sofia Vergara, Tony Goldwyn, Jesse Tyler Fergusen, Jordana Brewster, Josh Gad, and Jennifer Hudson.
Once inside the Dolby, I sat down only to have Eric Stonestreet appear in the aisle next to me wearing a tracksuit and headband. Five minutes before the live broadcast he was playing usher, helping some pals get their already filled seats. He nicely gave someone the boot, and took his spot outside the door of the theater until his cue for his part in the telecast.
Right before cameras began to role, co-executive producer Gwyneth Paltrow took the stage to address the audience as she has done in years past. “I am so proud of what we’re doing here tonight,” she said, “this is a labor of love for the entertainment community.” It was a fun, touching show for an important cause that unfortunately touches too many lives in on way or another. There were audible gasps in the audience when Pierce Brosnan had difficulty talking about the deaths of his wife and daughter.
The one thing everyone did see, was poor Mike Myers, who will probably never do live TV again. There was a technical glitch when they were apparently supposed to cut to Ben Stiller in Toronto and didn’t— leaving Myers alone on the stage to ad lib. “I am doomed never to have a live telecast without controversy,” he said into the camera. “I think it’s Hurricane Kanye…” He was, of course, referring to the live 2005 Hurricane Katrina telethon where he fidgeted next to Kanye West as West went off script.
More than $109 million has been pledged since the show aired Friday and donations can still be made online and via 1-888-90-STAND (78263).
