Over $81 million pledged to Stand Up to Cancer following telethon

Image credit: Kevin Mazur/American Broadcasting Companies Inc vi[/caption]

Stand Up to Cancer has raised over $81 million since Friday's star-studded telethon.

ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC dedicated an hour of commercial-free primetime programming to the nationally televised fundraiser, which was executive produced by Gwyneth Paltrow and Tenth Planet Productions' Joel Gallen. The event, which was also broadcast on over a dozen cable networks, featured appearances and testimonials from Hollywood A-listers Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, Halle Berry, Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake, Robert Pattinson, and SU2C co-founder Katie Couric, among others. In addition to staffing the phone bank, stars like Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, and Tim McGraw also performed on air.

"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, SU2C co-founder and president of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, said in a press release. "Their support means so much to the millions of cancer patients and survivors who know they are not alone in this fight."

Paltrow, who lost her father, director Bruce Paltrow, to cancer ten years ago, said in a press release that she was "deeply moved" by the event.

"This is very personal for me, as it is for so many of us," she said. "Our program honored all those we've lost to the disease, emboldened those brave survivors among us to continue fighting, and highlighted SU2C's remarkable progress in cancer research. The results are tangible, and the potential for breakthroughs in the coming years is very exciting."

More than $260 million has been pledged to SU2C since its 2008 launch. The organization is still accepting donations.

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