Hollywood stars stage tsunami telethon

Brat Pitt mans the phones during NBC's 'Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope,' in Burbank, California. Picture / Reuters

NEW YORK - Hollywood stars and recording artists from Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis to Madonna and Elton John put their wattage to work in the weekend, raising money for victims of the Asian tsunami disaster in a nationally broadcast telethon.

Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope aired on NBC in a live two-hour broadcast in the East as well as a web cast, with a taped version showing in other areas and phone lines staying open through the night for contributions.

The phones were manned by many of Hollywood's A-list, including Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins, Ray Romano, supermodel Cindy Crawford and George Clooney, one of the telethon's main organisers.

Other stars such as Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, Clint Eastwood, Renee Zellweger, Goldie Hawn, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and Halle Berry appeared, some from locations such as New York and London, to issue appeals for donations or introduce segments recapping the calamity that hit South Asia on December 26. Many also worked the phones during the show.

No numbers were available by early Sunday on the amounts pledged, but NBC officials said the phone lines (1-800-HELPNOW) had been jammed throughout the show, with the hosts appealing to viewers to use the website (www.redcross.org) to make donations if their calls did not get through.

Tonight Show host Jay Leno acted as a sort of emcee for the programme put on by NBC Universal and the American Red Cross, wandering amid the stars on the soundstage at Universal Studios and hawking items from the telethon such as a coffee mug signed by the celebrities or a telephone used during the programme, for pledges of US$2000 ($2870) to US$3000.

The show began with Morgan Freeman relating tales of survival and hope from the tsunami, followed by Madonna's performance of John Lennon's Imagine live from London.

Other musical performers included Nelly, Annie Lennox, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, and John, who performed Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. The programme closed with Diana Ross singing her hit Reach Out and Touch.

Two former presidents -- George Bush and Bill Clinton -- also put in a joint appearance. They were appointed by President George W Bush to spearhead the charitable effort in the United States.

Also putting in appearances were Jamie Foxx, Naomi Watts, Hugh Grant, James Woods, Annette Bening, Uma Thurman, Quentin Tarantino, Kelsey Grammer, Rob Lowe, Robert Downey Jr, Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman and Drew Barrymore and Andy Garcia. Willis appeared with his three daughters.

A controversial note was injected earlier this week when Fox News conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly said that the money might not all be used to aid tsunami victims. Actor Clooney urged O'Reilly to participate, which he ended up doing in a brief appearance, appealing for contributions.

A Red Cross executive assured contributors that 94 per cent of the money would go directly to disaster victims.

The programme was also carried on cable channels USA, Bravo, Trio, SCI-FI, MSNBC and CNBC, as well as Telemundo and PAX.

- REUTERS