| Saturday 22 September 2001 |
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Celebrities come together to raise millions for victims
Some of the biggest celebrities on the planet came together Friday to raise money for the victims of last week's terrorist attacks on the U.S. in an event that was moving, sombre - and at times strangely surreal. Rock 'n' roll icon Bruce Springsteen opened the telethon with a song that seemed eerily custom-made for the event - My City in Ruins. "This is a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters," Springsteen said as he launched into the tune he wrote a couple of years ago about Asbury Park, N.J., where he got his musical start.
But Springsteen might as well have been singing about New York City, where mountains of smoking rubble are all that's left of its once-gleaming World Trade Center towers following the airborne assaults that killed more than 6,000 people. Springsteen, part of the show broadcast around the world, wasn't the only musician to sing songs that suddenly, searingly, resonated with new meaning.
Canadian Neil Young sang John Lennon's Imagine. Tom Petty sang I Won't Back Down. Paul Simon sang Bridge Over Troubled Water. But it fell to Canada's Celine Dion, her characteristic vocal athletics in fine form despite a temporary retirement, to sing God Bless America during the two-hour show entitled America: A Tribute to Heroes.
"We are not healers," Tom Hanks said. "We are not protectors of this great nation. We are merely artists, entertainers, here to raise spirits and, we hope, a great deal of money." Though an understated and emotional event - held at undisclosed locations in New York and Los Angeles - it was nonetheless filled with some strange moments. Stars like Al Pacino, Brad Pitt and Jack Nicholson - his trademark sardonic smile in place - manned the phones while viewers called to make pledges for relief efforts. Others working the phones included Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Penelope Cruz, Tom Cruise, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
At times it appeared the stars were chatting happily with fans rather than taking pledges, in stark contrast to the teary presentations made between musical acts by film superstars like Hanks and Julia Roberts. Actress Lucy Lui had words that seemed unintentionally hollow given her fiercely image-conscious industry: "Judging people by the way they look - that's not America." Clint Eastwood seemed particularly Dirty Harry-esque: "The terrorists wanted 300 million victims, instead they'll get 300 million heroes."
But for the most part, it was a serious event that featured stars like George Clooney and Cameron Diaz telling stories of heartbreaking heroism about ordinary citizens - from firefighters in New York delicately searching the rubble for survivors to those who attempted to fight off their captors in hijacked jetliners during the airborne attacks. Stevie Wonder, Sting, Sheryl Crowe, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Willie Nelson and U2, performing the uplifting song Walk On live from London, were among those who performed on stark, candlelit sets.
Mariah Carey made her first public appearance since her much-publicized mental breakdown. There were no commercials during the show, no applause to punctuate any of the performances and the stars were dressed plainly, most of them in black. They'd been commanded not to bring hair and makeup people - something that could very well have prompted backstage hissy fits just two weeks ago but seemed a perfectly suitable request in the wake of the horror.
"We need your help," a subdued Jim Carrey, no sign of his slapstick humour in sight, said simply. Former boxing great Muhammad Ali, who became a Muslim decades ago, was also on hand. "I wouldn't be here representing Islam if it were terrorist," said Ali, suffering the effects of Parkinson's disease. "I think all people should know the truth, come to recognize the truth. Islam is peace." U.S. authorities have linked the Sept. 11 attacks to Muslim extremist Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.
The show wrapped up with everyone involved singing America the Beautiful, led by Willie Nelson. Hollywood has begun to make its presence known since the attacks. Pop diva Madonna, who didn't take part in Friday's telethon, last week publicly urged the United States to show restraint in its response to the attacks. She's also donated earnings from her concerts to relief efforts. Carrey has donated $1 million US to relief efforts. So has talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell.
Acerbic comic Denis Leary is using his previously established firefighters foundation to raise funds for firefighters working night and day in New York. More than 30 television networks agreed to air the program simultaneously. It was organized by the four largest: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. In Canada, it aired on CTV, Global and other Canadian broadcasters. BBC and ITV also ran the broadcast live. A phone number, 1-866-TO-UNITE, and a Web site, www.tributetoheroes.org, were flashed at the bottom of the screen throughout the show. (Canoe) Many thanks to Mariah News.
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