TV Fund-Raiser Taps Top Stars
Celebs enlist for two-hour simulcast aid event Friday
By MITCHELL FINK and RICHARD HUFF

Some of the country's biggest stars are putting on a show to raise money for victims of last week's World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks, Bon Jovi, Robert De Niro and Clint Eastwood are some of the bold-faced names who have agreed to appear on "America: A Tribute to Heroes," scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday.

The event will be broadcast live from studios in New York and Los Angeles, although the organizers are not disclosing the exact locations for security reasons.

Although tickets to either venue would fetch a substantial amount of money, there will be no audience. Viewers will be asked to pledge money by phone while watching from home.

This decision was based on logistics and because the producers do not want to further burden the New York Police Department, already strapped after the attacks, with handling crowd control.

The four major networks-- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox-- put the show together yesterday and will underwrite it. UPN and the WB are also expected to carry the show.

Radio stations and cable networks are invited to join the simulcast, which will be a milestone in broadcast history. While there have been some cross-network simulcasts-- in 1958 there was a benefit for Hungarian relief that aired on three networks-- never before have so many outlets joined to deliver one telecast. The show will run two hours, without commercial interruption.

The idea for the benefit was hatched over the weekend and hammered out yesterday afternoon.

DreamWorks SKG co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has promised to gather the top Hollywood names, while music mogul Jimmy Iovine has tapped that industry for performers, according to sources.

Each of the television networks will have two stars appear on the show. CBS stars Amy Brenneman ("Judging Amy") and Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond") are on the bill, as are NBC's Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier") and Conan O'Brien ("Late Night"). ABC's Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue") and Sela Ward ("Once and Again") will be there, too.

All funds raised from the program will go to the relief effort, although the exact charities have yet to be determined, according to the organizers. __New York Daily News (September 19, 2001)