Despite the grueling treatment Michael Douglas is undergoing for stage IV throat cancer, the 65-year-old actor plans to take part with dozens of stars in Fridays Stand Up to Cancer telethon.
The program, to be broadcast Friday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST/PST, will be shown by all three major networks as well as a number of cable channels, including HBO and E! Appearing on stage will be stars who are cancer survivors, including some who have never spoken publicly about their experience.
Among them are Maura Tierney (ER); Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under); Lance Armstrong; Elizabeth Edwards; Ethan Zohn (Survivor); Sharon Osbourne; broadcaster Robin Roberts; and actress Sofia Vergara. Other celebrities who will help in the fundraising include Denzel Washington, Renee Zellweger, Will Smith and Reese Witherspoon. Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams will be hosting.
(A spokesman for Douglas said he would be taking part in the program. The Academy Award-winning actor was diagnosed last month and appeared on the Late Show to talk with David Letterman about being treated with radiation and chemotherapy. It knocks you down, he told People magazine. Earlier t his week Douglas gave a news conference promoting his new movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He told reporters he was trying to take it a day at a time. No photos were allowed.)
