A bevy of soap opera stars including Young and the Restless‘ Eric Braeden (Victor), General Hospital‘s Cameron Mathison (Drew), and Days of our Lives‘ Linsey Godfrey (Sarah; ex-Caroline, Bold and the Beautiful) are standing up to cancer!
Daytime Stars Come Together
Very few in life have had a family that hasn’t been affected by cancer in some form or another. Now, numerous daytime stars are taking part in a live stream event on Thursday, May 16 — Daytime Stands Up: A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer…We All Have a Story. The online three-hour benefit features daytime stars past and present, many of whom will share their stories and personal experiences with the horrible disease.
Watch for special celebrity guests to appear who will encourage viewers to support cancer research and treatments. Daytime Stands Up will stream live between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET (5 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. PT) on Alan Locher and Michael Fairman’s YouTube respective channels, The Locher Room and Michael Fairman Channel as well as StandUpToCancer.org/DaytimeStandsUp.
“Daytime television invites viewers into the private lives of characters, often bringing important issues like cancer screenings into living rooms and around water coolers,” says Locher. “Soaps debuted the first cancer storyline in 1962 – years before the topic was discussed in the mainstream, and it left an indelible impact: a whole generation of women who scheduled a potentially life-saving Pap smear for the first time.”
The forementioned storyline was told on Guiding Light with beloved Bert Bauer (played by Charita Bauer — the same surname is coincidence).
“For so many viewers, this brought the issue front and center,” adds Fairman. “Today, it’s become almost impossible to avoid; but there is hope with cancer research, thanks to organizations like Stand Up To Cancer.”
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will simultaneously launch a 10-day eBay silent auction, which will run from May 16 through 26. Soap opera fans can bid on a wide range of silent auction items including a meet-and-greet experience with the cast of NBC’s Days of Our Lives; an autographed script from the cast of CBS’s The Young and the Restless and signed merch from CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful cast; a video call with GH’s Cynthia Watros (Nina), Maura West (Ava), and Laura Wright (Carly), and with daytime legends Robert Newman (ex-Josh, Guiding Light), Vincent Irizarry (ex-Lujack, GL), Colleen Zenk (Jordan, Y&R; ex-Barbara Ryan, As the World Turns), and more.
Mathison and Zenk will share their personal stories of surviving cancer. Braeden will also talk about his cancer journey and share memories of former leading lady, the late Meg Bennett (ex-Julia).
There will be tributes from daughters of the late Jacklyn Zeman (ex-Bobbie, GH). Elizabeth Hubbard (ex-Lucinda, ATWT) will be honored by both her real-life son Jeremy Bennett and TV daughter Martha Byrne (ex-Lily, ATWT).
The late Jerry verDorn (ex-Ross, GL; ex-Clint, One Life to Live) will be honored by his widow Beth verDorn and on-screen GL wife, Liz Keifer (ex-Blake). Andrea Evans (ex-Tina, OLTL) will be honored by her husband Stephen G. Rodriguez and daughter Kylie Rodriguez.
Michael Easton (Finn, GH; ex-John, OLTL) and Trevor St. John (Tucker, Y&R; ex-Victor, OLTL) will pay tribute to their late OLTL co-star Kamar de los Reyes (ex-Antonio).
Actresses who have played cancer storylines on-screen, including Y&R’s Sharon Case (Sharon) and Eileen Davidson (Ashley), Erika Slezak (ex-Viki, OLTL), and GL’s Tina Sloan (ex-Lillian) and Kim Zimmer (Reva).
Additional talent slated to participate in the virtual benefit include (subject to change): OLTL’s Eddie (Matthew) and Kristen Alderson (Starr); Elia Cantu (Jada, DAYS); The Day Players, featuring DAYS castmates Carson Boatman (Johnny), Brandon Barash (Stefan), Wally Kurth (Justin), and Eric Martsolf (Brady); Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair, OLTL; ex-Eve, DAYS); Don Diamont (Bill, B&B); Leo Howard (Tate, DAYS); Lesli Kay (ex-Felicia, B&B); Eden McCoy (Joss, GH); Kin Shriner (Scotty, GH); and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R).
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