# I just heard this fron Robin Williams on the telethon.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 22, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140 "2001-09-22T01:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/121 "2001-09-22T18:42:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\*If it was, that means it started at MIDNIGHT on the east coast…really? \*\* Ummm…here in Atlanta, it was on from 9-11PM. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/122 "2001-09-22T18:44:52Z")
Yes, it was live. But it wasn’t midnight on the east coast (EST). Check out the starting time on this thread (CST). ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/123 "2001-09-22T19:05:49Z")
Has anyone seen how much the telethon brought in? ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/124 "2001-09-22T19:09:12Z")
Arrgh. I missed this. I thought it was tonight. Did anyone tape it or does anyone know when/if it will be rebroadcast? ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/125 "2001-09-22T19:46:36Z")
On the news wire, they’re saying it’ll be Monday before dollar totals are released. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/126 "2001-09-22T19:50:38Z")
If I’m not mistaken, I thought I heard them say this morning that about $116 million was raised before it was even broadcast on the West Coast. But that seems amazingly high to me… here’s hoping it’s right. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/127 "2001-09-22T19:53:47Z")
…that would be awesome, but the numbers I’ve been hearing are more in the $30 million range. From the _E!_ online article: > [@](#): > > Though early estimates were not released Friday night, organizers expected to make as much as $30 million for the United Way’s September 11 Telethon Fund. The audience is expected to number in the tens of millions, perhaps rivaling the all-time ratings champ, the 1983 finale of M_A_S\*H, which drew 106 million viewers. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/128 "2001-09-22T19:54:16Z")
Was Slash, according to my daughter, who so far has known who everyone else is, so she’s probably right on this one too. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/129 "2001-09-22T20:30:46Z")
Ali choked me up. Even though he is obviously not doing well, I bet he’d love to get Osama alone in a room. Cameron Diaz is soooo freakin’ hot. Neil Young _still_ looks like he’s going to croak any day now… but thanks for coming out. I thought he was going to nail someone with the guitar at the end, he was moving around so much. Goldie Hawn (sp?) is aging terribly, but Kurt Russel looks great. I thought they broke up? I saw them hugging though. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/130 "2001-09-22T20:39:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arden Ranger \* > \*\*Yes, it was live. > > But it wasn’t midnight on the east coast (EST). Check out the starting time on this thread (CST). \*\* As I suspected… it was NOT live on the West Coast. The only thing we ever get live is the Oscars…and in order to make everybody happy we have to start THAT right after lunch! What a gyp! (I watched the show on tape…I thought it was very tastefully done. And by watching it on tape, I also had the luxury of completely bypassing that Iglesias kid, Mariah, and Celine. Lucky me.) stoid ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/131 "2001-09-22T21:17:19Z")
Random background trivia that might interest some: Apparently there are 2 kinds of cable stations, single-feed and dual-feed. A dual-feed station shows one thing to the East Coast, then 3 hours later, shows the same thing to the West Coast. A single-feed station shows the same thing to everyone at the same time, and usually just repeats the programming at 11 PM EST, so it’s on at 8 PM PST. OK, so now the background is over we can get to the relevant bits… The single-feed stations were **banned** from showing the telethon. The reason: if they had shown it live on their one feed, it would’ve been shown at 6 PM on the West Coast. The network affiliates on the West Coast were pissed at this, since they didn’t want anyone to undercut their broadcasts and hurt their ratings. So they forced the single-feed cable stations to not show. So that’s why the telethon wasn’t shown on some stations, like HGTV and AMC. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/132 "2001-09-22T21:44:52Z")
I was wondering about that, SmackFu. Usually some station around here somewhere carries such events live, but a thorough search revealed it was not the case with the telethon (I’m in the LA-area). One slight exception: **KCOP** started the telethon at 8pm, not 9pm, at least they did according to the guide. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/133 "2001-09-23T00:05:22Z")
Thanks LabRat. That was my wife’s guess but neither of us were sure. Hmmm, maybe I should check some of his stuff out… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/134 "2001-09-23T01:27:42Z")
I’m a pretty big Slash fan, and I don’t think that was him. Slash is much uglier. (-: ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/135 "2001-09-23T04:31:39Z")
Who was the other chick with Calista Flockhart, anyway? We assumed it was an _Ally McBeal_ costar, but can’t be sure. I wonder how many people who called actually spoke with celebrities (I’m sure it’s a teeny fraction). What a trip that must’ve been, training the celebs on how to take the calls. Bizarre, and cool. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/136 "2001-09-23T14:56:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruffian \* > \*\*Who was the other chick with Calista Flockhart, anyway? We assumed it was an _Ally McBeal_ costar, but can’t be sure. > \*\* I think it was Amy Brenneman from _Judging Amy_. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140/137 "2001-09-26T07:14:51Z")
update because some people were interested. The telethon raised 160 million according to the CNN scrolling news. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-heard-this-fron-robin-williams-on-the-telethon/83140.md?page=6)