MPTF “Light, camera, action!” Telethon to help needy team members – watch live

The Motion Picture Television Fund telethon Light, camera, act! returns for its third edition Sunday, airing live in Los Angeles on KTLA-Channel 5 from 7-9pm PT.

Yvette Nicole Brown and Tom Bergeron return to host the event, overseeing an evening of stories, songs and celebrity performances to help raise funds for Hollywood workers in need. Also returning this year are producers Phil Rosenthal (Someone feed Phil) and screenwriter-critic-producer David Wilde.

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In addition to KTLA, you can watch the telethon live on Deadline above.

In its first year, the MPTF telethon raised over $850,000 and was nominated for a Los Angeles Emmy Award. Last year, the show raised $750,000 at a time when workers were hit by the summer strikes by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Organizers have set a goal of $750,000 for tonight’s event, which will feature KTLA’s Dayna Devon as the live Celebrity Lounge host and Tiffany Smith as the board host. Click here to make a donation.

Others expected to answer the phone and appear tonight include, according to MPTF, Adam Shapiro, Alex Winter, Camilla Belle, the cast NeighborhoodCedric the Entertainer, Clark Gregg, Colin Farrell, Cooper Koch, Diane Schur, Ellen K, Emily Hampshire, Henry Winkler, Ike Baringholz, Jay Ellis, Jeff Torres, Jimmy Jam, Jimmy Kimmel, Jonathan Nolan, Josh Margolin, Keegan-Michael and Elle Key, Ken Jeong, Kyle Bornheimer, Lisa Loeb, Maria Russell, Max Greenfield, McGee, Melissa Gilbert, Morgan Freeman, Howie Mandel, Rob Morrow, Spencer Garrett, Tony Goldwyn, Virginia Madsen, Walton Hoggins, Whoopi Goldberg, Will Forte and William Shatner, with more to come.

“Our organization’s founder, Mary Pickford, recognized early in the film industry in Hollywood that for most of the workforce, employment would be unpredictable and that a successful career would be difficult to achieve,” said MPTF CEO and President Bob Beitcher. “These past few years, with the pandemic and subsequent strike-related work stoppages, have not only demonstrated Mary’s insight, but also underscored the need for an organization like the MPTF to ‘take care of itself’ during a financial crisis.”

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