The First U.S. Nationally Televised Telethon

Olympic Fund Telethon (NBC & CBS), June 21- 22, 1952

Hollywood stars gathered in a fundraiser for the financially strapped U.S. Olympic Committee,
benefiting the athletes headed to Helsinki, Finland for the 1952 Olympics in July.
Broadcast live on two networks from Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, it aired from June 21 at 8PM to June 22 at 10:30PM Pacific Times.

It was the first nationally telecast telethon.

Cast: Bob Hope & Bing Crosby (Hosts)
*Spike Jones & His Orchestra
Frank Sinatra
Rosemary Clooney
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard >> http://threestooges.net/images/appearan ... icfund.jpg
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Johnny Weismuller
Humphrey Bogart
Marilyn Monroe
George Burns, Gracie Allen
June Allyson
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson
Joan Crawford
Tony Curtis
Janet Leigh
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Edgar Bergen
Tex Ritter
Edward G. Robinson
Fred MacMurray
Ed Sullivan
Johnny Grant (honorary mayor of Hollywood)
California Governor Earl Warren

Thanks for the YouTube contribution, HoneyTalkNelson.

Seeing that 13-minute, 30-second excerpt makes me wonder if the entire telethon is available... hidden away somewhere?

The piece missing has Elvis' Pre Graduation Party!!

The only reason that clip survived was because Jerry Lewis had it in his collection. Unless the rest of the show is buried at NBC/Universal/Library of Congress, it's gone.

The only reason that clip survived was because Jerry Lewis had it in his collection. Unless the rest of the show is buried at NBC/Universal/Library of Congress, it's gone.

Since it was broadcast on NBC and CBS, it could be buried somewhere in the CBS vaults.

The piece missing has Elvis' Pre Graduation Party!!

I don't have Ernst's book ELVIS Day by Day, promiseland, but I do wonder if Ernst mentions anything about what Elvis was doing around that time of June 21-22, 1952? It's possible that Elvis watched some of the telethon if he was at someone's home that owned a tv set.