- published: 04 Nov 2015
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A telethon is a fundraising event broadcast on television that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political, or other allegedly worthy causes. Most telethons feature heavy solicitations for pledges (promises to donate funds at a later time) combined with variety show style entertainment. The word "telethon" is a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon". The equivalent term for a radio broadcast is a radiothon; most radiothons do not include the entertainment.
in 1949, Milton Berle, hosted the first ever telethon, raising $1,100,000 for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation over 16 hours. One of the first continuing annual telethons in the United States was the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) telethon. Television executive Leonard Goldenson and his wife had a daughter with Cerebral Palsy, and with the help of other affected parents, launched the UCP Telethon in 1950, with early television personality Dennis James as host. He continued to host New York-based segments on the telethon through the 1980s. The telethon is now defunct as UCP raises funds through other means, including its website. By 1955 televised telethons had become a familiar enough part of American culture to be parodied that year in the film noir Tight Spot as comic relief.