AWARD-WINNING DAYTIME TELEVISION ACTRESS
TO CO-HOST JERRY LEWIS MDA TELETHON
TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 23, 2007 — Actress Alison Sweeney will co-host the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon this year.
Sweeney, who plays one of daytime’s most popular villains, Sami Bradi, on the long-running hit daytime drama “Days of Our Lives,” will make her first appearance as co-host on the legendary broadcast, now in its 42nd year.
Sweeney began acting when she appeared in a commercial at age 4, and has been with "Days of Our Lives" since 1993. She's won six Soap Opera Digest Awards, and garnered the Special Fan Award naming her America's Favorite Villain at the 2002 Daytime Emmy Awards.
With an eye toward broadening her horizons, Sweeney recently tackled the role of host for this season's NBC hit reality series "Biggest Loser," which premieres with a special "Biggest Loser: Did They Keep The Weight Off" on Tuesday, Sept. 4 (8-10 p.m. ET) and the new season premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 11 (8-9:30 p.m. ET). She's also author of the critically acclaimed book "All The Days of My Life (So Far)," which was published in 2004, and the celebrity spokesmom for Graduates From Gerber.
“I’m pleased to welcome Alison to the show this year,” Telethon star and MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis said. “‘Days of Our Lives’ fans should enjoy seeing a different side of her as she works to help find cures for ‘my kids.’”
Originating from the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, the Telethon will begin at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 2, and run for 21½ hours. Programming includes scores of performances by top entertainers, updates on research efforts to battle muscle-wasting diseases and live interviews with families personally affected by those diseases.
MDA’s “Love Network,” comprising of some 190 television stations across the country, will relay the show to nearly 40 million viewers in the United States and Canada. RealNetworks via the Internet at www.mda.org, will make the show available to additional millions worldwide.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education.
The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. |
