Stars stand up to cancer in telethon

LOS ANGELES — An A-list cast of celebrities is joining a telethon to raise money and awareness to fight cancer.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson, and Emma Stone are among the stars participating in the third Stand Up to Cancer telethon, the organization announced Wednesday.

Paltrow also is an executive producer for the fund-raiser that will be carried commercial-free from 8-9 p.m. Sept. 7 on the four major broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC, and more than a dozen cable channels.

Musical performances by Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, and Tim McGraw are planned, and more than 25 movie, TV, and sports stars will take phone pledges, said executive producer Joel Gallen.

Laura Ziskin, founder of Stand Up to Cancer and producer of its first two telethons in 2008 and 2010, lost her seven-year fight against breast cancer last year. The Spider-Man movie producer was 61.

It will include information on how to prevent cancer and on the treatment research funded by Stand Up to Cancer. The experiences of several patients who are part of Stand Up to Cancer trials will be explored in mini-documentaries.