Night of 100 Stars
6.7/10
Rating
182 min
Runtime
1982
Release Year
Clark Jones
Director
Cast
Jane Alexander, Peter Allen, Steve Allen, June Allyson, Don Ameche
Quick Synopsis
On February 19, 1982, New York's Radio City Music Hall hosted a large television taping event called "The Night of 100 Stars," which actually featured about 230 celebrities. The event attracted an audience of 5,800 people, many of whom were unaware that they were attending a TV recording, which involved long waits for set and costume changes and tape rewinding. Tickets were sold at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000, with some seats priced as high as $1,000, the cost of which was tax-deductible as a donation to the Actors' Fund. Executive producer Alexander Cohen noted that the show cost approximately $4 million to produce and aimed to raise around $2 million for the Actors Fund's retirement home in Englewood, New Jersey. Additionally, the television rights were reportedly purchased by ABC for over $5 million.
Detailed Synopsis of Night of 100 Stars
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
