Martha Byrne Talks St. Jude, Past and Present

The ladies in red: Chairwoman of the event, Martha Byrne (Lily/Rose, ATWT), with co-star Anne Sayre (Mitzi, ATWT).

Stars from As The World Turns, Guiding Light, The Bold and The Beautiful, The Young and The Restless and other soaps will appear at the 9th annual Daytime Television Salutes St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Benefit on Friday, Oct. 10, at the Marriott Marquis. This year's event will be sponsored by Soap Opera Digest.

ABOUT ST. JUDE AND MARTHA'S COMMITMENT TO GIVING BACK

St. Jude is a children's research hospital whose goal is to find cures for childhood cancer and any other illness you can imagine that affects children. They also care for the families, even if they don't have insurance, because the last thing you need to worry about when your child is sick is a bill. When she was a child, Martha's mother always gave part of her daughter's earnings as an actor to St. Jude because she loved the charity. At the time Martha made a promise to herself that if she was ever in the public eye, she would raise as much money as she could for the hospital. Says Martha, "It's a no-brainer. I think that anybody who is a celebrity or any kind of public persona, you have to use that. It's not a choice, it's a necessity. Just give freely and unselfishly and things will happen." Danny Thomas started St. Jude out of a trailer when he was a young actor, because he wanted to help children of all races and religions. He prayed to St. Jude that if he became famous, he would make this commitment. Martha is carrying on the tradition.

THE EVENT

Martha wants the event to be "like a big wedding." More than that "the best wedding you've ever been to!" Says Martha, "We have a huge fan base and I try to put together an event that people can come to, get dressed up, dance with their favorite soap star, have dinner with them, joke around with them, have a drink with them. I want everyone to relax and let loose and have some positive good times. And supporting a good charity doesn't hurt." The first year, 100 guests turned out for the event. Last year, they had around 1,000! Martha organizes the actors and her mother does the rest. Martha admits, "It never would have grown into what it is today without my mother because I don't have the time to do all the grunt work that goes along with planning something like this." Added Kelley Menighan-Hensley (Emily, ATWT), “She works tirelessly, gathering people. She's the ultimate producer. I'd like to say Martha's the queen of the event, but I think Mary Byrne's the queen, and Martha's the princess!" People come from all over the world -- Holland, Germany, Italy, Canada and across the United States. Martha has a friend who came last year and had such a good time, she's bringing 40 of her friends to this year's event, all the way from New Hampshire! The actors have fun too. Says Martha, "Everyone's been so supportive and great and so gracious and generous with their time. These are the kind of people I want to be around, who want to be involved in something like this." Often the actors tell Martha, "I had such a great time, I want to sing again next year." Martha declares, "Then I know that it was a hit."

HISTORY OF THE ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL BENEFIT

The first Daytime Salutes St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Benefit was held in 1993 at the Millennium's Hudson Theater with about 100 people in attendance. There was minimal advance planning, but it was very successful nonetheless. Everybody had a lot of fun including the actors. They must have, because when it was held again in 1995, 60 actors participated. Kim Zimmer (Reva, GL) and Scott Holmes (Tom, ATWT) have been headliners from day one, as has Lisa Brown (ex-Iva, ATWT; ex-Nola, GL), who is always there to entertain and help Martha. That year Eva LaRue (Maria, AMC) and Michael Zaslow (ex-Roger, GL) joined the list of actors who performed. The band was friends of Martha's, and Martha sang as she has every year since. To make the event fan affordable, Martha set a new precedent of lower ticket prices, filling in with raffles and auctions. The ultimate goal was to make the event enjoyable for everyone.

Kim Zimmer (Reva, GL) takes a breather after a memorable performance.

Martha skipped the year she was married and organized the benefit again in 1995. It returned to the Millennium Hudson Theater, and this time, about 250 people attended. The band that played at Martha's wedding, The Party Dolls, performed. They're an entertaining oldies-but-goodies band who plays everyone's favorite songs from the ‘50s through the ‘80s. They have become a staple of the event. That year, David Gest arranged for some great entertainers to perform -- Freda Payne sang "Band of Gold" and "Natural Woman," and Frederick Owens performed as well. Among the actors, Michael Zaslow and Tonja Walker (ex-Alex, OLTL) sang "Up On The Roof." Lisa Brown and Liz Keifer (Blake, GL) sang "It's Raining Men." And as a grand finale, heartthrobs from the New York soaps did a rousing rendition of "YMCA." Austin Peck (ex-Austin) and Alison Sweeney (Sami) from Days of our Lives came that year. They were the first west coast stars to attend the event.

1996 found the benefit back at the Millennium with Mel Carter as a headliner, singing "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me." In 1997, it moved to the Marriott Marquis to accommodate more guests. Because of the change of venue, the ticket price was bumped up $25 but has remained the same ever since. That year, fan favorite, Michael Park (Jack, ATWT) performed, as he has every year since joining the cast of As The World Turns. In the following years, the event built momentum and grew in every capacity. The growth came with the number of people and the size of the gifts for the raffles and auctions. Word began to filter out to the fans, and fan bases along with actor bases, grew. The key has always been to stick to Martha's format of making it a fan based affair where the fans could enjoy the actors and the actors could enjoy interacting with the fans. And the format has never changed. It's open seating, with a hot buffet, and lots of music, dancing, entertainment and mingling. To accommodate the actors, stylists from the Panico Salon in New Jersey and MAC makeup artists from Nordstrom's and Neiman Marcus come in to do hair and makeup. Some actors come right off the set and get a touch up, some just come off the street, and others do it themselves, but they know it's there if they want it.

It just wouldn't be a St. Jude event without fan favorite Michael Park (Jack, ATWT), belting out a tune to everyone's delight.

In 1998 the exclusive pre-cocktail event was introduced. This is a private affair where 50 fans get to mix and mingle with the actors. No photographers or press are allowed. Practically the whole cast of As The World Turns comes and entertains. In 1999, Ron Raines (Alan, GL), a veteran of the Broadway stage, joined the list of performers at the benefit, as did One Life to Live's Kassie DePaiva (Blair), All My Children's Jesse McCartney (ex-J.R.) and Another World's Joe Barbara (Joseph). Joe sang in the revival of the hit Broadway show Grease. Fans and actors alike had a grand time, including Brittany Snow, then playing Susan Lemay on Guiding Light, who kicked off her shoes and hit the dance floor. The Young and the Restless' Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) came in from the coast, followed by Don Diamont (Brad), in 2000.

As St. Jude got bigger, it drew stars from all the shows, such as B&B's Justin Torkildsen (Rick).

Due to the tragedy of 9/11, the event was canceled in 2001. When it resumed in 2002, interest was at an all-time high and, because of space constraints, it was moved to the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis. Jet Blue came on board and there was a significant momentum in the attendance of west coast stars. Every west coast show was represented. General Hospital's Leslie Charleson (Monica), Robin Christopher (Skye), Rebecca Herbst (Liz) and her husband, Michael Saucedo (ex-Juan) flew in, as did Y&R's Kate Linder (Esther), The Bold and the Beatiful's Justin Torkildsen (Rick) and Passions' Jack Krizmanich (John) and Justin Carroll (David). Days' Patrika Darbo (ex-Nancy) and Kevin Spirtas (ex-Craig, Days) joined the list of performers. They all had a great time and they all want to come back! Every year a week long trip to L.A. is raffled off and west coast stars are very generous about offering their services for set tours, including Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) and Eric Braeden (Victor) who have given tours of the set of The Young and the Restless. The guest who won the grand prize in 2002 received a VIP seat to a taping of Friends and a tour of their set. The event raised several hundred thousand dollars.

You never know who will show up. Kevin Spirtas (ex-Craig) takes to the stage with another St. Jude fixture, the Party Dolls.

To date, over 700 tickets have been sold for this year's benefit and as many as 85 actors, including 13 from LA, have signed on. Cady McClain (Rosanna, ATWT) will be performing at the pre-cocktail party, along with Tamara Tunie (Jessica, ATWT) and, of course, Michael Park and Martha. This year they're hoping for a non-union walk-on on American Dreams, which includes a week-long trip to L.A. To add to the package, Martha has tickets to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and tapings of Everybody Loves Raymond. First prize for the in-house raffle is a diamond ring worth $4,000. First prize for the advance auction is the seven-day, six-night stay in L.A., which includes airfare, hotel, restaurants, set tours and tapings. And, for the ultimate soap opera fan, the grand prize is a day on the set of your favorite soap in New York or L.A. -- your call.

FAN TALES

Many fans make sacrifices financially to get to the event. A fan might fly in from Wisconsin just to see one actor. Martha applauds that dedication, "I have such respect for that. Without them, we have nothing. Without them, we don't have a show, we don't have an event, we don't raise money. It's a wonderful rowdy crowd that always ends up being the star of the show. I love that. I love that people want to get up and sing, and get up on stage. That's the beauty of it. People feel so comfortable that they can do that." Of course, sometimes fans get a little too comfortable. "The guys definitely get mauled sometimes and fondled. One year, someone dropped a hotel key in Paolo Seganti's drink. She came to New York just to take him home! Clearly that didn't happen, and she was a little upset about that."

NAIL-BITING INCIDENTS

Every year, they seem to have a problem getting the sound equipment from down the street and Martha gets a call. Or someone promises they're going to send a basket of products worth $2,000 and they forget to send it. Martha recalls, "That happens 10 or 12 times a day. The day of the event is so hairy and so stressful and difficult that you almost don't want to do it again because it's so much. But then you get through it, it's successful and you go, OK, we did it, we can do it again. You just have to keep reminding yourself of why you're doing it. It's for the kids. So what if I have to sacrifice a little bit of my time. Maybe I'll earn a few more wrinkles, but who cares, because it's so worth it."

THE KIDS

Martha always makes sure that the event is upbeat and a lot of fun, but she doesn't want people to forget why they're there. "We're trying to have a good time. I'm not there to bring everybody down and make them sad. But if people want to stop and see what the hospital is about, I do run the heart-wrenching video in the hallway. Because it's very easy to lose track of what the purpose of this event is, we always have one representative child come with their parents to talk at the press conference. The mother tells their story, about how their child is either a survivor, or in the process of treatment. That's always heartwarming and touching and you see where the money's going."

THE PIECE DE' RESISTENCE -- RAFFLE PRIZES

As if an open bar, a delicious dinner, cool music and being entertained by your favorite soap stars weren't enough, the St. Jude benefit raffles off some of the most unique and fantastic prizes that you'll find at any event. This year will find Martha's dirty clothes from her annual summer kidnapping, this time in a well, up for grabs along with, not one, but two, of Carly's wedding dresses. It's a long story, but fans will know that Carly married Jack twice this year in the space of just a few months. The first dress was elegant and formal, the second was from her simple wedding on a farm in Montana. Both are beautiful. From the As The World Turns benefit bachelor auction at Rose's Roller Palace, Martha gathered up the bachelor profiles with detailed descriptions of Oakdale hotties, such as Aaron Synder (Agim Kaba), and they will be among the prizes. Last year a role on the NBC sitcom Scrubs was auctioned off. It raised a lot of money and they hope to do it again this year. There are also trips to spas, weekends at hotels in New York, and jewelry donated from Tiffany, to name but a few. Martha thinks this year will even top last, "Hopefully, we're getting a car this year and we always get a nice surprise at the last minute. Something always comes in that's amazing. Last year we had a diamond bracelet! I can't imagine how much better it can get, but it always does."

WHILE HELPING A GOOD CAUSE, A GOOD TIME IS HAD BY ALL

Martha's goals for the event and how it benefits the hospital are simply stated, "If a percentage of the guests get educated on what St. Jude is, that's great. Then we've done something. I always believe in fate, and I believe that if someone comes and they learn about the hospital, something might cross their path, or a person might cross their path that needs that information. It's something that might save their life. If that's what it does, if it just gets the information out there to help somebody out there, maybe three degrees of separation, then it's worth it. That's what it's about, just so people know that it exists." As for the guests, "This is the most interactive event in daytime you'll ever go to. You'll be dancing with Réal Andrews (Walker, ATWT) and pinching Michael Park's butt by the end of the night. It's that kind of an event. I don't think anybody would be disappointed if they spent the money, because it goes to charity and you're going to have a great time. And you get to tell your friends and take lots of pictures." The velvet ropes are down and it's time to have some fun!

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