Film producer and cancer activist Laura Ziskin, who co-founded the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) multi-network telethon, died Sunday evening (6/12) at her home in Santa Monica, CA. She was 61 and had lived with breast cancer for seven years.
More than 18 million people watched the 2010 SU2C roadblock telethon across ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and 13 cable networks. Ziskin was executive producer of the broadcast, as well as the first SU2C telethon in 2008 which aired on CBS, ABC, NBC and E!
Ziskin had a trail-blazing career as a producer and studio executive for 35 years. After her cancer diagnosis, Ziskin embraced an additional, unsought role as a cancer activist, joining with other women in the entertainment and media businesses (including Sherry Lansing, Katie Couric, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Ellen Ziffren, Pam Williams, Noreen Fraser, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Lisa Paulsen and Kathleen Lobb) to co-found Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).
“Laura was the heart and soul of Stand Up To Cancer. She dreamed big, and attacked every challenge with creativity, passion, perseverance and intelligence,” said SU2C co-founder Sherry Lansing.
“Laura was one of the most courageous people I’ve ever known. Her fearlessness in the face of this relentless killer inspires everyone on the SU2C team to redouble our efforts to make cancer history,” added Katie Couric.
Ziskin’s family requests that memorial donations be made to Stand Up To Cancer: (via http://su2c.org or by mail: Attn: Stand Up To Cancer, c/o The Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street., T-700, Los Angeles, CA, 90017.)
