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Rob Riggle, Josh Brolin and Ed Helms backstage chat at the "Stand Up To Cancer" telethon on Friday night.(Photo: KEVIN MAZUR / GETTY / IMAGES)
LOS ANGELES – "Everyone gets in here," Sofia Vergara orders loudly to her "Modern Family" co-stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen and Sara Hyland.
Although the crew has worked together since 2009 on the comedy ABC, meeting up in the green room of the "Stand Up To Cancer" Friday telecast, at Los Angeles' Barker Hangar, is the reason to celebrate with a group selfie.
Even David Spade gets pulled into the rowdy mix as the grinning Vergara snaps away. The picture is such a hit that Ferguson, peering over Vergara's shoulder as she inspects the final product, pleads, "Please, please send it to me."
Three feet away, Josh Brolin, the star of every summer hit box office, holds short while reclined on a couch along with Rig Riggle and Ed Helms, talking about the joys of fatherhood (Brolin is expecting a baby daughter).
"It's great to see people in this context," says "Moonlight" star Mahershala Ali. "The vibe is so nice, and everyone is here for the same cause."
The cause that has brought Hollywood stars to donate SU2C T-shirts, answer phones and help raise money is the fight against cancer for the sixth "SU2C" telethon, airing on every TV network.
The celebrity-filled telethons have raised $ 480 million for cancer research even before Friday's event. Katie Couric, one of the outspoken co-founders, personally thanks each star backstage ("I'm so happy things are going so well for you," she tells Brolin).
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A major part of the "Stand Up to Cancer" success stems from the killer disease that has touched virtually everyone's life, from Matt Damon (who opened and closed the show) to Couric, who paid an emotional tribute to her husband Jay Monahan, 20 years after his death from colon cancer.
Along with happy backstage chatter, there's powerful emotions. Standing in a corner, Shannen Doherty's eyes are visibly watery as she prepares to take on the stage of her two-year battle with breast cancer, now in remission.
"Do not be afraid," says Doherty, standing with her "oldest, dearest, bestest friend" and cancer survivor Deborah Waknin-Harwin. "We're going to talk about our journey on the stage, but I just started talking about it now, it was like, 'No, no, I'm not going to cry!'
Doherty says she was determined to be part of the fundraiser to find the cure. "I feel honored to be here, and hopeful," she says.
There were powerful stories, awareness raising, and plenty of laughs onstage, including Tony Hale revealing a ridiculous latex superhero following with yellow wash gloves and black platform boots.
"This is so embarrassing," Hale mutters as two waiters make final adjustments before his global reveal. But he shows no sign of shyness pulling off his super skit.
Afterward, he can only laugh. "I guess I'm Anti-Cancer Guy, I do not know, Ed Helms told me to put this on."
But Hale quickly lists off friends who died of cancer and his "Veep" co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has battled breast cancer. They inspire him.
It's so strong, "says Hale, taking another look at her suit. "And besides, I usually do not get to wear this kind of thing with the parts I play."
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