Ryan Seacrest in 2009 wanted to start a charity foundation but didn’t want to just write checks. The Dunwoody native had been visiting children’s hospitals in Los Angeles and found many of the patients loved to perform, tell jokes and sing.
His idea: to build special radio studios inside children’s hospitals to give sick children an opportunity to entertain themselves and occasionally interview visiting dignitaries.
A year later, Seacrest opened his first studio at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, followed by 14 others around the country. In Atlanta, celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Chris Pratt, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Tom Holland in full Spider-Man regalia have come by.
But with Egleston closing, Children’s CEO Donna Hyland wanted to build a bigger and better version of Seacrest Studios for the new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital off I-85 and North Druid Hills Road, which opened Sept. 29. The studio is three stories tall with a curved 17-foot wide LED screen, multiple green screens and state-of-the-art auto-tracked cameras.
“It’s the best studio we’ve ever had,” Seacrest told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the event. “It’s the most high-tech equipment we’ve ever had. It’s the biggest screen we’ve ever had. It’s audio. It’s video. It’s a content studio. We want to provide escapism and fun for kids going through tough things.”
Ryan’s younger sister, Meredith Seacrest Leach, who runs the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, said there is a green screen on the floor as well so kids can walk on rainbows, clouds or water. “You can transport yourself anywhere in the world even if you’re in the children’s hospital,” she said.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho
While Seacrest Studios is hardly a necessity for a children’s hospital, Hyland said, it brings immeasurable joy to many of the patients, especially when a big-name celebrity pops in. “It’s fun to watch the kids meet their idols,” she said. “It’s also fun to see the talent melt when they meet the kids.”
Seacrest, 49, brought his family, dignitaries from his past, Atlanta Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae and country star and former “American Idol” runner-up Lauren Alaina to the official debut of the studio Friday. Tom Sullivan, who gave Seacrest his first internship as a teenager at Star 94 in 1992, showed up to support his former mentee.
“At Star, we used to do radiothons for Children’s Healthcare and Ryan helped us raise money as well,” Sullivan said. “It’s all come full circle.”
Seacrest, who recently took over for Pat Sajak as host of “Wheel of Fortune,” greeted Sullivan, who told his former intern how impressed he was with the new studio. “I used to get Tom’s pizza,” Seacrest said.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Wendy Threatt, who used to work as a DJ at Star 94, has been Atlanta program manager for Seacrest Studios for its entire run. “This is the best parts of radio, but you’re doing something that fills your cup at the end of the day,” Threatt said. “These kids are going through so much stuff, but they get to come in and forget about being here and have fun in the studio.”
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
Jennie Springer, principal at Dunwoody High School when Seacrest was a student in the early 1990s, also came to the event. She recounted how Seacrest turned the school’s morning announcements into a mini-morning show, a precursor to what he does daily on his syndicated show out of Los Angeles heard middays on Power 105.3 in Atlanta.
“It was ‘Good Morning Dunwoody with Ryan Seacrest,’” Springer said. “He gave the baseball scores and the weather and the birthdays. It was a show.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Coinciding with the new studio, Seacrest and his sister also released a new children’s book called “The Make-Believers.”
“It was inspired by my sister’s daughter, my niece,” Seacrest said. “I’m impressed by the creativity of the patients. Some of the characters were also inspired by their stories.”
“We used to play make-believe growing up,” Meredith said. “He’d be Jon Bon Jovi. I’d be Madonna.”
“I’d play a newscaster,” he said. “I hosted a New Year’s show when I was 10.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
He said he’s enjoying “Wheel of Fortune” so far. “I grew up watching it in Dunwoody on the Zenith TV,” he said. “Now hosting it and seeing people so excited is a dream.”
Seacrest was at his parent’s house in Sandy Springs on Thursday evening watching “Wheel of Fortune” on the local NBC affiliate, 11Alive (WXIA-TV), at 7 p.m.
“It was awkward,” he said. “My parents were trying to solve the puzzles. My dad was pretty good.”
Meredith said the game show is helping her daughter read: “There’s learning involved.”
Ryan: “I’m still learning.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
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