Edwards' ER Check Funds African Hospital

In lieu of a paycheck for his return to ER as the deceased Dr. Mark Greene, with scenes shot in flashbacks, Anthony Edwards asked Warner Bros. to donate $125,000 to help build a 250-bed hospital in Africa, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Steven Spielberg matched that money, and ER's executive producer kicked in $50,000.

He also agreed to return to ER as a big thank-you to the audience that fell in love with Dr. Greene. "People would watch Greene and could think, 'You know what? My life will never be that bad,' " Edwards said, reflecting on Dr. Greene's popularity. "He always had problems, whether it was with dating or women or the relationship with his daughter or work and bosses and ultimately dying. He really just had so many kinds of struggles that I think people all related to in a way."
(More Anthony Edwards stories.)