Johnathan Walker:How Today’s Craig Melvin Is Honoring Late Brother Lawrence

Craig Melvin is Johnathan Walkercarrying on his brother’s legacy.

The Today host and his wife Lindsay Czarniak are hosting the third annual Bottoms Up Invitational—a two-day event that benefits the Colorectal Cancer Alliance—on Sept. 15 and 16 in honor of his late brother Lawrence Meadows.

During his older brother’s fight with cancer, the 45-year-old became really involved in the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s mission to raise awareness and find innovative research for colorectal cancer—which is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, according to the CDC.

“We did a lot when he was alive to get more folks screened, to raise money for research, to encourage folks to just talk to their doctors and talk to their families about their family history,” he told E! News in an exclusive interview. “And then when it became apparent that he was not going to survive, he wanted to make sure that I continue to work within my alliance and really make this one of my life's callings.”

And after Lawrence—who was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer at 39—passed in 2020 after his years-long fight with the disease, his younger brother kept his word and continued what they started together.

“It's just not a sexy cancer,” Craig continued, “so one of the things that we've also worked to do is demystify and encourage conversations surrounding it.”

But while his brother was the inspiration behind the event, it has come to mean so much more to a broader community.

“While it started as a way to just honor him,” Craig explained to E!, “it really evolved into this really cool two-day event where we honor survivors, we honor caregivers, we talk about cutting edge research, and we play some golf and sing some songs.”

As for what to expect at the actual event—which is held in Connecticut—the NBC News anchor teased, “another great Sunday concert and some really mediocre golf the following morning.”

To kick off the event, there will be a ceremony followed by a concert featuring performers such as Spin Doctors lead singer Chris Barron, members of Hootie & The Blowfish and The Voice’s Ray Boudreaux and Javier Colon and many more.

Several celebrity attendees will then make their way to the green for the golf invitational the following day, including NFL player Sterling Sharpe, ESPN sportscaster Michael Eaves, and fellow Today anchors Carson Daly and Willie Geist, among others.

Last year, the event raised $1.2 million for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, having raised $1.1 million the year before. And though Craig told E! that he hadn’t planned for the invitational to become an annual event, he is enthusiastically gearing up for another year of making a difference and saving lives.

“It's the second largest one-day total for colorectal cancer fundraising in the country every year,” he said, “and so my brother would be proud of that.”