What Happened At The MDA Telethon? Tribute To Jerry Lewis.
Jerry Lewis Is Missing From Today Telethon.
Jerry Lewis NOT back to the MDA Labor Day Telethon hosting.
Jerry Lewis reinstated as MDA Labor Day Telethon host?
Latest Updates on Jerry Lewis and 2011 MDA telethon.
Jerry Lewis dropped by MDA for 2011 telethon.
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Fellow comedians are just outraged about the MDA decision to drop Jerry Lewis as host and chairman of the Telethone.
The yesterday, Aug. 4, Muscular Dystrophy Association announcement that Jerry Lewis won’t host MDA Labor Day Telethon raised a lot of question marks among fans and fellow comedians. All of them are just as outraged about the decision to drop Jerry Lewis as the former host of MDA Telethon TV show.
- Jerry Lewis
Tom Arnold, Paul Rodriguez and Albert Brooks, among others, said Jerry Lewis was treated unfairly.
Paul Rodriguez said:
“As a fellow comedian, it’s really crappy the way they treated him,”
“The man is an institution. They should have found a better was to let him go. The way they did it, it’s gonna hurt their charity.”
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]Jerry Lewis is the face of Telethon
Jamie Masada, the longtime owner of the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, said he’s received a dozen messages from comedians, including Dane Cook and Dave Chappelle, expressing anger over the way Jerry Lewis had been dropped from the MDA annual show.
“He’s the face of the telethon,” Masada said.
“Without him, there’s no show.”
A Jerry Lewis’ spokeswoman said the star had no comment on his exit from the telethon. But others rallied to Lewis’ defense.
The decision represented an about-face from the MDA’s announcement in May that Jerry Lewis would host the telethon for a final time this year, and would appear in the closing moments of future telethons to sing his trademark number, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Jerry Lewis: “Get the cure for muscular dystrophy, then I’m fine.” [googlead tip=”patrat_mare” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Jerry Lewis said Saturday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills that he saw himself continuing, in part because his role as host went beyond a show business opportunity.
When a questioner asked what he would have to do to be satisfied with his life, he replied:
“Get the cure for muscular dystrophy, then I’m fine.”
According to MDA insider sources:
“The organization made an executive decision to part ways with Lewis, who, by and large, discredited the very industry that made him who he is,”
“And because the telethon is one of the biggest television events of the year, they couldn’t take a chance at more bad publicity, especially from its pitchman and host.”
Jerry Lewis, 85 comedian, started hosting MDA charity events in 1952.
Since the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon first aired in 1966, according to a June report by ABC News, Lewis calculated that after 61 years the telethon has raised $2.6 billion. Since 1966 when the telethon became what it is today – the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon – until 2010 Jerry Lewis has been the face of the Muscular Dystrophy Association .
The telethon is now called the MDA Labor Day Telethon.
The marathon telecast was once a must-stop venue for comedians and entertainers. During the height of its popularity, the telethon featured performances from show business luminaries, including Sammy Davis Jr., Liberace, the Supremes, Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra.
- Frank Sinatra
In recent decades, the event’s appeal faded with younger viewers who found the format somewhat dated. Indeed, the telethon model itself as a fundraising vehicle lost much of its force, particularly with the rise of the Internet, which emerged as a more potent generator of donations.
Even before ousting Jerry Lewis, the MDA was poised to scale back the telethon from more than 20 hours to as few as six, primarily because stations were threatening to drop all or part of the telecast.
The telethon’s earning power had declined in recent years. According to public tax filings, the telethon brought in $56.4 million in gross receipts in 2005.
But in 2009, the latest year for which records are available, the tally dropped to $45.6 million.
Jerry Lewis 2009 MDA Telethon final hour – Youtube
The MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) has not announced a replacement for Jerry Lewis.
The MDA said it did not expect to name a new host this year and that the Sept. 4 event would be shepherded by entertainment personalities Nigel Lythgoe, Jann Carl, Alison Sweeney and Nancy O’Dell.
Muscular dystrophy is a group of more than 40 disorders that affect more than 1 million Americans. The maladies, sometimes referred to as neuromuscular disorders, weaken the muscles and eventually result in profound disability. The most common form of the disease is Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which affects about 1 in 3,500 males worldwide.
But you don’t answer your question, do you? Or did I miss it buried somewhere in the article?
They are making a big mistake. Jerry Lewis is the best of the best. He made the MDA a house hold name.The only ones going to get hurt in all this is the children and adults with all kind of MD.
When you have a good thing that is not broken you don’t fix it. Jerry Jerry Lewis Thank You for your time, your laughs and education on MD and for being out there for every thing you believed in. I salute you and all that you did. A big fan of yours going on 61 years young. barb
I agree that it’s wrong that Jerry Lewis can’t even say his goodbyes on the MDA Telethon. He is or has been the best for MDA & his kids. I have been watching the show for 34yrs, which is when I had my son. I went into Labor on Labor Day, & had a healthly child. I’m thankful for the good health of my children & now my four grandchildren. I Never miss the Telethon & I will donate but the spark for everyone had I think will be lost & this really saddens me. GREAT MISTAKE!!!! (like someone said earlier, “Why fix something that wasn’t broken.
Sad to say but They are sugar coating it…this disease most of the time ends in death…there is no cure…many of my friends have passed….im sad Jerry is gone….but its not right to forget about the people who have the disease…..no money no chance for a cure for us…..is it really fair that because someone may have been fired….people with the disease should Die….i dont wanna die…this is really sad…i hope you people will think of the ones who have it like me and still find it in your heart to donate to mda….dont punish us its not our fault
When I found out about this change I was very upset…Yes Jerry is older, but HE IS the poster boy for MSD as are all his KIDS….I have not read or heard of any good reason to drop him. I don’t feel that the new change brought more money to MSD. We should love and support all of our older generation..because they will never come again….I miss you Jerry…and so do all of Jerry’s Kids….
SHAME on whoever took him off the air…not only did you kill my holiday event, you also killed Jerry and money for his kids…..Live in peace….NOT….LOVE YOU JERRY FOR ALL YOU DID FOR THE KIDS AND ME…..
Jerry may have had his reasons to leave MSD or he may have been treated unfairly. We cannot judge anyone unless you were there with him. Why not continue the MSD show anytime this month with another comedian. Like Phylis Diller, or Bob Newhart, or Dick Van Dyke.or Roger Moore,Hal Linden, Loni Anderson, The Monty Python Men,Scott Baio,Barbra Eden, Goldie Hawn,Ruth Bizzi.etc! And just maybe this can turn around the heartbreaking feelings of show business. I know this isn’t a laughing matter, we all have to raise some kind of fund to support MSD. (Maybe we can ask Jerry what can we do to please him to change his mind) I am convinced that all of the celebrities would love to participate in this telethon show and it would generate such donations to the MSD kids. Let’s start with Love! and see what happens.
PREZADOS AMIGOS,
O meu coração bate assim: JERRY LEWIS , JERRY LEWIS , JERRY LEWIS , JERRY LEWIS , JERRY LEWIS …
PERSISTO e ACREDITO que conseguirei ultrapassar todos os obstáculos e barreiras para finalmente transmitir para ele todo o meu sentimento de FÃ INSUBSTITUÍVEL.
JERRY LEWIS E UNICO E INSUBSTITUIVEL .
JERRY LEWIS E UM ESPETACULO DE BELEZA E TALENTO .
JERRY LEWIS (I LOVE YOU)!!!
ETERNALLY,
ROBERTA MARTINS. (Fortaleza-Ceara) BRASIL
Sounds like you have a bunch of “young liberal punks” running MDA who obviously weren’t around when Jerry started making MDA what it is today. Then, they said “the Sept. 4 event would be shepherded by entertainment personalities Nigel Lythgoe, Jann Carl, Alison Sweeney and Nancy O’Dell.”
Who are these people??? Never heard of them!
I NEVER RESPECTED JERRY LEWIS, NOR THE MDA!!! JUST ANOTHER MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ORGAINIZATION & EMPLOYEE’S ON A DISEASE THAT IS NEROLOGICAL AND NO CURE WILL EVER BE FOUND!!! MY BROTHER SUFFERED FOR 21 YEARS, ONLY TO BE PLACED IN A NURSING HOME AND DIE FROM NOT HAVING ANY MUSCLES STRONG ENOUGH TO BLOW HIS NOSE, CAUSE OF DEATH,”COMMON COLD”!!! THIS IN REMEMBERANCE OF MY BELOVED BROTHER: ROBET EUGENE WEYMAM, JR, 1953 TO 1974 R.I.P. ROB!!!