If you’re a long time reader and remember back to last year about this time, I talked about something we always did on Labor Day weekend when I was living at home with my parents. Back in those days, the Jerry Lewis telethon was Labor Day. I think it was really the Muscular Dystrophy telethon, but most people knew it as the Jerry Lewis telethon.
Jerry Lewis was the first host of the telethon, which first aired in 1956as a Thanksgiving Party. That year, he co-hosted the event with Dean Martin – it was held at Carnegie Hall. Lewis later became the organization’s National chairman — for 55 years. The telethon was moved to Labor Day Weekend and it would begin airing on Sunday and would run overnight, ending on Monday (Labor Day.)
Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association cut ties in 2010 and it’s still not clear why the organization dropped him, but his departure was referred to as “sudden.” Lewis was later asked why he left, but he refused to talk about it.
Jerry Lewis hosted his last Muscular Dystrophy Telethon in 2010 — Lewis died in 2017.
When the telethon’s last broadcast was announced in 2015, MDA president and CEO Steven Derks noted the move was influenced by “the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving.”
There have been several attempts to revive the telethon on local stations and social media, but none have proven very successful.
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