For plus hours, Lewis would sing, joke, mug, cajole, weep, and play ringmaster to a horde of celebrities as he appealed to viewers to dig deep and donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Earlier this year, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that the organization was ending the annual Labor Day telethon.
It's a move that followed Lewis retiring as host in , and recent years that saw the once daylong extravaganza shrunk, first to six hours, then to three hours. In announcing the end of the Labor Day telethon, the Muscular Dystrophy Association cited "the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving. Derks, MDA president and CEO, said, "In the last few years, the show was adjusted to reflect changes in viewership and donor patterns, and last summer's Ice Bucket Challenge once again affirmed for us that today's families, donors and sponsors are looking to us for new, creative and organic ways to support our mission.
Each year, Lewis would dominate the show, delivering a blend of showbiz schmaltz, and true-life, touching stories of people who had muscular dystrophy and their families. Whether you liked it or cringed, it was live television at its most live, with Lewis getting more cranky and teary as the hours rolled by, pleading with viewers to make the numbers on the tote board increase.
But the longer it lasted, the more controversy dogged the telethon. People who had muscular dystrophy -- a group of diseases that cause muscles to progressively weaken - and their advocates objected to Lewis treating those with the disease as pathetic victims. Critics questioned how the Muscular Dystrophy Association was spending the money raised from the telethons. I resented that the telethon convinced so many Americans that the only life priority disabled people can and should have is to pin all our hopes on some bloated charity saving us.
I have muscular dystrophy, as did my late sister, and we were both Muscular Dystrophy Association poster kids in the s. When we showed up around the country with protest signs and fliers outside sites where local live telethon broadcasts were taking place, the irony drew a lot of media attention. Lewis always reacted to us with nothing but pure fury and hostility. The Associated Press obit recalled one of his infamous, caustic responses. Stay in your house!
What if he had found the grace and humility to acknowledge that those of us who felt compelled to defend ourselves and others from the damage caused by the telethon had a point? Mike Ervin is a writer and disability rights activist living in Chicago. Probably next year, I'll move the recipes somewhere else, but the dissonance still feels right to me at this moment. It reminds me of Labor Day when Steve Irwin died by stingray wound and someone sold eerie T-shirts with only a stingray on the front.
Thanks for adding some clarity to a situation many if us didn't have a clue about, other than he and the telethon just disappeared. I did the annual fundraising walk for ten years. I hope you will expand this hub if the other side if this is ever exposed.
I will admit the recipes at the end did not flow with the honest and informative article at the beginning. Friends have been looking in the TV listings, searching for the MDA telethon, not realizing that there is not to be one this year.
I feel the same way. After these months, it feel like the MDA was reluctant to let him continue, because the organization thought he might level harsh criticism on them during the show or the next day in his planned announcements.
It was a pre-emptive strike from MDA and I'm sad it happened. Great article Patty. I enjoyed all f the information imparted about the Telethon and the origin of Labor Day.
I also hope Jerry Lewis will disclose his secrets at a press conference. I'm hoping Jerry Lewis will have the press conference after the Telethon, as he had planned. Thanks for commenting, quotations.
A two-hour final telethon send off party would have been OK, with lots of guest stars. I'm sure On the Rocks acapella group would have loved to have been there and made Lewis laugh. I think that they should have given Jerry a more honorable sendoff, provided he agreed not to embarrass the organization on air by complaining about being forced out.
But the fact is that it was long passed time for Lewis to go. I found his presentation terrible and irritating like finger nails on a chalkboard - any time I saw him hosting I changed the channels. This is not to take away from his great achievements as the host and with the organization, but it would have been best for everyone if he had realized that it was time to pass on the torch rather than for someone else to have to make the tough decision.
If he had chosen to retire both he and the organization would have benefited from favorable publicity rather than this mess. You're quite welcome Patty. I would think it would definitely be a different show without his wit mastery.
I mean Jerry Lewis was a natural comic, in every sense of the word and for a very long time. But, I don't think it would do as good without him.
When he did the show he was quite serious about it and I simply do not think there will be any substitute that will match his long standing and accomplishments. I also missed the announcement. It's the end of an era. As a child I loved watching his telethons with my family.
He is the reason I did the walkathons for over 20 years. I was inspired by his dedication and as a young person it made me aware of the need for service to your community.
I suppose Dick Clark will retire next and then the last of the great "ones" will be gone. Thanks for this informative hub. I have been a huge fan of Jerry Lewis since I was a kid watching his movies on a saturday afternoon, his comedy was amazing. I wasn't aware back then of his fantastic charitable contribution to society though, it's the mark of the man. His participation and efforts over a long and colorful career will not be forgotten.
You bring up some interesting points! I somehow missed this in the news! I have several friends affected and JL always provided long-lasting hope! I too, have waited for so many years to learn the secret of his motivation! I always thought it must be someone in his family, maybe a sibling, that died early on due to this disease, and it was kept a secret!
Hard to do in Hollywood, however!? This corporate "upset" will be good for ratings! We will all be tuning in to see "what's up?? I do hope it wasn't some immediate health issue with Jerry himself!? The last few MDA Telethons he didn't look too well? I must say in reading the announcement that I have never heard of any of the announced hosts for the show. At 35, I'm not sure if this says more about me loving classic Hollywood, or about me being 35,period.
He's not beloved in the disability community, who don't want to be talked about as pathetic, but rather as vital human beings with disabilities. I would always root for him to break the goal every year and I have to admit it was inspiring how people would pull together, because of his empowering personality. It was awesome to watch. Definitely voted up! As a young child, I saw an old news clip of Lewis imitating, I thought, a cerebral palsy patient.
Always wondered of he was trying to make amends with the telethon.
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