The list of entertainers this year is fantastic. Enough to keep you heart singing and your toe tapping.
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Once again, the stars will come out at night to entertain and support the Muscular Dystrophy cause hosted by Jerry Lewis. There will be many famous stars shining brightly on hand to entertain and solicit donations; but there will be one big star missing, Ed McMahon. He had served as co-host with Jerry from 1973 – 2008. Ed’s star went dim this past June 23, 2009. There will be a special segment honoring his memory and his many years of contribution to the telethon. Let’s walk along the nostalgia trail and remember.The official web site gives 1966 at the first televised Labor Day telethon and I thought immediately that can’t be right. In the early 1950’s, when I was ah – ah – well anyway a very young lady – we were watching the telethon on our brand new TV set – the first one we ever had. Dick Van Dyke was the Atlanta host along with Captain Video and the Rangers – anybody remember them? Well, Dick Van Dyke was an up and coming comedian who had a couple of afternoon (live) TV shows – “The Merry Mutes” where he and another guy mimed and mouthed the words to hit records – and the other one was called “The Music Shop,” where he and co-hostess Fran Adams cut monkey shines of various hues. These shows were live and if someone could not be there – there was trouble. So once Dick worked with a very bad cold. That day he wore a big red bulb of a nose for a skit – with symptoms of a cold all about him. Some time later, he joked and said he had used the nose later and got sick all over again.
The telethon was being broadcast from New York and they would cut away from time to time to local stations through out the country. I guess I had a heart even then to help folks; I didn’t have a single dime to give. I went door to door in the Clark Howell Techwood Apartments in Atlanta and collected nickels dimes and quarters – when I got home, we had $13.00. Somebody took me downtown to the station and I stood in line to meet Dick Van Dyke and ahhhh Captain Video and this one particular ranger – well okay, I was a pre-teen.
People were filing by and dropping contributions in a big glass container. When I got up there I told somebody, it could have been Dick, (he wasn’t famous then), that the money was not just from me; but all my neighbors. He said, “Wait a minute, I want to you stand over here.” I did as I was told. And when the national station swung back to Atlanta, he motioned for me to come over and he asked me about why I had gone door to door and I am sure I told him it was because I didn’t have any money and I wanted to help the crippled children – and they let me pour my money in the jar while on camera.
That was my fifteen minutes of fame. There were so few TV stations in those days – I believe this was on Channel 8 – not sure. And for days, people would tell me they saw me on TV. That was very big thing then.
But with a little more research, I found that 1966 was the first Labor Day Weekend telethon. And a lot of dollars and coins have been poured into this fund for Jerry’s kids since – about 1.46 billion. The format of the show has changed down through the years and this year you can even view it on the Internet via live stream. www.mda.org
The show has not been without its situations; one year Jerry had to sit down because he was recovering from a heart attack; and one year he was frightfully ill looking having gained so much weight from taking steroids of some kind for his illness.
On three different occasions, he had to share the spotlight on TV with hurricanes hitting the coast of the United States which interrupted the telethon completely or was shown only intermittently. Frances hit the coast of Florida in 2004; and donations were down by 2% - Katrina in 2005 with a decline of 7.5%. Jerry and his guest urged people to give to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army for relief for those caught in the throes of Katrina. Jerry and the MDA donated $1,000,000 to the Salvation Army. The next hurricane to hit during the telethon was Gustav and while it was acknowledged on the show there was no pitch for people to give to that relief as they had expected. This year there will be certain sadness at Ed McMahon’s’ passing. Ed was just like the salt in the stew; no matter where he was hosting – he gave everything he did “flavor.” In the beginning donations were made by individuals; but then 7-Up became their first corporate sponsor. The International Association of Fire Fighters were always big contributors as was 7-Eleven Convenience Stores.
And then in 1980 when the AFTRA and SAC strike prevented guest from entertaining, they simply went out on stage, shook Jerry’s hand, gave him a check and asked people to give.
The line up of guests this year should provide lots of good entertainment. These are a few of those listed: Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Tony Orlando, Charo, Wynonna, Train, Terry Fator, George Wallace, Lee Greenwood, Joshua Bell, Three Dog Night and others as the forty-fourth Labor Day Weekend Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy begins at 9 PM EST on Sunday and will run until Monday afternoon. It usually runs around twenty hours. I can remember when we would sit up all night and cheer when the tote board would roll over; and it was kinda like the big ball falling on New Year’s Eve, we wanted to see the final total. It was always a grand finale. One year when it went over a million, they had to paint the one up there as it did not go that far.
Jerry, like so many of us, are not young in body any more; but this kooky comedian has been loved for many decades because of his zany antics and funny voices and body language – but there is nothing kooky, zany or funny about his kids suffering from Muscular Dystrophy and another 40 or so related crippling diseases. It is expected that the theme song will once again be “Smile,” from the 1936 movie of Charlie Chaplin; and the expected end of the telethon with Jerry singing, “You’ll never walk alone.” Even in previously hard economic times, the American people have always given generously to Jerry’s Kids.God loveth a cheerful giver. Do you have memories of past telethons? Share this story with any of the social networks at the end of this article and with family and friends.
The readers of this site helps to sponsor the Jerry Lewis Telethon.
Comments
Hi Patricia - I appreciate your articles and read each post. Thanks for all you do on behalf of families and faith.
Melanie: Thank you for your support and encouragement. I get a lot of input from folks in Texas and a lot of ideas. You do know that Georgia claims first rights to Texas - why after the war - half of Georgia moved to Texas. Pat
ill never forget when the great frank sinatra brought out dean martin to surprise jerry lewis,i believe it was 1976,one of the greatest moments in telethons history
I think the highlight to this year's telethon would be Jerry Lewis acknowledging his daughter Suzan. That would be heartwarming. This man who claims to be so big hearted needs to open up his own heart at home, where it really counts most.
Midge:Oh that we lived in a perfect world that God intended. So many children born out of wedlock-and many will never know who their real father is. It is always the children who pay the price when they are denied the benefit of a loving home with married parents to love and shelter them. Perhaps if Jerry is her Dad, he will come to realize that she could be a great heritage that he leaves behind. Many are successful in their public lives when their private lives are no different than many families. The family has been satan's main thing to attack since the Garden of Eden. So many men and women sin and make babies. Even David. But God judged his heart when he said,"David, a man after My own heart." No matter how hard we try, we will continue to make bad choices; but continually learning from them and seeking God's forgiveness is the answer. Let's covet to pray that before Jerry dies-he will know the truth and so will she no matter what it is. Thankfully, her mother chose life.
Kenny: I remember that. It took great courage on both of their parts to let some of the differences that caused them to part melt away that evening. We can live a life of misery for the lack of saying "I'm sorry." Why is it so hard? "Pride." Pride is the root of many sins we commit and because of that we miss out so much in life. We fight for every ounce of control in our lives only to find out that when we allow Christ to be in control we are more in control than ever. With Christ we have freedom that no one can take away and that freedom allows us to live with no regrets. So many saw loved ones die on 9/11 wishing they had said, "I'm sorry, or I love you or please forgive me" Relationships cannot be mended when one is gone. Wasted years. I think Dean died a very broken man. I am glad they were able to mend some fences before he died. They could have been a lot of help to each other-but maybe they were.
I lost a Son in 1980 at age 16 to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I now have a 16 year old Grandson with the same Disease. I'm still waiting for the cure. I used to have hope but no longer do
Neve give up and never stop praying for a cure. God Bless you and your grandson.
Sandy I am so sorry for the pain and sorrow that you have been called upon to endure.I can enter into your pain for I have walked through much myself; but you must never give up hope. Hope is sometimes all we have and it is not something we can just reach up in the air and grab.It is something that you build on bit by bit.God has given us faith, hope, and love and He says the greatest of these is love.Sometimes just to love hurts. Faith, hope and love is dependant on each other forming a tight circle around us to hold us up when we physically cannot hold ourselves up.People are born, they die, some young and some old; but because the cross and tomb are empty we have hope of eternal life-and it will make this life seem like a vapor a mist-coming and going so quicky.Stay strong and full of hope for your grandson and don't look past each day and find joy in each day that you can. Remember when someone dies, they are not gone - they are just gone before.They wait for us to come along.
Aside from his work in entertainment, Jerry is also a wonder in the medical world fighting day and night to stop MD from coming in the bodies of millions of people young and old.
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