Today Jerry Lewis announced he will host the MDA telethon for the last time this year. He claims the telethon will continue without him, but with the telethon already cut down to six hours I don’t see how.
Turns out he won’t even get to do that. Today the MDA announced Jerry Lewis has been removed as chairman and will not host the telethon. Anyone know what’s going on?
Hmmm…NPR had the story this morning and just said he wouldn’t be appearing on TV, I figured maybe he’s too ill. But they didn’t mention that he’s been booted as the chairman pre-show. Very odd…must be some major crap flying behind the scenes.
So they won’t be “Jerry’s Kids” anymore??
This is pretty sad… how long does Jerry have on this earth?
I’ve watched every year since I could remember…
Apparently, Jerry Lewis is a deeply unpleasant person, a guy who is well-known in entertainment circles for his diva behavior and his itinerant racism and homophobia (NOT a charge I throw around lightly; Lewis has been using words like nigger and faggot casually for many decades) and his penchant for young “Ladies of the Evening”.
One Doper recently told a story about how his or her father worked in a theater or TV studio that Jerry Lewis was performing in, and how their Dad had to tell good ol’ Jerry point-blank that he wasn’t going to go out and find a whore for him…
That was me. It was in Chicago, and Dad was a Union rep for AGVA, and had explain that he was not a pimp.
Not a well-loved character in our home.
That could be the case. Just last week, he was well enough to speak before the Television Critics Association Summer Session where he complained about reality shows and the general state of television. He also said he was planning on appearing on the MDA Telethon on September 5th so it’s apparent that whatever happened to change the MDA’s minds happened within the last few days.
I wonder, if the telethon continues, who’d they get to helm it?
With all due respect to the MDA and the work that they do, the time has come to end the corny telethon. I literally haven’t watched it for decades, and I can’t imagine they’d get a host who comes close to Lewis’ stature (which wasn’t exactly A-list to start with, and has been fairly irrelevant for the past 30 years).
To be clear, I highly recommend that people give to MDA, but does that really require a parade of D-list talent and maudlin tote-boad rolls? I didn’t know there were still enough low-rated UHF channels that depended on this holiday filler (yes, I know WGN is an affiliate–'nuff said:-)
I worry about the MDA’s future. The majority of their funding comes from the telethon. They provide a lot of practical services for kids effected by muscular dystrophy. They are also doing the bulk of research too.
Jerry’s support couldn’t last much longer. He is 85 and not in good health. I hope someone else steps in to run the telethon.
I’ve updated the thread title to reflect today’s news. The original title was “Last Jerry Lewis telethon this year.”
Telethons are simply not the future of fundraising.
And while it’s true that the majority of the fundraising for the MDA comes from the telethon (according to CharityNavigator.org, they raised $170 million in 2009, and if memory serves, the telethon does about $120 million), some of that is self-fulfilling prophecy.
The firefighters come out and present a huge check for $X million during the telethon. So do lots of lodges, and other organizations. Without the telethon, I figure they would still donate to the MDA or some related charity.
If the MDA wants to stay relevant, they have to change their ways.
Made fun of Jerry Lewis once. A co-worker, in a chair, said that, thanks to the MDA, anybody who needs a wheelchair, whether from MD or not, can have one. Guy’s still a jerk, but he did good work and God bless him.
Just out of curiosity but does the MDA only raise funds for muscular dystrophy or do they also include diseases like MS and ALS?
Ryan Seacrest, of course.
Y’know, I’ve been living with MD for 37 years, and haven’t got a check yet. 
Regardless, Jerry is a king dick, and we’re better off without him representing the MDA.
Joe
I have no problem with him whoring around. But expecting someone else find find him is whore…
My dad had an unpleasant experience with him decades ago. Asshole.
Didn’t he start the telethons to rehabilitate his reputation?
No. Like most celebrity pet diseases, it hit home. His kid had it.
He was definitely an A lister in his prime. The Martin and Lewis movies were very big box office. They both had TV shows and hit records. They were on the Tube all the time.
I thought it was never known why he took up this cause, and he said he would tell the world the reason on his deathbed. Or something like that.
Which of his kids had it?? I’d never heard anything about that being why.