# Jerry Lewis won't host MDA telethon this year \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183 "2011-05-17T05:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/21 "2011-08-05T03:05:38Z")
Maybe I am thinking of someone else (possibly Dean Martin?) but I thought that Jerry Lewis also had a kid who OD’d from illegal drugs… ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/22 "2011-08-05T08:28:17Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Like most celebrity pet diseases, it hit home. His kid had it. I don’t recall ever hearing that Jerry Lewis had a child with MD. The reason for Lewis’ involvement with MD has always been a mystery, whereas having a child with the disease would make his motivation obvious. > [@MPB in Salt Lake](#): > > Maybe I am thinking of someone else (possibly Dean Martin?) but I thought that Jerry Lewis also had a kid who OD’d from illegal drugs… As far as I know the only children of Dean Martin’s who died was a daughter from his first marriage, who died of cancer, and his son, Dino, who was a National Guard (I think?) jet pilot and died when his plane crashed. Dean was devasted by his son’s death and was never the same again. ETA: Wiki shows Lewis had a son who died of a narcotics overdose in 2009. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/23 "2011-08-05T13:15:43Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Maybe I am thinking of someone else (possibly Dean Martin?) but I thought that Jerry Lewis also had a kid who OD’d from illegal drugs… Art Linkletter had a daughter who defenestrated herself while on LSD; you may be thinking of her. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/24 "2011-08-05T13:32:48Z")
Or Paul Newman, Barbara Eden, or Carroll O’Connor. I’m sure there are more. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/25 "2011-08-05T16:46:58Z")
Last night on Jimmy Kimmel, they did a bit on Jerry Lewis’ getting fired, (apparently Kimmel is originally from Vegas, and said he used to go watch them tape the Telethon in person as a kid) and they showed a compilation of some of JL’s bizarre behavior during the MDA Telethons of years past, including his on-air use of the word motherfucking (he was pissed that he couldn’t read the teleprompter—“Move that motherfucking video-screen!”) and a truly head-scratching moment where he said something about how while he was now too old for hanky-panky, he still loved to watch his porno collection… These were NOT dubbed or photoshopped for the Jimmy Kimmel show. ETA—Looks like Jerrry Lewis did indeed have a kid who died from an OD, but it was fairly recently, and long after his dad’s creepy, asshole behavior had started, so it couldn’t be the root cause of Jerry’s crazy goings-on. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/26 "2011-08-06T01:30:21Z")
The last time I saw him, he was so bloated as to be nearly unrecognizable. What was up with that? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/27 "2011-08-06T01:41:56Z")
> [@limegreen](#): > > The last time I saw him, he was so bloated as to be nearly unrecognizable. What was up with that? He was taking prednisone for a medical condition, a side effect of which is substantial weight gain. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/28 "2011-08-06T01:43:10Z")
nm - answered by **Miller**. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/29 "2011-08-06T01:43:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > He was taking prednisone for a medical condition, a side effect of which is substantial weight gain. That’s also why Lewis was able to hit 38 homers for the Angels that year. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/30 "2011-08-06T01:45:50Z")
[Goodness, gracious, great balls of HEY LAAAAAAADY!!!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=62082) If you don’t recognize the above, it’s from one of the all-time great BBQ pittings. Click on the link… you’ll be glad you did. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/31 "2011-08-06T02:16:31Z")
Jesus! I never _knew_ any of this shit, and, in my radio days, I used to be proud I could play and dedicate anyone’s pledge of a dollar for MDA! I stayed on the air as long as the telethon, and when it was over, the whole control room looked like a spaceship from another planet, because of the hallucinations I was having from sleep deprivation. And now this. There’s nothing worse than… blah, blah, blah. Just excuse me while I go vomit. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/32 "2011-08-06T06:02:41Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > 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:-) They had Lynrd Skynard and Maureen McGovern on last year, along with one of the Cirque du Soleil groups. I remember watching the telethon every year, and being so excited when the tote board rolled over to ever bigger numbers. It’s fallen a long way from its glory days, I suppose. As to Jerry Lewis being an asshole … I never know how to react to that sort of thing. It sounds like, in his personal life, he’s an asshole. But he’s (apparently) put his heart and soul into raising money for medical research for decades, research that’s paying off. The dichotomy is hard to resolve, and leaves me with decidedly mixed feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/33 "2011-08-06T14:26:24Z")
[Rock Me Jerry Lewis](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSzbbTPLUq8) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/34 "2011-08-06T15:50:53Z")
Our long national nightmare is over! ::scribbles note, “Jerry Lewis/Death Pool”, and crosses fingers:: ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/35 "2011-08-21T18:49:34Z")
\*\* BUMP AND UPDATED\*\* [Actually, he will host it apparently.](http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/08/21/jerry-lewis-reportedly-reinstated-as-mda-labor-day-telethon-host/) He has been reinstated as host. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/36 "2011-08-21T19:09:32Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > \*\* BUMP AND UPDATED\*\* > > [Actually, he will host it apparently.](http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/08/21/jerry-lewis-reportedly-reinstated-as-mda-labor-day-telethon-host/) He has been reinstated as host. Piss! ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/37 "2011-08-21T19:16:28Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Last night on Jimmy Kimmel, they did a bit on Jerry Lewis’ getting fired, (apparently Kimmel is originally from Vegas, and said he used to go watch them tape the Telethon in person as a kid) and they showed a compilation of some of JL’s bizarre behavior during the MDA Telethons of years past, including his on-air use of the word motherfucking (he was pissed that he couldn’t read the teleprompter—“Move that motherfucking video-screen!”) and a truly head-scratching moment where he said something about how while he was now too old for hanky-panky, he still loved to watch his porno collection… > > These were NOT dubbed or photoshopped for the Jimmy Kimmel show. > > ETA—Looks like Jerrry Lewis did indeed have a kid who died from an OD, but it was fairly recently, and long after his dad’s creepy, asshole behavior had started, so it couldn’t be the root cause of Jerry’s crazy goings-on. Here it is on YouTube: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyBIJvq8ss](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyBIJvq8ss) ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/38 "2011-08-21T19:28:10Z")
> [@monkeylucifer](#): > > Here it is on YouTube: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyBIJvq8ss](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyBIJvq8ss) In re-watching the Kimmel bit, I see that Jerry Lewis actually said “Goddamn” on-air, NOT “motherfucking”. Please find it in your heart to forgive me, Mr. Lewis… ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/39 "2011-08-21T20:33:22Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > \*\* BUMP AND UPDATED\*\* > > [Actually, he will host it apparently.](http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/08/21/jerry-lewis-reportedly-reinstated-as-mda-labor-day-telethon-host/) He has been reinstated as host. Untrue Jerry Lewis’ spokeswoman apparently just said that he will NOT be hosting the telethon again, and that was just an unfounded rumor started by a Vegas TV station. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183/40 "2011-08-21T20:41:34Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Untrue > > Jerry Lewis’ spokeswoman apparently just said that he will NOT be hosting the telethon again, and that was just an unfounded rumor started by a Vegas TV station. [And it looks like your claim is correct. This was a quick turn-around.](http://ca.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idCATRE77K2B720110821) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-wont-host-mda-telethon-this-year-edited-title/582183.md?page=3)