# The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479 "2017-09-04T15:26:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![golffan1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4af34b/32.png) [@golffan1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/golffan1963)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/1 "2017-09-04T15:26:45Z")
Not sure if it has been done before…I’m in a hurry and didn’t check. 🙂 Anyway, in remembrance of the late Jerry Lewis, and it also being Labor Day, I thought I would post a thread. Does anyone remember staying up into the wee hours of the morning watching this annual event? It was a staple of my childhood every Labor Day weekend. Always enjoyed it. The only down side was that watching here in Chicago, in later years, the station that carried the telethon decided they were more important than the national production, and they would run their local cut-ins well past the time alloted by the Love Network. I mean…they would go loooooong…often obliterating the return to the main telethon. Sometimes they would go fifteen, twenty minutes, then toss it back to the national feed, rejoining someone in mid-performance. I would bet at there was at least 15-20 per cent of the telethon that Chicago viewers did not see. Overall though, a good event for a worthy cause. Too bad the day of the telethon has passed us by. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/2 "2017-09-04T21:53:37Z")
> [@golffan1963](#): > > Too bad the day of the telethon has passed us by. They’re doing the MDA telethon in St. Louis as I type this. However, they only did a half-hour on TV. The rest of the time it’s been streaming live on Facebook. Not quite the same. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/3 "2017-09-04T22:29:42Z")
I’m disappointed they didn’t continue the MDA telethons. They could have used different hosts from year to year. Maybe run it for only 12 hours. Noon to Midnight would have gotten the widest audience. I don’t understand MDA’s thinking. Don’t they need the money anymore? AFAIK the local TV stations were still willing to run it. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/4 "2017-09-04T23:08:31Z")
I think it was the summer I was 16, since I stayed up all night or for 2 or 3 day stretches earlier that same summer. I tried to watch the whole telethon through that Labor Day weekend, but fell asleep a couple of times during it. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/5 "2017-09-04T23:26:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m disappointed they didn’t continue the MDA telethons. > > They could have used different hosts from year to year. Maybe run it for only 12 hours. Noon to Midnight would have gotten the widest audience. > > I don’t understand MDA’s thinking. Don’t they need the money anymore? > > AFAIK the local TV stations were still willing to run it. I’m sure they do need the money- but that doesn’t mean a telethon is the best way to get it. It’s not like the old days when there were only a few channels to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/6 "2017-09-05T00:21:22Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m sure they do need the money- but that doesn’t mean a telethon is the best way to get it. It’s not like the old days when there were only a few channels to choose from. yep. just because things are different now doesn’t mean they’re worse. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/7 "2017-09-05T00:25:00Z")
Question: how much progress have they made against the disease? Were Lewis’ proceeds from this event crucial in any way, leading to any major breakthroughs? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/8 "2017-09-05T01:06:45Z")
So far the advances are in research. There’s no treatment. [http://www.musculardystrophyuk.org/progress-in-research/](http://www.musculardystrophyuk.org/progress-in-research/) > [@](#): > > We use a robust international peer-review system, and have laid the foundations for the first potential treatments for some muscle-wasting conditions. > > We have contributed to crucial scientific breakthroughs: > > laying the foundations for the promising technology of ‘exon skipping’ which is currently being tested in clinical trials for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy > > funding work that has led to a scientific breakthrough in finding a treatment for mitochondrial myopathy, now close to clinical trial. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/9 "2017-09-05T01:23:07Z")
When I was a kid, the telethon was on all the channels we could get at my grandmother’s house, so I watched a lot of it. A friend of the family had a child with MD so there was another reason to watch it as well. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/10 "2017-09-05T01:26:35Z")
I never watched it. My parents never watched it. Of course, that’s because we couldn’t stand Jerry Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/11 "2017-09-05T01:31:57Z")
TV stations back then went off the air around midnight. Having an all-night program was a lot of fun. Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/12 "2017-09-05T01:35:55Z")
It was always on the CBS station where I grew up, meaning it preempted\* The Price is Right\* every year. :mad: I do NOT miss the telethon. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/13 "2017-09-05T01:48:59Z")
We typically turned the telethon on several times throughout the day. Checking on the current total raised and to see what Jerry was doing. He always got progressively more exhausted as the hours went by. We always watched during prime time to see the biggest acts. Labor Day just isn’t the same without the telethon. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/14 "2017-09-05T02:53:06Z")
I remember working the telethon No, not on the phones, lighting and sound AV and electrical rigging ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/15 "2017-09-06T00:40:29Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Question: how much progress have they made against the disease? Were Lewis’ proceeds from this event crucial in any way, leading to any major breakthroughs? According to [Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/expert-answers/emerging-treatments-for-ms/faq-20096786) there are some interesting emerging treatments, but still no cure and more research is needed. One of latest breakthroughs may be Mayo Clinic’s study on [gut microbes](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170808150003.htm); this was published just a month ago. There’s no mention on MDA being involved in this research. When we were young we would watch it pretty intensely. Not much else on TV on Labor Day in a small town. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/16 "2017-09-06T03:00:58Z")
I think that through supportive therapies (respiratory, cardiac, etc) that “Jerry’s Kids” are now living much longer than they did when the telethons first started. I also understand the MDA helps patients and families with equipment that the insurance companies might not cover, camps for the kids, that sort of thing. StG ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/17 "2017-09-06T11:55:31Z")
I recall being extremely annoyed that this boring stuff was pre-empting other programming. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/18 "2017-09-06T12:17:02Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > I never watched it. My parents never watched it. Of course, that’s because we couldn’t stand Jerry Lewis. This. In my life I think I’ve seen a total of 15 minutes of Jerry Lewis on tv. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/19 "2017-09-06T19:41:17Z")
My sister and I were just talking about the telethon this past weekend. We loved it and never missed it. We were born in '61 & '63. We were always at the family cabin over Labor Day weekend so we’d watch it on a 12" B&W TV from the EARLY '60’s. We were Jerry Lewis movie fans. We remember the night Jerry and Dino were reunited! We think back on it and wonder what was so great about it. From what I remember it was a lot of talking and going to the local telethon off and on for more talking. There must have been stars performing at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479/20 "2017-09-06T23:28:38Z")
Yes, as a youngster I watched it. Back then there were only a handful of channels. Things like the telethon, the Olympics, the annual Wizard of Oz showing - these were all Event TV. You planned your life around them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/795479.md?page=2)