Bring back the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon!

 On September 4th, 1966, The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon went on the air and would be a staple on the holiday for over 40 years, and today, we need this event more than ever.  Lewis would host until 2009 and appear by video on a few more.

For many years, the telethon ran from Sunday night, after the evening news until Monday night just before the evening news, about 21.5 hours.

Produced by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) it would appear on all three of the major networks (CBS & NBC) even though some markets would interrupt it with athletic events (which was wrong on their parts). 

For the first several years I saw it, it was annoying, because it interrupted my television shows with all these “old people” but years later, I’d not only learn to greatly appreciate the show but volunteered for many years, it’s a great memory of growing up.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) was founded in 1950 to bring awareness to the disease and raise funds to help with its research and aiding families struggling against the disease.  

The show became a star studded showcase of legends, current superstars and up-and-comers getting anywhere from 4-8 minute spots, depending on who it was, Lewis would give a lot of new comedians and singers an opportunity to show off their stylings on the telethon in some of the hard to fill, overnight slots.  During the prime spots, people like Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra would appear.  Like the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, this would be another very high profile show that Elvis Presley would never appear on (thanks to the Colonel’s greed).

Speaking of Sinatra, it was in 1976 that television witnessed the most high profile celebrity reunion of all time, as 20 years of animosity would be set aside between Lewis and long time comedy/film partner Dean Martin would come back together as Frank introduced his “special friend” who was a “real fan” of what Lewis did.  To this day the video still gets me tearey eyed, but I also not once that when Dean comes out, Frank is quick to take Lewis’s microphone from him so he doesn’t say anything foolish over the air. 😆 Sinatra is the only one who could have pulled any of this off and seemed joyed to finally see the two back together.

This yearly event came to mean a lot to me, I enjoyed volunteering in whatever aspect I could, and in the early 90s it even gave me the opportunity to interview actor, John Goodman for our college newspaper.  Still have a large collection of buttons from all those years and others I’ve collected over the years.  In my hometown of Bolivar, the call center was in the basement of a local bank, it was great running errands for them on my bike in the first few years and other activities as they went on.

More and more I’ve realized that the American Society NEEDS this telethon to return!

An entire weekend of reminding us to GIVE, to be GENEROUS and to show our love for our fellow man, especially children in their times of need, it reminded the whole world, TO GIVE, money, time, effort, anything to help someone who really needs it, we were a better world when this telethon was on the air.

After Lewis’s retirement, the show would make drastic changes, it went from an all day event to part day event of 6 hours, to a 3 hour special to a 2 hour special, and in 2020 was a “social media event”… really, it was, does anyone remember it at all?  I do not.  WE NEED THE BIG TELETHON BACK!

Like too many important events, it was demoted, over and over again to the point that it pretty much doesn’t exist anymore, and that is just plain WRONG.

Multiple locations, Las Vegas, Orlando, Branson and others need to step up, work together and remind the world how important it is to step up.

We need to see those Firefighters and other volunteers at the major intersections of our cities, ALL weekend, raising money to help kids in their fight against this terrible disease.

We need local broadcasters/entertainers to do their part in the breakaways they did to show that the nation was working together to help children.

Our world needs a reminder to give, get involved, don’t be so superficial, don’t be so self centered, help others and give of yourself, not just your money.  I’d like to see two telethons a year, one on Memorial Day weekend to raise money for children’s cancer funds and the return of the full Labor Day Telethon, we need it more than we know, it makes truly better people of all of us.