The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an annual telethon held on Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
From its 1966 inception until 2010, the show was hosted by comedian, actor, singer, and filmmaker Jerry Lewis. During that time, it raised $2.5 billion.
The show originated in Las Vegas for 28 of the years it was broadcast, originally at the Sahara (until 1982) when it moved to a bigger space at Caesars Palace.
In 1990, the telethon originated from the Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles. It then returned to Las Vegas and the Sahara Hotel until 1995, when it moved again to Southern California, to CBS Television City for nine years, and then to Beverly Hills in 2005.
For decades, it was a TV tradition. Millions of people tuned in every year to watch Jerry Lewis host the MDA Labor Day Telethon. It began broadcasting on the evening preceding Labor Day and continued until late afternoon on the holiday itself.
For 20-plus hours, Lewis sang, joked, mugged, cajoled, wept, and played ringmaster to a horde of celebrities as he appealed to viewers to dig deep and donate. Each year, Lewis would dominate the show, delivering a blend of showbiz schmaltz and true-life, touching stories of people who had muscular dystrophy and their families.
Whether you liked it or cringed, it was live television at its most live, with Lewis getting more cranky and teary as the hours rolled by, pleading with viewers to make the numbers on the tote board increase.
Ed McMahon was Lewis’ longtime co-host. He began working on the telethon in 1968 and continued for 40 years.
In 1976, Frank Sinatra made a scheduled appearance on the telethon, fresh from his performance at Caesar’s Palace. Sinatra then surprised Lewis by bringing out Lewis’ former partner, Dean Martin. The two hadn’t seen each other in more than a decade, and the live, on-camera reunion was an emotional highlight and a historic show-biz moment.
The MDA announced in 2010 that the telethon would be trimmed back considerably to six hours, beginning with the 2011 edition in response to lagging donations, stations showing only part of the telethon or dropping it altogether, and the less-than-stellar talent in recent telethons, as well as Lewis being in his 80s and devoting less and less time appearing on-air due to his age and health.
The MDA announced in August 2011 that Lewis had “completed his run” as both host and national chairman, effective immediately and that Lewis would not appear in the 2011 telethon.
Numerous celebrities came out in support of Lewis and opposed his dismissal from the MDA shortly after it was announced. Lewis himself was mostly silent about the issue, saying that the controversy is “very difficult to get into.”
The 2011 telethon’s hosts paid tribute to Lewis with a one-minute montage of clips of him hosting the telethon over the years and said that Lewis had “retired” from his position as host.
In 2015, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that the organisation was ending the annual Labor Day telethon.
From its 1966 inception until 2010, the show was hosted by comedian, actor, singer, and filmmaker Jerry Lewis. During that time, it raised $2.5 billion.
Whether you liked it or cringed, it was live television at its most live, with Lewis getting more cranky and teary as the hours rolled by, pleading with viewers to make the numbers on the tote board increase.
The MDA announced in 2010 that the telethon would be trimmed back considerably to six hours, beginning with the 2011 edition in response to lagging donations, stations showing only part of the telethon or dropping it altogether, and the less-than-stellar talent in recent telethons, as well as Lewis being in his 80s and devoting less and less time appearing on-air due to his age and health.
