Kara Kovalchik
A Brief History of the Jerry Lewis Telethon
by Kara Kovalchik - September 7, 2009 - 8:15 AM

telethonThere’s probably a special place in Hell reserved for those of us who watch Jerry Lewis’s annual Labor Day Telethon strictly for laughs. After all, Jerry’s humanitarian efforts over the years have raised over a billion dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, money which not only pays for research but also medical equipment and recreational camps for patients. But between Lewis’ schmaltz, the live entertainment, the open bar in the Green Room and the sleep-deprived floor crew during the wee hours of the morning, hilarity of some sort always seems to ensue. Of course (in the interest of balanced reporting) we’ll admit that there are plenty of somber moments as well…

Why Labor Day?

The first MDA Telethon was a 16-hour affair held at Carnegie Hall in 1955 and had a limited broadcast on DuMont station WABD. The television feed, however, wasn’t interactive and mainly served to encourage folks to go down to Carnegie Hall and donate money.

By 1966 both TV and telephone technology had marched on and MDA decided to take advantage of the improvements; the organization proposed a 19-hour event, hosted by Lewis, to be broadcast from the Americana Hotel with a bank of telephone operators at the ready to accept donations from all over the New York broadcast area. They had to jump through a number of hoops first, including finding a station willing to donate its time and facilities. WNEW finally agreed, but the only timeslot they had available fell over Labor Day weekend. The city then balked at issuing a fund-raising permit, believing that most New Yorkers would be outside having fun over the holiday weekend and not watching television. The show ultimately did go on, and the telethon raised an amazing $1,002,114.

The tote board was not equipped to display dollar amounts in the millions, so Lewis had to climb a ladder and paint the numeral one in front of the other digits.

Martin and Lewis: Together Again

Jerry Lewis had been raising money for MDA long before his telethon hit the airwaves. And in those early days, his partner-in-comedy, Dean Martin, was right there with him, performing at various charity events to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy research. The comedy team of Martin and Lewis had been a powerhouse for 10 years, and their acrimonious parting in 1956 was a huge bombshell to Hollywood and fans alike. The two didn’t speak for 20 years until mutual pal Frank Sinatra arranged a tearful yet somewhat tense reunion during Jerry’s 1976 Telethon:

The Entertainment

The Telethon was always a bit top-heavy with Borscht Belt-type entertainers, but occasionally some stellar acts donated their time for Jerry’s Kids. This clip of the Jackson Five is interesting not only for their high-energy live performance of “Dancing Machine,” but also because Michael wasn’t yet the almighty mystical MICHAEL JACKSON and the audience wasn’t convulsed with hysteria by his mere presence. He had to actually work to get them on their feet.

John Lennon had always been a soft touch when it came to philanthropy, but most of the time he preferred to donate quietly without recognition or publicity. By 1972, however, his image was in serious need of repair – his name was now associated with extreme radical Yippie activists like Jerry Rubin and Angela Davis. Not the best company to keep when petitioning for a Green Card. In an effort to show the world (well, the U.S. government, anyway) that he was really a Nice Guy, he made a number of public appearances supporting various charities, including an appearance on Jerry’s Telethon:

How did Jerry make sure he had more than just insomniacs and second-shift workers tuned in during the overnight hours of his telethon? One tactic was to have TV Guide list all the acts scheduled to appear but not list the specific times they’d be on. Maybe I’m seeing a plot where there is none, but… back in 1979 I was a major Kiss fan, and I was naturally excited when I saw them listed among the Shecky Greenes and Buddy Hacketts that were going to appear on the telethon that Labor Day weekend. I didn’t have a VCR at the time, so I had to watch the entire show, which meant staying up all night if I didn’t want to miss them. And when they finally appeared, on Monday freakin’ afternoon, they were on for less than thirty freakin’ seconds. Not that I’m still bitter or anything.

Anyone who’s read Mommie Dearest will probably doubt Joan Crawford’s sincerity during her emotional performance on the 1968 telethon. Does she really have a place in her cold, cold heart for the disabled, or is she playing to the press and any casting directors in the audience? And is she gently leading Christina off stage, or yanking her by the arm?

The late Ed McMahon started working with Jerry on the telethon back in 1967. For the next 42 years, Ed would act not only as Jerry’s on-air sparring partner (and occasional verbal punching bag), but he was also the glue that held the whole show together. Ed introduced guests, calculated donations in his head, took over hosting duties when Jerry caught the occasional 20-minute catnap, and hid Dean Martin in his dressing room in order to preserve the surprise factor for that 1976 broadcast. Jerry was unpredictable, especially after the first few hours, so Ed had to be prepared to jump in at any moment to “rescue” the broadcast lest Lewis overstep any FCC boundaries. Even in 2008, when McMahon was 85 years old, he still remained on alert during the entire telethon. Here is one of those overnight moments when the floor director forget to order a change of cameras; Ed can be seen mouthing the words on Jerry’s cue cards, keeping careful track of the action.

Local Color

The tradition of cutting away to local affiliates during the telethon began in 1969. During the previous year’s broadcast, producers noticed that WHEC in Rochester had a significantly higher amount of pledges than any other New York station. A call was made to station manager Glover Delaney to see what, if anything, the station had done differently. He confessed that he’d cut away from the national broadcast for a few minutes each hour to show the local volunteers answering phones at his station. A new tradition was immediately born, one which was expanded to not only feature phone-answerers, but also local celebrities and sponsors. Showing individual markets how MDA was working in their community made the pledges pour in, according to MDA president Robert Ross.

Do you have any telethon memories? Have you ever pledged a large amount of money just to hear your name read on TV? Feel free to take time out from your Labor Day barbecue to chime in, and maybe also make a pledge to help Jerry’s Kids.

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Comments (23)

  1. For some reason, the one thing in Telethon history that sticks to me was a troupe of breakdancers performing en masse and in unison to Vickie Sue Robinson’s “Turn the Beat Around”. I also have this vague, hazy memory of Jerry himself joining the group with the predictable “white men can’t dance” results.

    Did this actually happen, and if so, when? Does anybody have a clip of it? Or is this just a product of my overactive and warped imagination??

    “BB”

    reCaptcha: Bristol falsity

    posted by Bill on 9-7-2009 at 8:35 am

  2. jerry lewis seems to become more unpredictable and combustible as he gets older. last night he asked a 9 year who raised 3000 bucks doing a read-a-thon if any of the books were “dirty”
    That being said, please give to this great organization. they do great work and they are one of the “cleanest” charities around. noone is getting rich off money that is donated for the kids.

    posted by ee the c on 9-7-2009 at 9:18 am

  3. I worked for a very successful woman who’d lived with MD 50 years until passing away from pneumatic complications. She hated Jerry Lewis and his telethon and actively protested it every year. In fact, this article does a disservice by not mentioning the passionate opposition to this archaic fundraiser. Even with medical advances made since the 50′s, the telethon still paints children with MD as facing down a pitiful, short life without some kind of outside intervention. As a child, the telethon convinced my former employer that she was a.) going to die soon b.) never accomplish anything on her own. However, she went on to get a law degree, become an active member of local politics and disability advocate, support her family and was featured in many national publications including Time and the NYT. Forget doddering, old Jerry Lewis: she’s my inspiration to give people living with MD not only my money, but my respect.

    posted by Lynnie on 9-7-2009 at 11:00 am

  4. you missed a big story and possibly the future of the marathon itself…. in recent years, jerry springer, of all people, has been helping out with the broadcast and hosting duties and from what i was witness to when i worked with the jerry springer show, he plans on continuing the marathon when jerry is no longer able to do the broadcast, becoming the next “jerry” of Jerry’s Kids. Springer has a daughter who is severely stricken with MD… privately, i have personally heard him admit that the reason that he does what he does on his show is because as he once said to me, “as outrageous as it is, they offered me the chance to make enough money in my lifetime to insure that my daughter will never have to fall back on any charities or institutional help to live the rest of HER life in comfort. as a father, how could i not take say yes to that possibility.”

    posted by blake on 9-7-2009 at 1:00 pm

  5. Lynnie: Then you worked for a bitter, angry, little person who was probably the first one to whine when there wasn’t a ramp someplace or the doors were too small for her wheelchair or the multitude of other obstacles disabled people face everyday. Yet at the same time some of them, like her, want to be treated like everyone else?! The MDA does a lot to correct these kinds of situations as well as trying to find a cure for the illness. They buy wheelchairs for people that can’t afford them, and just generally give them opportunities they would not otherwise have. Yet I wonder what she thought about Lou Rawls “Parade Of Stars” telethon for the United Negro College Fund and all those poor black kids that can’t afford to go to college? Or all those undernourished kids they show to get you to send money to Africa? Give me a break. If she was your only inspiration I feel sorry for you.

    posted by joe on 9-7-2009 at 1:33 pm

  6. Is Jerry having use a Jazzy scooter this year? I just saw him sitting on one.

    posted by brian on 9-7-2009 at 2:40 pm

  7. Lynnie, your fried wasn’t alone in disliking (loathing?) Jerry Lewis’ “contribution”. No question his heart is in the right place and that he has done a lot to bring funds to the fight against MD. The problem is his portrayal of those of us who are disabled as pitiful creatures, used only to bring tears to the eyes of pontential contributors. I always do my level best to block his telethon from my viewing. If I want to feel sorry for myself, I can do it all on my own, without a big name “star” to show me how pitiful I can be. He should be ashamed.

    posted by lrdclbrn on 9-7-2009 at 5:56 pm

  8. I had to turn it off! Two minutes into the show Jerry is telling a nine year old girl she has nice looking legs (yew!) and then he launches into an inappropriate joke, I thought this was for Jerry’s kids, not about being lewd for Jerry’s kids!

    posted by Connie on 9-7-2009 at 7:12 pm

  9. @ Joe Considering she was also a member of ACLU and the legal representative for the local Longshoreman’s union, I’m pretty sure she was against all those things too. I won’t dignify your venomous assumptions by giving you her name, but rest assured any of her articles, books (one of which is an autobiography,) would set you straight. Or, you know, you could Wikipedia her because it doesn’t seem like you like to read things that are very long or difficult. Also, shame on you for attacking the recently deceased!

    posted by Lynnie on 9-7-2009 at 9:31 pm

  10. damn..I remember seeing the TV DVD collection advertise plenty of times.

    posted by Constant Gina on 9-7-2009 at 10:55 pm

  11. @Lynnie Get a grip, he had a point. How on earth do you get that he doesn’t read from that post? You give him crap for not reading then you say she’d be “against all those things too” uh, say what?

    Seriously, I can see why your coworker might personally not have liked it but if she actively campaigned against it she was really rather silly. This year it raised $60 MILLION for research and as someone with a couple friends and family members affected by the disease Jerry could spend the whole telethon picking his nose, giving us pickle recipes and making racist remarks about Belgians and I wouldn’t care.

    posted by Toast on 9-8-2009 at 2:55 am

  12. Both Lynnie and all others have a point. It´s always how you campaign as well. You always have to paint a picture that is worse than reality. Even the African children are not all as hungry and miserable-looking as is made believe in all these commercials. Yet they may still need help. But if people dont see the sad look, they won´t help. Same for people with MD. The show helps, but people with MD might not like how they are portrayed there. I can understand both sides.

    posted by Green Card on 9-8-2009 at 9:46 am

  13. What a great article! You know, in Detroit they’re Joe Glover’s Kids! At least they used to be. I have been a pretty dedicated watcher of the telethon but sometimes they run the same stories over and over. I did see Jerry “kidding around” with that poor little girl, asking her if she read dirty books – guess he thought he was being funny. It bombed though. She was not amused either!
    I remember one year when Jerry said he was gonna drop his pants if the numbers hit so and so……..and he did! Still funny! And then the last year Henny Youngman was on before he died – I have it on VHS for some odd reason. Classic. I think I was waiting for Cheap Trick to come on. I could go on and on.
    One thing I know, it wasn’t the same without Ed. But still a good cause!
    Shirley Towel

    posted by MrsPurrbottom on 9-8-2009 at 12:06 pm

  14. The best memory i had as a kid and to this day is calling in a donation and seeing my name on tv.
    reCaptche: followed eating

    posted by Frog on 9-8-2009 at 4:38 pm

  15. I was a phone volunteer for a couple of years in the 80′s and you would be amazed at the calls you get at 4am. I don’t know how many people I had to tell that they couldn’t speak to Jerry because I was sitting in a mall just a few miles from where they were calling from.

    posted by Mike on 9-8-2009 at 5:02 pm

  16. I hate to say this, but I worked in a MDA call center for a short period of time and it was the worst, most underpaying, demeaning job I have ever had! We were not allowed to leave our “desks” except twice a day (we were docked time if we did), we were yelled at on a regular basis, and not allowed to talk to each other, except on breaks.. We were shoved in a tiny room with an incredibly low ceiling and horrible lighting, and basically told to tell any lie we could to guilt people into donating money. It was AWFUL and though I was only there for a short time while I was a student, I will never forget it. It certainly motivated me to do well in school and never have to work in a place like that again!! Really makes you wonder how much good a charity organization is if it doesn’t even value its own employees…

    posted by anniepilar on 9-8-2009 at 7:43 pm

  17. anniepillar –

    I’ve worked in MDA call centers many times; what you describe is untrue. Especially about the pay and conditions. Every one I worked in was in a large, open space and we could get up and move around as much as we wanted.

    posted by Silver Turtle on 9-8-2009 at 10:09 pm

  18. My birthday is September 6, and I can remember as a kid in the ’80′s always watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon on Labor Day weekend. It always was around my birthday. The most exciting times were when he updated the tote board. Back then, the telethon was on the one of the big network affiliates, and with only three channels, it was hard to miss it. Now, you really have to search for it. There’s just too many TV channels; I always forget that was on until after it’s over. Kinda sad, I guess.

    posted by Justin on 9-9-2009 at 12:35 am

  19. I have to suspect that it was probably quite a nightmare when Jerry asked the child spokesperson for MDA if any of the books she read to raise money were, “dirty.? Of how about the time good old Jerry asked Nancy O’Dell if she’d really do, “anything,” to be with him on the Telethon? Boy, that Southern Christian Leadership must have sent him flowers when he burst out with, “where the Christ are the words to this song” during his reading of Irving Berlin’s, “God Bless America,” or when the tympani was played prematurely and he angrily stormed off stage after screaming, “God damnit,” off mic.

    I have nothing but admiration for his fundraising abilities but one day Jerry Lewis will no longer be a part of this terrific organization. Isn’t it time to begin the transition process? I love watching the Telethon with Jerry but for all the wrong reasons. It’s a trainwreck and I just can’t take my eyes off of it. I actually enjoy seeing Jerry meltdown because you just don’t see this anywhere on TV. Why, because there are censors, producers, directors and clients who have the power to stand up to talent gone awry. Not with Jerry. No one goes up against Jerry and it’s a shame because he can be a better man with someone who could convince him of the importance of his position. Unfortunately, there is not, so Jerry more often than not comes across as a very mean spirtited, lecherous and angry old man. It shouldn’t be his legacy to be remembered as this yet, the more air time he is given, the more time viewers have to see this “uncomfortable” persona.

    posted by Mark on 9-10-2009 at 4:27 pm

  20. I don’t get the fascination with Jerry Lewis. He’s always been a cry baby or a victim. If he didn’t do the telethon, who would even think of him. I applaud him for what he does each year, but I personally feel it’s self serving. His comments don’t surprise me and I’m shocked that they surprises anyone else.

    posted by Files Search on 12-23-2009 at 7:12 am

  21. I grew up in South Florida, and remember the Skipper Chuck Show with a full heart. Skipper Chuck was a huge supporter of the MDA Telethon, and he had a great gimmick for kids to help. The infamous Muscular Dystrophy Association Backyard Carnival. Bless my mom’s heart, she allowed me to phone and get a free Carnival kit, that included a warehouse type store they recommended for prizes. She schlepped us all the way to that store and allowed us to pick out prizes. We put on a marvelous carnival one day! Only problem is, all the kids were IN the carnival! I was, among other things, a Gypsy fortune teller. The kit had strips of fortunes that you cut out and hid in your skirt to grab when someone wanted their fortune told. It was great fun! And we felt so good being able to contribute. I don’t think we raised much at all, but it was really exciting hearing our names listed on Skipper Chuck as Backyard Carnival kids.

    I was one of the ones who would stay up to see the telethon almost every year. It hit me hard all the kids who had problems. I never met any, and looking back a lot of them seemed similar to Cerebral Palsy. But I wanted to help. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we were certainly blessed with good health (though my brother had severe asthma).

    When I was 13 I started babysitting and did so all the way through high school graduation. I remember wanting to send some of my money and calling in a pledge. It was only about $5 or $10. But unfortunately even the Jerry Lewis Telethon was the mailing list from hell.

    But thank you so much Jerry, for all the selfless years you have dedicated to “your” kids. There truly is a huge part of heaven waiting for you – hopefully not too soon! I pray you are around for many years to come. I can’t envision a world without you and your giving heart that encourages others to give.

    God bless you and I hope that even in this economy you continue to get the support the kids – and adults – afflicted with MD need so much.

    posted by Teri on 9-4-2010 at 1:18 pm

  22. “You Skinny Hebrew”
    By: Dean Dino Martin
    Never before Available to the General Public
    (A 1953 humorous & satirical birthday tribute song from Dean Martin to Jerry Lewis)

    If you go to the Apple iTunes Store and type “You Skinny Hebrew” in the search line, you will see the Dino to Jerry song.

    You can also click on this link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/you-skinny-hebrew-live/id352134363?i=352134391&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

    posted by Rememberthe70s on 9-5-2010 at 4:05 pm

  23. I watched the telethon as a little girl when Jerry moved it to the Catskills (I don’t remember which hotel) in NY. Why is that time period never mentioned in the history? And yes, I went to midtown Manhattan to personally deposit money in the hopper. It was a drive led by my father and a friend that included me and my friends. It was, clearly, a lesson in giving.

    posted by Laura Zeaman on 9-5-2011 at 2:15 am

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