A few months ago, it was reported that the upcoming MDA Telethon would be Jerry Lewis' last as host, but that he would continue serving as MDA's national chairman. But yesterday came the shocking news: Jerry Lewis and MDA have parted ways, effective immediately. So for the first time in nearly half a century, Jerry Lewis will not be appearing live on TV on Labor Day.
Say what you want about the man: He's raised more than $2 billion for MDA over 45 telethons. All of his critics combined can't even begin to measure up to Jerry as a fundraiser. However well-intentioned those critics may be, their philosophical arguments cannot pay for a single child to attend MDA's summer camp.
Although the earlier announcement stated that the 2011 telethon would be reduced to 6 hours (from the 21.5 hours that have been the norm), it was anticipated that the legion of telethon viewers would send the comedian off with the highest tote board total ever. So this latest development is a puzzle. Even if Lewis' health problems prevent him from being able to host the telethon, I can't imagine why that would lead to him severing his ties with MDA altogether.
Say what you want about the man: He's raised more than $2 billion for MDA over 45 telethons. All of his critics combined can't even begin to measure up to Jerry as a fundraiser. However well-intentioned those critics may be, their philosophical arguments cannot pay for a single child to attend MDA's summer camp.
Although the earlier announcement stated that the 2011 telethon would be reduced to 6 hours (from the 21.5 hours that have been the norm), it was anticipated that the legion of telethon viewers would send the comedian off with the highest tote board total ever. So this latest development is a puzzle. Even if Lewis' health problems prevent him from being able to host the telethon, I can't imagine why that would lead to him severing his ties with MDA altogether.
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