Last Updated on September 16, 2019
The writing has been on the wall since last year, when the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that it was trimming its annual telethon to a mere six-hour event that would only run on the Sunday before Labor Day in all time zones.
What was going to happen to Jerry Lewis, the man who started the telethon 45 years ago and who, over the years, has become increasingly unpredictable, cantankerous and erratic in his hosting, offending various groups by off-color remarks he has made during painful ad libs.
Last week, the MDA informed its participating stations around the country that while Lewis, 85, had been invited to open and close the show (including singing his signature song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”), that he elected not to perform during the rest of the show.
There was no further explanation or commentary. But reading between the lines left a major question about Lewis’s future as the host.
“I’ll be making my final appearance on the show this year,” Lewis said in a statement. “I’ll continue to serve MDA as its national chairman as I’ve done since the early 1950s. I’ll never desert MDA and my kids.”
At the end of last year’s broadcast, he broke down, weeping during part of his closing number, apparently overcome by the $58.9 million that had been raised. That number still fell short of the previous year’s final total.
Lewis has seemed to enjoy a chaotic presentation that often has him arguing on-air with his crew about cues and what was coming up next in the show’s lineup. He also appeared to change plans on the fly, occasionally leading to awkward moments as the technical crew tried to keep up with him.
I imagine that for some people, particularly some younger viewers, that might have been enough of a draw to sit through his segments.
But the economy is always a factor, and producing a 21-hour telethon costs a lot of money, even if big-name stars donate their time. A six-hour telecast keeps most of the program in the prime-time slot, which has the potential of attracting more A-list names rather than some of the C and D-list acts I’ve seen over the past few years.
It’ll be interesting to see what Lewis has to say this last time around.
