It's over folks! There will no longer be a Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Labor Day weekend. :(

I used to remember when it came to fund-raisers this telethon RULED! Nobody even raised HALF as much money as the MDA did. That all changed in 1988 when ANOTHER Telethon (The Children's Miracle Network, hosted by Marie Osmond CLS-SL and Merlon Oleson CLS-SL (Deceased) did the IMPOSSIBLE and overtook the MDA Telethon. For the next ten years or so these two organizations SLUGGED IT OUT for supremacy every May (CMN) and September (MDA), then CMN passed them for good. Jerry Lewis CLS-SL stopped hosting it a couple of years ago, and the "Telethon" only lasted two hours last year. It's sad to see it go, but nothing lasts forever.

Thanks for the memories Jerry!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/05/01/muscular-dystrophy-association-ends-labor-day-television-telethon/26709717

The Muscular Dystrophy Association says its annual telethon, which has gone without Lewis the past few years, is ending due to "the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving." Lewis hosted the MDA telethon from the 1950s through 2010.

it wasn't the same without Jerry.

it wasn't the same without Jerry.

The "Big Shoes" Effect. When he stepped down, there was nobody who could do it like Jerry did. I wonder if any other fund-raisers for the MDA will take place locally. I remember seeing Firemen holding up a boot at traffic intersections, they had a sign that said "Fill this boot for Jerry's Kids" or something like that. Nonetheless, it's sad to see this go, the world will never be the same again.

The cost of doing a 21 hour live TV show from Las Vegas involves flying talent in, putting them up in hotels, getting them around, and other incidentals like catering. The talent can donate their time and performance, but someone has to cover all the rest, and its usually the charity. Then you have all the production costs that aren't donated, such as set design, crew, getting the signal to the stations, and anything else. Put that all together, and it's at least $10 million. That eats up money from donations. It starts to get hard to justify, especially when most of the BIG money is coming from corporations, not people watching the TV show.

If it costs more to produce the show than you take in from viewers, then the decision is easy.

This is so sad :-( I remember growing up with the MDA Telethon. I also remember the evening with the stars telethon. I loved that one too. RIP MDA Telethon i'm gonna miss you.

Yes, I grew up with this marathon myself. It always ended with Jerry Lewis singing the song, You'll Never Walk Alone. Not a dry eye in the house. All good things come to an end I guess. He gave it his all.

Yes, I grew up with this marathon myself. It always ended with Jerry Lewis singing the song, You'll Never Walk Alone. Not a dry eye in the house. All good things come to an end I guess. He gave it his all.


Yes he did, bless his heart! :) ;) And like the other posters were saying, nobody could take his place and do the telethon as well as he did! ;)

I used to look forward to the local segments just to see what the local radio disc jockeys looked like. Also liked seeing and hearing The McDonald's High School Jazz Band perform music.

I am surprised it lasted as long as it did.

They should bring it back. I also think him not having A+ talent during the later years didnt help. I mean I hardly recognized anybody that was on the show towards the end. I dont see how you cant get a couple of hours for this great, worthy cause.

In 1989 I accidently CRASHED a party being held by the TV Station that was televising the CMN Telethon in the Detroit area for the local "Poster Children" and their families. There was a carnival being held on the Station's Grounds as a fund-raiser for this telethon, and when someone told me they had a roller coaster (There were two, a Zyclon and a Wacky Worm) I just HAD to visit. :D I don't remember what happened next, but for some reason I had to make a phone call (Cell Phones were gadgets for the one-percenters at this time, all the peons had to use the good old-fashioned pay phone). :crazy: An employee directed me to a door to the station and there was a phone for me to use. I made the call and after finishing the call I hung the phone, and when I turned I( was greeted by someone with a tray of soft drinks. Hey, Why Not? So I took a drink, next was a person with Fries, and a third with Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. OK looks like I'm having lunch. :consume: So I found a Table and sat down to eat. Across from me was a family of five, one of which was an infant. I found out the infant was one of the Poster Children, he was born a little over four months PREMATURE! :eek: Prior to the birth of him both parents were STRONGLY :angryfire "Pro Choice" :devil:, after realizing they could have aborted the pregnancy at the time he was born changed their minds, and they became pro-lifers :thumbsup: (and professed their faith in Jesus).:angel: When I realized I had crashed this party I finished my meal and made a discrete exit, but not before I made my pledge (and added an extra $5.00 to compensate for my meal). :cool:

My uncle used to watch the MDA Telethon every year because he had muscular dystrophy. Sometimes I would watch it with him. Sadly, he passed away in 2009. Its a shame they have to discontinue this. I am still donating through the mail.