The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an annual telethon held the night before and through Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in 1950 with hopes of gaining the American public's interest. The show was hosted by comedian, actor, singer and filmmaker Jerry Lewis from its 1966 inception until 2010. The history of MDA's telethon dates back to the 1950s, when the Jerry Lewis Thanksgiving Party for MDA raised funds for the organization's New York City area operations. The telethon was held annually on Labor Day weekend beginning in 1966, and raised $2.45 billion for MDA from its inception through 2009.
The telethon broadcast up to 21 hours, starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon on the holiday itself. MDA called its network of participating stations the "Love Network". The show originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the years it was broadcast. Beginning in 2011 MDA radically reformatted and shortened the telethon's format into that of a benefit concert, shortening the length of the special each successive year. The 2011 edition was seen on the Sunday evening before Labor Day for six hours. This edition was syndicated to approximately 160 television stations throughout the United States on September 4, 2011.
Nigel Lythgoe, Jann Carl, Alison Sweeney and Nancy O'Dell were brought on as co-hosts and shared hosting duties for the 2011 edition. Successive telethons from 2012 to 2014 ran under the new title MDA Show of Strength and further reduced the show's airtime. The 2012 edition aired on Sunday, September 2, 2012 and was reduced to three hours as a primetime-only broadcast. The telethon aired at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and was seen live in the Eastern and Central time zones. The 2012 edition did not refer to itself as a "telethon."
The 2013 Show of Strength discontinued the long-standing format of being syndicated to individual stations of varying network affiliation and aired on major national network ABC on Sunday, September 1, 2013, and running two hours. The final edition aired on ABC on August 31, 2014, again as a two-hour special, beginning at 9:00p.m. ET/PT. It was announced on May 1, 2015, that the MDA would discontinue the annual event. The MDA revisited the national telethon concept on October 24, 2020 and again in 2021 with a new social media-based telethon, The MDA Kevin Hart Kids Telethon.
History
Prior to 1966
began hosting telethons to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Associations of America in 1952 after a plea from a staff member who worked with Lewis and Dean Martin on The Colgate Comedy Hour. Lewis had previously taken part in what has been described as the very first telethon, a marathon 1951 broadcast benefiting a cardiac hospital that was organized by Budd Granoff, which featured the Martin and Lewis comedy team, who were his clients at that time.The MDAA benefit broadcasts first originated from a variety of locations in New York City in 1954, as local telethons seen exclusively on WABD or WABC-TV, who donated their broadcast time for the event. Lewis hosted several four-hour shows in the New York area and elsewhere to benefit MDAA and promote the battle against muscular dystrophy during the later 1950s and early 1960s. By the mid-1960s, the success of those shows convinced MDAA to stage a telethon to support MDA's New York efforts, with Lewis agreeing to host the big event when approached by the organization.
According to the MDA's website, on December 28, 1951, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis concluded their popular NBC show with a special appeal to support muscular dystrophy research. MDA's website additionally states that the second national appeal was during its January 4, 1952 network radio program.
MDA's website lists five early local MDA telethons: Cleveland on March 7, 1952; Atlanta on June 6 and 7, 1952; Washington, D.C., on December 26 and 27, 1952; Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 27 and 28, 1953; and Madison, Wisconsin on September 12 and 13, 1953. These telethons did not star or feature Jerry Lewis, but were hosted by other stars such as Dick Van Dyke, Robert Alda, Virginia Graham, and Al Hodge in character as Captain Video.
On June 29 and 30, 1956, Martin and Lewis hosted an MDAA telethon called The Martin and Lewis Roundup, live from Carnegie Hall. The pair ended their comedy partnership a month later, and Lewis was named national chairman of MDAA later that year. Lewis went on to host Thanksgiving Day telethons in 1957 and 1959.
1966 through the 1970s
By the mid-1960s, organizers of the telethon chose Labor Day weekend to stage their event, as it was the only time frame made available to hold it. Many, however, expected the Labor Day broadcast would fail, as many people would have traveled out of town and/or be away from their television sets during the holiday weekend; even New York City officials were skeptical that it would succeed, which made them reluctant to issue a fund-raising permit to the MDAA, though one would indeed be granted at the urging of Robert Ross, MDAA's then-Executive Director.The first MDA Labor Day Telethon was held the weekend of September 4 and 5, 1966. Broadcast by local independent station WNEW-TV, the event was staged at New York's Americana Hotel, with a stage featuring a talk show-style desk and seating area for Lewis and performers, a performance area for a 19-piece jazz band, phone banks, and a large tote board to keep track of donations received. Proving the doubters wrong, the event was so successful that Lewis had to climb a ladder and paint a seventh digit, a "1," on the six-digit tote board when the final total reached $1,002,114 The show repeated its success in 1967, raising $1,126,846
Emboldened by positive word of mouth generated from the telethon's success in attracting both donations and celebrity appearances, the event's organizers sought out a wider audience in 1968 by offering a live broadcast to stations outside the New York City market. Before that, however, approval needed to be gained from the Theater Authority, an organization that represented theatrical-related talent unions whose permission was required before their membership could perform at benefits, such as telethons, without reimbursement. MDA gained the Theater Authority's permission and proceed to form a family of stations that was later billed as "The Love Network." Joining WNEW-TV in that 1968 telecast were:
- WGR-TV in Buffalo, New York
- WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York
- WKBG-TV in Boston, Massachusetts
- WTEV in New Bedford, Massachusetts
- WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire
By 1970, the MDA Labor Day Telethon was seen nationwide on 64 stations, including the addition of Los Angeles and San Francisco stations to the Love Network roster, making the 1970 event the first telethon seen from coast to coast. Proceeds from the 1970 event totaled $5,093,385. The show continued to gain popularity and major stars through the next two years, helped in part by the Theater Authority permanently lifting its ban on nationwide telethon performances by its members in 1970.
In 1973, with 150 Love Network stations in tow, the telethon moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where it originated at the Sahara Hotel. That year, Lewis explained the mission of the MDA with his comment: "God goofed, and it's up to us to correct His mistakes." The 1973 telethon was also when the event broke the $10 million mark for the first time. Co-host Ed McMahon made an on-air prediction that donations would surpass $10 million ; at the moment it did, he came on stage to tell Lewis, "I have a brush, and I have some paint..." and Lewis repeated his 1966 stunt by painting a "1" on the board, this time punctuating it by wiping the paintbrush up and down the front of his tuxedo in celebration. An additional Solari number flipper was added the next year, allowing a display of under $100 million.
In 1976, the Love Network grew to a peak of 213 stations, effectively making it America's fourth major television network, if only for 21 hours. The 1976 telethon was also perhaps the most memorable one in the MDA's history, highlighted by the emotional reunion of Jerry and his former partner, Dean Martin, arranged by frequent telethon guest and mutual friend Frank Sinatra. It was the first time Martin and Lewis were seen together publicly since they separated their act in 1956. The 1976 telethon also was one of the most-watched, drawing more than 85 million viewers, according to the A.C. Nielsen ratings service.
In 1979, donations were a record $30 million.
1980s–1990s
During the telethon's Las Vegas years in the 1970s and 1980s, the show originated at the Sahara until 1982 when it moved to a bigger space at Caesars Palace. The show continued there until 1989 when it originated from the Cashman Center in Las Vegas – the only time it was broadcast from a Las Vegas-area venue that was not a hotel and the first time it originated from a venue physically located within the city of Las Vegas itself. Lewis always anchored the entire broadcast which ran 21 hours ever since 1973. That said, in 1983 he rested for a few hours offstage, having undergone cardiac-bypass surgery the year before, but he returned to full force in 1984. In 1986, the telethon had a three-way live simulcast during the 8:30 a.m. half-hour, including Today on NBC and Good Morning America on ABC. In 1990, the telethon originated from the Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles, 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 in 2005 to Beverly Hills. In 1998, MDA's all-star landmark show became the first to be broadcast on the Internet by RealNetworks on the association's website. During this time, Lewis got annoyed when local station cut-ins came back late or when WGN-TV pre-empted part of the telethon for a Chicago Cubs game.After the telethon, the site featured a special highlights reel of the telethon for that year. Lewis still continued to host at least 16 hours of his telethon until 1999, where he appeared for the first five hours and the last five hours of the telecast, with an extended pre-recorded segment presented during late-night hours, and other celebrities filling in for Lewis and Ed McMahon during the morning hours. Co-hosts have included talk show host Larry King, comedians Norm Crosby, Elayne Boosler, Bob Zany, television personalities Chad Everett, David Hartman, Casey Kasem, Jann Carl, Leeza Gibbons, John Tesh, veteran singers Tony Orlando, Julius LaRosa, and many others.