Jerry Lewis has been abruptly dismissed as the host of the annual Labor Day muscular dystrophy telethon.<\/p>\n
“Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association are making a mess of parting ways,” writes Timothy\u00a0Mangan in the Orange County Register,<\/em>\u00a0“but aren\u2019t saying why they are after 45 years and raising more than $1 billion for the nonprofit through its annual telethon.<\/p>\n His removal as the telethon host and association chairman\u00a0caught media observers by surprise. \u00a0<\/p>\n “For the first time in 45 years, Jerry Lewis will not be pleading for donations in front of a camera Labor Day weekend after he was abruptly dismissed as the host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s telethon, an event that drew attention to the childhood disease and in its heyday was an annual television highlight,” wrote Steven Zeitchik and Deborah Vankin in the\u00a0Los Angeles Times.<\/em><\/p>\n During his six decades of leadership, the telethons have raised nearly $2.5 billion, the MDA said.<\/p>\n “The announcement and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Lewis’ departure provoked an outcry from comedians and other performers, who still widely revere him for his groundbreaking routines and public service,” wrote Zeitchik and Vankin.<\/p>\n The MDA\u00a0has not\u00a0named a new host for the upcoming telethon this\u00a0Labor Day weekend. There are reports that the Sept. 4 event will be led by a team of entertainment personalities, including\u00a0Nigel Lythgoe, Jann Carl, Alison Sweeney and Nancy O’Dell.<\/p>\n The decision\u00a0came after\u00a0the MDA’s announcement in May that this would be Lewis’ final weekend and would appear in the closing moments of future telethons to sing his trademark number, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”<\/p>\n In its heyday, the marathon telecast drew an A-list of entertainers, including Sammy Davis Jr., Liberace, the Supremes, Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra. However, in recent years, the event has looked increasingly shop-worn.<\/p>\n The telethon’s earnings had declined as well.\u00a0It brought in $56.4 million in 2005. In 2009, the latest year for which records are available, the tally dropped to $45.6 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jerry Lewis has been abruptly dismissed as the host of the annual Labor Day muscular dystrophy telethon. “Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association are making a mess of parting ways,” writes Timothy\u00a0Mangan in the Orange County Register,\u00a0“but aren\u2019t saying why they are after 45 years and raising more than $1 billion for the nonprofit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1336,2201],"class_list":["post-5495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-jerry-lewis","tag-news"],"yoast_head":"\n