I have a confession to make.
I haven't watched the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon in years.
And I honestly feel like I am missing something.
As a child, I would watch the show religiously, year after year.
I remember the parade of celebrities, Jerry Lewis' banter with his guests, Ed McMahon, the volunteers answering phones, and of course, the magical toteboard that would light up with huge numbers indicating that the cure for muscular dystrophy would soon be on its way.
I, and millions of others, would tune in every year to watch Jerry do this marathon event. We would wonder if there was some mysterious reason that he relentlessly pursued this passion.
Was his life personally touched by muscular dystrophy?
Did someone close to him suffer from this awful disease?
Ultimately, it didn't matter why Jerry did it. It just mattered that he did it. Year after year.
When I was young, the celebrities would include just about every type of celebrity you could imagine. It was an endless parade of old-school celebs such as Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Dean Martin, Tony Orlando, Mel Torme, Diana Shore and so many others.
And I recall there being a campaign for kids to get involved by doing backyard carnivals to raise money for the charity. You would send away for a free kit that would provide instructions on how to do one of these fundraisers. And as a child, I remember calling in my donation, however small it may have been.
It's been 42 years since the telethon started, and I probably haven't watched one hour in the past 20 years.
40 million people on 190 TV stations nationwide will have watched the 42nd annual telethon by the end of the day on Labor Day.
You know, perhaps it's time to tune in and make my pledge...
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
September 3, 2007 02:20 PM
Does anyone know the name of the band that performed sunday night where the saxaphone player was the blonde women?
July 26, 2009 07:42 AM
Are the backyard carnival kits still available? Thanks!