In 1976, Frank Sinatra walked on stage with a couple of folded pieces of paper and handed them to Jerry Lewis.
They were both checks. Lewis thank Sinatra with a comical kiss on the cheek, causing the singer to joke: “You do that one more time, we’re gonna buy the furniture.”
But there was another surprise.
‘You’ll never walk alone.’
The annual Labor Day Telethon hosted by Lewis started in 1966 and lasted all the way until 2010. From age 40 until his mid-80s, Lewis performed, joked, and raised millions for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
It was a charitable tradition that often attracted unexpected celebrities.
That 1976 iteration was not special just because it featured Sinatra, but because Sinatra had a special guest. After 20 years and a very public professional breakup, Dean Martin walked onto center stage and embraced Lewis.
This was billed as the first public appearance by “Martin and Lewis” since their 10-year run from 1946 to 1956, and they picked up right where they left off. They sang, tripped over each other, and made Jewish-Italian jokes that couldn’t air today. This was just one of many star-studded moments on the program.
Year after year, Lewis racked donation numbers on the big board that remain impressive, even when adjusted for inflation.
A board in 1980 touted over $31 million in donations that came from entertained Americans who had called in, having their heartstrings pulled by a message from one of Jerry’s Kids — the children with muscular dystrophy featured on the broadcast.
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In 1987, $39 million more poured in as special guest Sammy Davis Jr. made one of his many appearances.
Other appearances included the likes of John Lennon (1972), the Jackson 5 (1974), Aretha Franklin (1980), and Elton John (2004). Yes, the audience didn’t know how good they had it. Or perhaps they did.
As the years flew by, the telethon lost some steam, but still broke records in 2008 with a monstrous $65 million in donations.
This was not enough to keep Lewis on the airwaves, though.
Behind the scenes, Lewis and the MDA butted heads butted heads over the show’s content and length
When the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced plans to slash the marathon broadcast from 21.5 hours to a pre-recorded six-hour Sunday special, Lewis initially agreed to host the shortened 2011 event one last time. However, a fierce clash over control soon followed. Lewis insisted his final sign-off be entirely live, while the MDA demanded a pre-taped segment.
Combined with Lewis’ public criticism of modern reality TV shows, this battle over the broadcast’s format pushed the relationship past its breaking point. Just weeks before the broadcast, the MDA abruptly ousted the 85-year-old entertainment icon, forcing him to step down as national chairman and making his 2010 appearance — in which he cried as he sang the signature classic “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — his unexpected final telethon.
After the 2014 telethon, the MDA announced it was pulling the plug on the nearly 60-year-old tradition.
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The end came after decades of Lewis parrying criticisms that he was too mean in his approach and used too much “pity” to garner donations.
In 2007, he caught heat for making a joke using the words “illiterate fag.”
Even one of Jerry’s Kids eventually wrote that he felt demeaned by the whole focus of the show in the 1960s, when he and his sister were featured.
Through it all, the fundraiser managed to raise an estimated $2 billion.
Lewis died August 20, 2017, at age 91 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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