Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
Encyclopedia
The MDA Labor Day Telethon (previously known as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon and the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon) is an annual telethon in the United States
to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
(MDA). The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966. As of 2009, the telethon had raised $2.45 billion since its inception. The telethon was hosted by actor and comedian, Jerry Lewis
, from its 1966 inception until 2010.
Starting in 2011, it will be seen the Sunday evening before Labor Day
for six hours; This edition, scheduled for syndication to approximately 160 television stations throughout the United States on Sunday, September 4, 2011, will also be the first edition without Jerry Lewis as host. Nigel Lythgoe
, Jann Carl
, Alison Sweeney
and Nancy O'Dell, all who were originally tapped to co-host the telethon with Lewis, will share hosting duties in the 2011 edition.
From 1966 to 2010, the telethon was seen for up to 21½ hours, starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon. MDA calls its network of participating stations the "Love Network". The show has originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the 45 years it has aired.
and Jerry Lewis' editions of the Colgate Comedy Hour. The shows first originated from a variety of locations in New York City
in 1954, as local telethons seen exclusively on WABD (later WNEW-TV, now WNYW
). After Lewis conducted many four-hour shows in the New York area to benefit the organization, the idea of a big telethon came about. The organization (MDAA) approached Lewis to host the big event and he agreed. Organizers of the telethon chose Labor Day weekend as it was the only time available to hold the event. Many expected that the Labor Day broadcast would fail with many people out of town or away from their TVs on Labor Day weekend. Even New York City officials were skeptical that it would succeed, which made them reluctant to issue them a fund-raising permit.
)—was so successful that Lewis had to paint a "1" on the 6-digit tote board
when the final tote reached $1,002,114. The show repeated its success in 1967 raising $1,126,846. In 1968, after word of mouth of the success and stars appearing on the show, the "Love Network" was created when four other stations picked up the telethon – WHEC-TV
in Rochester, New York
, WGR-TV (now WGRZ) in Buffalo, New York
, WTEV (now WLNE
) in New Bedford, Massachusetts
and WKBG-TV (now WLVI-TV
) in Boston. However, they met some opposition from the Theater Authority, an organization that represented theatrical-related labor unions, in which their permission is required before the representing talent can perform without charge.
That year, permission was granted for talent to appear on the small telethon "network". The addition of the other stations helped raise the total to $1,401,876. While they originally intended for the entire telethon to be seen, with the obligatory local pauses for station identification, WHEC-TV chose to break in a few minutes every hour to show local volunteers in Rochester taking calls, and, as a result, WHEC-TV had higher proceeds than the other "Love Network" stations. This is how the local cutaway was born. From here on, every Telethon had cutaways and other telethon events used this formula as well. By 1970, the telethon was seen nationwide on 64 stations; that year's edition was also the first coast-to-coast telethon, when it added Los Angeles and San Francisco to its station roster. It was also the year the Theater Authority lifted its ban on nationwide telethons. Proceeds this year came to $5,093,385. The show continued to gain popularity and huge stars throughout the next two years.
Then, 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." It was also the year the telethon broke the $10 million mark, with its final tote being $12,395,973. However, the tote board, which was operated on a solari
board, only had seven digits (to just under $10 million), so Lewis repeated his 1966 stunt of painting the "1" on the left after Ed McMahon
came on stage saying "I have a brush, and I have some paint...". The following year, an additional solari number flipper was added to the current seven digits, which would allow for displaying to just under $100 million.
In 1976, the "Love Network" grew to a peak of 213 stations, effectively making it America's fourth major TV network, if only for 21 1/2 hours. The 1976 telethon was also perhaps the most memorable one in the MDA's history, made memorable by the emotional reunion of Jerry and his former partner, Dean Martin
, which was arranged by a frequent telethon guest, Frank Sinatra
. It was the first time Martin and Lewis had seen each other since they went their separate ways 20 years earlier.
. The show continued there until 1989 when it originated from the Cashman Center
in Las Vegas - the only time it was transmitted from a non-hotel in Las Vegas. Lewis anchored the entire broadcast—which would eventually expand to 21½ hours—from its inception until 1983, when he rested for a few hours offstage, having undergone bypass surgery the year before. 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 9 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.
After the telethon, the site features a special highlights reel of the telethon for that year. Lewis still continued to host at least 16 hours of his telethon until 1999 (a year when he would suffer from various medical issues) when he would appear 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
, TV personalities Chad Everett
, David Hartman
, Casey Kasem
, Jann Carl
, Leeza Gibbons
, John Tesh
, veteran singers Tony Orlando
, Julius LaRosa (who began co-hosting for Lewis in remote locations since 1975), Sammy Davis Jr., and many others.
The telethon returned to Las Vegas in 2006 at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa (which was the South Coast its first year there), a complex owned by a friend of Lewis, Michael Gaughan, and has remained there through the 2011 telethon. In 2009, the telethon extended its coverage to Twitter
, Facebook
and YouTube
, offering additional information and behind-the scenes material for followers of these services. Beginning in 2010, viewers could also text their pledges for an automatic $10 donation, aside from texting charges. Through 2010, the national segments of the telethon were not broadcast in high definition
, though some stations broadcast their local segments in HD. The 2010 edition was syndicated to approximately 190 Love Network affiliates throughout the United States.
, Martina McBride
,and Darius Rucker
, in pre-taped segments from the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Tennessee
. Other celebrities slated to appear included the judges of American Idol
(Jennifer Lopez
, Steven Tyler
, and Randy Jackson
), Celine Dion
, Jon Secada
, Tommy Emmanuel
, Richie Sambora
, Jimmy Webb
, Michael Feinstein
, Maureen McGovern
, Jordin Sparks
and Greyson Chance
. The 2011 edition originated from its current home, the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. The 2011 version was also the first version to broadcast the national segments in high definition; the broadcast of local segments in HD remained optional for the station.
On May 16, 2011, it was first announced by the MDA that the 2011 version of the telethon would be Lewis' last as host, and that he would continue his role as MDA's National Chairman, still appearing at the close of each telethon, to sing his signature closing song, You'll Never Walk Alone. In a press conference with the Television Critics Association
in late July 2011, Lewis denied that he ever said it would be his last telethon, would not elaborate on his role in the current telethon (stating that it was "none of your business"), and announced he would indicate his future plans the day after the telethon broadcast, citing "I will have plenty to say about what I think is important." At the same conference, Lewis criticized the reality television
shows his telethon co-hosts were involved in -- Lythgoe's American Idol
, which Lewis said featured contestants who were "McDonald's Wipeouts"; and Sweeney's The Biggest Loser, a series which Lewis claims is about contestants "knocking their brains out trying to see how we beat the fat lady at 375 pounds, and in four months she's going to be 240. Who cares? It's ridiculous."
The MDA announced on August 3, 2011, that Lewis had "completed his run" as both host and national chairman, effective immediately, and that Lewis would not appear in the 2011 telethon. The wording of the release left it ambiguous whether he had been fired or if he had resigned. The MDA also confirmed that Lythgoe, O'Dell, Sweeney, and Carl, all slated to be co-hosts under Lewis, would share hosting duties; the MDA will leave the position of national chairman unfilled. Numerous celebrities came out in support of Lewis and opposed to his dismissal from the MDA shortly after it was announced; Lewis himself has been mostly silent about the issue, saying that the controversy is "very difficult to get into." On August 21, 2011, the Las Vegas Review-Journal
released a report stating that the MDA reinstated Lewis as host of the telethon; however, Lewis's publicist denied that report. The following day, on August 22, 2011, the Review-Journal retracted
the report, saying that Lewis has not been invited back to the telethon; the source close to Lewis said that the MDA reconciled with Lewis, not reinstated Lewis.
In addition, admission to the telethon by the general public was severely restricted, due to the cut in the length of the telethon, and the cut in the length of the local segments; in previous years, the telethon used the local segment time to swap audiences. Most of the attending audience members were representatives for sponsors and major donors.
Despite Jerry's departure and anything that took place backstage, the 2011 telethon's hosts paid tribute to Lewis with a one minute video montage of Jerry hosting the telethon over the years. During the presentation, the hosts said that Lewis "retired" from his position as host.
Following the telethon, Lythgoe commented that he was sorry that Lewis did not take part, but the show had to move on to ensure its survival, but has said that he is welcome to make an appearance on the telethon anytime, saying that the annual event was "his baby." Lythgoe also said that the orchestra had contingency plans in place in the event Jerry did show up, either live or pre-recorded, to sing his signature song, "You'll Never Walk Alone", but never showed up at the venue. Lewis' publicist Candy Cazau would not comment to the Associated Press
about contingency plans, but has said earlier that Lewis did not agree to make any appearances on the show, following the debacle that led to his removal.
While the 2011 edition of the telethon originated at the South Point, it is unknown if future editions will take place there, or anywhere in Las Vegas.
, McMahon was Lewis' co-host, announcing the intros and outros of each segment, welcoming corporate and charitable sponsors with their donations, and of course, calling for a roll of a timpani
drum for each million dollar mark passed on the tote board (Carson himself, a longtime friend of Lewis, surprised viewers by opening the 1970 telethon with a Tonight Show-style monologue while Lewis stood backstage -- a role that Carson would repeat from 1971 until the telethon moved to Las Vegas in 1973). McMahon, borrowing from Carson's prognosticating character, "Karnak the Magnificant," also made predictions on what the final total of funds raised would be -- a practice he abandoned after the 1982 telethon raised $2 million less than the previous year (which Lewis attributed to the severe 1980-82 recession that had gripped the U.S.). The trend of taking a break during the telethon was started in 1985 by Ed. As with Lewis, McMahon would also appear only when Lewis appears, with his duties as co-host filled in by others. McMahon died June 23, 2009. The 2009 edition of the telethon paid tribute to McMahon with a special video tribute narrated by Lewis, which played during the first hour of the show. Following the tribute, Lewis introduced McMahon's wife, Pamela, who was in the audience. During the telethon for that year, Jann Carl assumed Ed's duties during Jerry's hours on-air, while announcer and KKGO (Los Angeles) deejay Shawn Parr billboarded the start and end of each segment.
In 2010, the last year of the full-length telethon, the telethon ran live for 20½ hours, from 9 p.m. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET, though actual start and end times varied by station. However, the MDA still considered 21½ hours as the official length of the telethon, turning over the final hour, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET to its affiliate stations for local wrap-ups (some stations would elect to end at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET instead (or even later), depending on the option of the station).
Effective September 4, 2011, the telethon was shortened to six hours, and broadcast from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight local time in each time zone, with stations in the Eastern and Atlantic Time Zones broadcasting the event live. However, as with the previous format, some stations scheduled the telethon as they saw fit -- in the case of Chicago's WGN-TV
, the 2011 telethon was scheduled from 6PM to 1AM ET (5PM to 12 Midnight CT), with the first hour produced locally. In addition, some network affiliates would delay the telethon to start later than 6PM, so that their evening newscasts and some of their network shows, such as CBS's 60 Minutes
, would be seen as normally scheduled.
' coverage of the US Open, and subsequently beginning in 2007 NBC Sports
covering the Deutsche Bank Championship
. One such station is WGN-TV, which, since the 1970s, pre-empted the afternoon segment of the telethon for Chicago Cubs
or Chicago White Sox
baseball (except for the 1994 telethon, due to the baseball strike
); incidentally, WGN-TV simulcasts the telethon (including the local telethon segments featuring WGN-TV personalities) nationally via its WGN America superstation feed.
In another case, some used a sister station affiliated with either The CW
, MyNetworkTV
or an independent to show the telethon start, and/or air the station's network programming while the telethon station continues to air the telethon; this was the case with CBS affiliate WDJT in Milwaukee and its independent sister station WMLW-CA
, which in 2007 aired the first four hours of the telethon during CBS prime time, then aired U.S. Open coverage on Labor Day to allow WDJT to carry the telethon. In Pittsburgh, WPXI
carried the telethon, while sending NBC's coverage of the Deutsche Bank Championship
golf tournament to independent station WBGN-LP
.
While the 2011 reformat resolves sports conflicts on Labor Day, the telethon was still subject to delays the night before in some areas. On September 4, 2011, right before 6PM, the Baltimore Grand Prix
was scheduled on ABC, Deutsche Bank Championship golf on NBC, and U.S. Open tennis on CBS. WGN carried a Pirates
-Cubs game that was scheduled to end before 5:30PM ET, though it could have run over if extra innings, long innings or rain delays were involved.
in Reno, Nevada
, which was dropped by the MDA that year, due to economic conditions and a decrease in pledges. Other notable markets with no Love Network affiliate in 2010 included Dothan, Alabama
; Sioux City, Iowa
; Yuma, Arizona
; Bakersfield, California
; Augusta, Georgia
; Rockford, Illinois
; Tupelo, Mississippi
; Lincoln, Nebraska
; Greensboro
, Greenville
and Wilmington, North Carolina
; and the Tennessee Tri-Cities
. Viewers in these markets could watch the telethon on WGN America or a station in a neighboring market, as well as online from MDA's site. In some areas, satellite and online are the only ways to view the telethon, as WGN America is not seen in all areas, and many cable systems carry only channels within their own market.
in Bangor, Maine
from the Love Network after 30 years, citing potential economic costs resulting from the new format. The move will leave WGME-TV
in Portland
as the only Love Network affiliate for the state of Maine, which is not available on Time Warner Cable
in most parts of the Bangor market. In addition to Bangor, stations in Mobile, Alabama
/ Pensacola, Florida
; Santa Barbara, California
; Panama City, Florida
; Savannah, Georgia
; Terre Haute, Indiana
; Alpena
and Traverse City, Michigan
; Austin, Minnesota
; Cape Girardeau, Missouri
/ Paducah, Kentucky
; St. Louis, Missouri
; Utica, New York
; San Angelo, Texas
; Bluefield
, Clarksburg
and Wheeling, West Virginia
; Cheyenne, Wyoming
; and the entire states of Mississippi
, North Dakota
, and Vermont
were also dropped from the Love Network fold, with no replacement. This is in addition to markets that did not carry the telethon in 2010, in which no stations were added in these areas in 2011.
The new format had also led to the telethon being moved to other stations, due to scheduling conflicts -- longtime Love Network station KXAS-TV
in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
announced that they would no longer carry the telethon, due to the station being an NBC
owned and operated station, and the fact that the telethon would be pre-empting NBC's Sunday night schedule. KTXA
will be picking up the telethon and will use KTVT
personalities for local segments.
Other new Love Network affiliate changes include WITI replacing WDJT-TV
in Milwaukee (thus returning to its original station that had aired the event); WNCF
replacing WAKA
in Montgomery, Alabama
; KOCB
replacing KWTV
in Oklahoma City
; KICU-TV
replacing KTVU
in San Francisco; KZJO replacing KCPQ
in Seattle, Washington
; KXMN-LP
replacing KSKN
in Spokane, Washington
; WNYF-CD replacing WWNY-TV
in Watertown, New York; and KXXV
replacing KWTX-TV
in Waco, Texas
(KBTX-TV
in Bryan
, however, still carried the telethon).
, CKND-TV
's first program on August 31, 1975 was the MDA telethon.
The final Canadian-based local broadcasts of the telethon aired from Ottawa
in 2001. After this, MDC officials canceled the local broadcasts claiming cost savings. The Ottawa broadcasts were first hosted by CFRA radio's
Ken Grant, who expressed concern that there would be fewer donations due to the loss of local broadcast features. Ottawa's telethon broadcasts were conducted for 31 years, most of which originated from the Skyline Hotel (later known as the Citadel Inn).
Today, no Canadian station airs the telethon, though it is available on cable and satellite from WGN-TV
, as well as from border US stations, such as WMYD
in Detroit/Windsor. As of 2011, Muscular Dystrophy Canada continued to operate pledge call centers during the telethon to collect Canadian donations.
Through 2010, the corporate donation segments of the telethon occasionally mentioned their Canadian donors, and WGN's telethon included a number for Canadians to call to make a pledge, 1-800-567-CURE, which connects to the pledge center in Toronto
. In 2010, WGN's telecast also included a texting address for Canadian viewers to text in their pledges to MDC for an automatic $10 donation, aside from texting charges; this coincided with the MDA's launch of their own text-to-pledge service. Most border stations would also show either the local pledge number for the Canadian portion of their viewing area (as WMYD did), or the national Canadian number.
When the MDA reformatted the telethon in 2011, it no longer allowed its border Love Network affiliates to display any pledge numbers for Canadian viewers. However, the MDC still had a pledge line open, but only on Labour Day itself, with the MDC relying on other ways to get the message out.
A French-language telethon for MDA Canada was televised in Quebec
concurrently with the American show in the late-1980s on the Radio-Québec network (now Télé-Québec
); first televised in 1987, this telethon was hosted by entertainer Michel Louvain
.
, WKAQ-TV
presents their own local telethon for MDA, Sentimiento Telemaratón, generally broadcast the first Sunday after Labor Day, usually from 11am to 9pm AST. As with the English version, the telethon features local and international celebrities, plus information on the organisation, the diseases and the people that rely on MDA's help. While WKAQ does not show the Labor Day telethon, it is considered by the MDA as part of the Love Network.
had struck through most of the Florida
peninsula late on September 5, during the telethon, significantly reducing pledges from the southeast United States. As many Florida stations devoted their air-time to coverage of Hurricane Frances, most Love Network stations in Florida cancelled the local segments of the telethon and either showed only parts of the telethon, moved the telethon to a digital subchannel, or did not show the telethon at all. On a Saturday afternoon in early December 2004, some Florida Love Network stations showed a special three-hour telethon, as a way to recoup some of the lost pledges. Telethon pledges were down another 7.5%, to $54,921,586 in 2005 due to significant Hurricane Katrina
disaster relief efforts in New Orleans and throughout the region. That year, Jerry and his guests urged telethon viewers to also give donations to The Salvation Army
and the American Red Cross
.
The MDA itself donated $1 million to the Salvation Army
for hurricane relief efforts. Prior to the hurricane-affected results of 2004 and 2005, the only other time the telethon raised less than the previous year was in 1982 ($28,400,000), during the recession of the early 1980s
. One source said, however, that it was due to Jerry sitting out most of the telethon, due to his heart attack earlier (even though the heart attack did not occur until December of that year). However the next year - 1983, the Telethon succeeded again in raising more money than its previous year and by 1984 was back to its record breaking pace. In 2006, the final tote board tally was $61,013,855 as 5 major regional stations knocked out during previous telecast came back online. It was the first time since 2003 that the telethon raised more money than the previous year. In 2007, the telethon again raised more than any previous year, closing the show with tote board pledges totaling $63,759,478.
On Labor Day in 2008 (September 1, 2008), Hurricane Gustav
struck the coast of Louisiana. Some Love Network affiliates in the affected area cancelled the telethon for safety and informational purposes. Meanwhile, in New Orleans
, the local telethon segments on WNOL-TV
were also postponed, with WGNO
, the local producer (as well as WNOL's co-owner) urging those wanting to give to do so through "the national telethon". Nationally, Jerry Lewis mentioned Hurricane Gustav and wished those in the affected area, especially his "kids", luck.
Neither he nor his guests made pleas for donations to The Salvation Army, contrary to a press release that said he would, although guest host Tom Bergeron
did make a plea for donations to the Salvation Army during his hosting stint on the morning of September 1, as Gustav made landfall. However, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the 2008 telethon, the tote board update reflected an increase from the 2007 total, racking up $65,031,393 in donations, exceeding 2007's tote. Lewis had spoken about his concern at not making his goal of "one dollar more" due to economic conditions and Hurricane Gustav. When the tote board updated to show they'd gotten over 2007's total, he screamed three times, "I got it!" On Labor Day 2009 (September 7, 2009), the telethon only raised $60,481,231 in pledges, more than 2005, but lower than the final 2003 results. Lewis mentioned that the effects of the downfall of the American economy may have played a role in that year's shortfall, but was still amazed by the amount amassed nevertheless. In addition, no hurricanes threatened the United States around Labor Day weekend that year.
The 2010 telethon saw a further reduction by several million dollars. The final tote was $58,919,838. Lewis noted, "I'm heartened by the unique ability of Americans to help others in need, when they themselves are likely struggling financially."
Figures are from the final tote board number at the end of each telethon. For years 1967 on, increase or decrease is given compared to the previous year and to the previous record. , the telethon has broken its previous record every year except 1982, 1983, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011; 1983 and 2011's telethons improved over the previous year's totals without breaking the all-time record.
Through 2010, the final totes did not take into account any pledges that are made after the final tote is announced live—many stations would continue with their local segments afterward, with some stations delaying the final national tote until the very end of the telethon. As the 2011 telethon was not live and could not keep a running national tote during the show, the final national tote for that year was not announced until the following day.
activists for their tendency to paint disabled people as, "pitiable victims who want and need nothing more than a big charity to take care of or cure them." Critics argue that focusing the public's attention on medical cures to "normalize" disabled people fails to address issues like providing accessible buildings, transportation, employment opportunities and other civil rights for the disabled.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
(MDA). The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966. As of 2009, the telethon had raised $2.45 billion since its inception. The telethon was hosted by actor and comedian, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, from its 1966 inception until 2010.
Starting in 2011, it will be seen the Sunday evening before Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
for six hours; This edition, scheduled for syndication to approximately 160 television stations throughout the United States on Sunday, September 4, 2011, will also be the first edition without Jerry Lewis as host. Nigel Lythgoe
Nigel Lythgoe
Nigel Lythgoe is an English television and film director and producer, and former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He is noted for being the producer of the shows Pop Idol and American Idol as well as being a creator, executive producer and a regular judge for So You Think You Can...
, Jann Carl
Jann Carl
Jann Carl is a Los Angeles-based journalist and, from 1995 to 2008, correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. She has also appeared on Candid Camera and America's Next Top Model. She has co-hosted the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for 18 years...
, Alison Sweeney
Alison Sweeney
Alison Sweeney is an American dramatic actress and reality show host. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Gene Brady on NBC's long running Days of our Lives, a role she has played under contract with the show since January 6, 1993...
and Nancy O'Dell, all who were originally tapped to co-host the telethon with Lewis, will share hosting duties in the 2011 edition.
From 1966 to 2010, the telethon was seen for up to 21½ hours, starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon. MDA calls its network of participating stations the "Love Network". The show has originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the 45 years it has aired.
History
Lewis began hosting telethons to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Associations of America in 1952 after a plea from a staff member who worked on Dean MartinDean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Jerry Lewis' editions of the Colgate Comedy Hour. The shows first originated from a variety of locations in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1954, as local telethons seen exclusively on WABD (later WNEW-TV, now WNYW
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
). After Lewis conducted many four-hour shows in the New York area to benefit the organization, the idea of a big telethon came about. The organization (MDAA) approached Lewis to host the big event and he agreed. Organizers of the telethon chose Labor Day weekend as it was the only time available to hold the event. Many expected that the Labor Day broadcast would fail with many people out of town or away from their TVs on Labor Day weekend. Even New York City officials were skeptical that it would succeed, which made them reluctant to issue them a fund-raising permit.
1960s–1970s
Nevertheless, in 1966, the first Labor Day telethon—a nineteen-hour event held at the Americana Hotel (now the Sheraton New York Hotel and TowersSheraton New York Hotel and Towers
Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers is a hotel located in New York City near Times Square. Its addresses are on 7th Avenue, West 52nd Street, and West 53rd Street. At 501 feet , it is one of the world's top 100 tallest hotels, and one of the tallest hotels in New York City. It has 51 floors. It was...
)—was so successful that Lewis had to paint a "1" on the 6-digit tote board
Tote board
A tote board is a large numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track or at a telethon .The term "tote board" comes from the colloquialism for totalizator , the name for the automated...
when the final tote reached $1,002,114. The show repeated its success in 1967 raising $1,126,846. In 1968, after word of mouth of the success and stars appearing on the show, the "Love Network" was created when four other stations picked up the telethon – WHEC-TV
WHEC-TV
WHEC-TV, channel 10, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Rochester, New York, USA. WHEC-TV is owned by Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting, and broadcasts from a studio/office facility on East Avenue in Downtown Rochester...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, WGR-TV (now WGRZ) in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, WTEV (now WLNE
WLNE
WLNE may refer to:* WLNE-TV, a television station licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States* A former educational cable channel in Pensacola, Florida, United States, operated by PBS member station WSRE...
) in New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
and WKBG-TV (now WLVI-TV
WLVI-TV
WLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
) in Boston. However, they met some opposition from the Theater Authority, an organization that represented theatrical-related labor unions, in which their permission is required before the representing talent can perform without charge.
That year, permission was granted for talent to appear on the small telethon "network". The addition of the other stations helped raise the total to $1,401,876. While they originally intended for the entire telethon to be seen, with the obligatory local pauses for station identification, WHEC-TV chose to break in a few minutes every hour to show local volunteers in Rochester taking calls, and, as a result, WHEC-TV had higher proceeds than the other "Love Network" stations. This is how the local cutaway was born. From here on, every Telethon had cutaways and other telethon events used this formula as well. By 1970, the telethon was seen nationwide on 64 stations; that year's edition was also the first coast-to-coast telethon, when it added Los Angeles and San Francisco to its station roster. It was also the year the Theater Authority lifted its ban on nationwide telethons. Proceeds this year came to $5,093,385. The show continued to gain popularity and huge stars throughout the next two years.
Then, in 1973, with 150 "Love Network" stations in tow, the telethon moved to Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, 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." It was also the year the telethon broke the $10 million mark, with its final tote being $12,395,973. However, the tote board, which was operated on a solari
Split-flap display
A split-flap display, sometimes simply flap display, is a display device that presents alphanumeric text, and possibly fixed graphics, often used as a public transport timetable in some airports or railway stations, often called Solari boards, named after display manufacturer Solari di...
board, only had seven digits (to just under $10 million), so Lewis repeated his 1966 stunt of painting the "1" on the left after Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...
came on stage saying "I have a brush, and I have some paint...". The following year, an additional solari number flipper was added to the current seven digits, which would allow for displaying to just under $100 million.
In 1976, the "Love Network" grew to a peak of 213 stations, effectively making it America's fourth major TV network, if only for 21 1/2 hours. The 1976 telethon was also perhaps the most memorable one in the MDA's history, made memorable by the emotional reunion of Jerry and his former partner, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, which was arranged by a frequent telethon guest, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. It was the first time Martin and Lewis had seen each other since they went their separate ways 20 years earlier.
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 PalaceCaesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
. The show continued there until 1989 when it originated from the Cashman Center
Cashman Center
The Cashman Center or the Cashman Field Center is a complex on a site in Las Vegas, Nevada. Operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority it includes Cashman Field and a convention center...
in Las Vegas - the only time it was transmitted from a non-hotel in Las Vegas. Lewis anchored the entire broadcast—which would eventually expand to 21½ hours—from its inception until 1983, when he rested for a few hours offstage, having undergone bypass surgery the year before. In 1990, the telethon originated from the Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, then returned to Las Vegas and the Sahara Hotel until 1995 when it moved again to Southern California, to CBS Television City
CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of North Fairfax Avenue...
for 9 years and then in 2005 to Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. In 1998, MDA's all-star landmark show became the first to be broadcast on the Internet by RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
on the association's website.
After the telethon, the site features a special highlights reel of the telethon for that year. Lewis still continued to host at least 16 hours of his telethon until 1999 (a year when he would suffer from various medical issues) when he would appear 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
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
, comedians Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby is an American comedian sometimes associated with the Borscht Belt who often appeared on television in the 1970s. He is best known for his use of malapropisms and is often called The Master of Malaprop. He was born in Boston.-Career:Crosby went solo as a standup comedian, adopting a...
, Elayne Boosler
Elayne Boosler
Elayne Boosler is an American comedian.Boosler was born and raised in Brooklyn, the youngest child and only daughter of a Russian-acrobat father and a Romanian-ballerina mother...
, Bob Zany
Bob Zany
Bob Zany is an American stand-up comedian. He is known for performing with his trademark cigar on stage. According to an article found on his web page, he "stuff[s] a cigar into a plastic bag with a couple of Bob Zany original postcards and charge[s] five bucks for the package...
, TV personalities Chad Everett
Chad Everett
Chad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
, David Hartman
David Hartman (TV personality)
David Downs Hartman is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He currently anchors and hosts documentary programs on cable TV's History and on PBS. Hartman is best known as the first host of ABC's Good Morning America, from 1975 to 1987. As an actor, he...
, Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
, Jann Carl
Jann Carl
Jann Carl is a Los Angeles-based journalist and, from 1995 to 2008, correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. She has also appeared on Candid Camera and America's Next Top Model. She has co-hosted the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for 18 years...
, Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Kim Gibbons is an American talk show host. Gibbons is the host of her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential, part of the United Stations radio syndication company.-Early life:...
, John Tesh
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
, veteran singers Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
, Julius LaRosa (who began co-hosting for Lewis in remote locations since 1975), Sammy Davis Jr., and many others.
2000s–2010s
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, offering additional information and behind-the scenes material for followers of these services. Beginning in 2010, viewers could also text their pledges for an automatic $10 donation, aside from texting charges. Through 2010, the national segments of the telethon were not broadcast in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, though some stations broadcast their local segments in HD. The 2010 edition was syndicated to approximately 190 Love Network affiliates throughout the United States.
2011 cutback, overhaul and Lewis's departure
On October 6, 2010, the MDA announced that the telethon would be trimmed back considerably, to six hours, beginning with the 2011 edition televised Sunday, September 4, 2011. This new version of the telethon, broadcast from 6 pm to 12 midnight local time, was in response to lagging donations, stations showing only part of the telethon or dropping it altogether, and the less-than-stellar talent in recent telethons—as well as Lewis, now in his mid-80s, devoting less and less time to appearing on-air due his age and health. The telethon, seen live in the Eastern Time Zone and tape-delayed in the rest of the country, has been revamped in order to attract more stations to the Love Network (which had shrunk from its peak of 213 stations in 1976 to 190 in 2010), as well as to attract more top celebrities and talent to the show, resulting in more viewers and donations. The other aspects of the telethon, such as corporate donations, stories from those who relied on the MDA's help, and local segments, remained, though local segments were restricted to two 7 to 8-minute segments every hour. As of June 2011, stars confirmed for the first short-form version included Lady AntebellumLady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum is an American country pop music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. The trio is composed of Charles Kelley , Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott .The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol...
, Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
,and Darius Rucker
Darius Rucker
Darius Rucker is an American musician. He first gained fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld and Dean Felber...
, in pre-taped segments from the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Other celebrities slated to appear included the judges of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
(Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
, and Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...
), Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Jon Secada
Jon Secada
Jon Secada is a Cuban-American singer and songwriter. Secada was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Hialeah, Florida. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 20 million albums since his English-language debut album in 1992. His music fuses funk, soul, pop and Latin percussion...
, Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
, Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
, Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
, Michael Feinstein
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
, Maureen McGovern
Maureen McGovern
Maureen Therese McGovern is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her premier renditions of the Oscar winning songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974.-Early life:McGovern was...
, Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
and Greyson Chance
Greyson Chance
Greyson Michael Chance is an American pop rock singer and pianist whose April 2010 performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at a sixth-grade music festival became a hit on YouTube, gaining over 43 million views. Two of his original compositions, "Stars" and "Broken Hearts", gained over 5 and 7...
. The 2011 edition originated from its current home, the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. The 2011 version was also the first version to broadcast the national segments in high definition; the broadcast of local segments in HD remained optional for the station.
On May 16, 2011, it was first announced by the MDA that the 2011 version of the telethon would be Lewis' last as host, and that he would continue his role as MDA's National Chairman, still appearing at the close of each telethon, to sing his signature closing song, You'll Never Walk Alone. In a press conference with the Television Critics Association
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming...
in late July 2011, Lewis denied that he ever said it would be his last telethon, would not elaborate on his role in the current telethon (stating that it was "none of your business"), and announced he would indicate his future plans the day after the telethon broadcast, citing "I will have plenty to say about what I think is important." At the same conference, Lewis criticized the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
shows his telethon co-hosts were involved in -- Lythgoe's American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, which Lewis said featured contestants who were "McDonald's Wipeouts"; and Sweeney's The Biggest Loser, a series which Lewis claims is about contestants "knocking their brains out trying to see how we beat the fat lady at 375 pounds, and in four months she's going to be 240. Who cares? It's ridiculous."
The MDA announced on August 3, 2011, that Lewis had "completed his run" as both host and national chairman, effective immediately, and that Lewis would not appear in the 2011 telethon. The wording of the release left it ambiguous whether he had been fired or if he had resigned. The MDA also confirmed that Lythgoe, O'Dell, Sweeney, and Carl, all slated to be co-hosts under Lewis, would share hosting duties; the MDA will leave the position of national chairman unfilled. Numerous celebrities came out in support of Lewis and opposed to his dismissal from the MDA shortly after it was announced; Lewis himself has been mostly silent about the issue, saying that the controversy is "very difficult to get into." On August 21, 2011, the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Las Vegas Review-Journal is published in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada, and one of two daily newspapers in Las Vegas . It is the flagship publication of Stephens Media LLC...
released a report stating that the MDA reinstated Lewis as host of the telethon; however, Lewis's publicist denied that report. The following day, on August 22, 2011, the Review-Journal retracted
Retraction
A retraction is a public statement, by the author of an earlier statement, that withdraws, cancels, refutes, diametrically reverses the original statement or ceases and desists from publishing the original statement...
the report, saying that Lewis has not been invited back to the telethon; the source close to Lewis said that the MDA reconciled with Lewis, not reinstated Lewis.
In addition, admission to the telethon by the general public was severely restricted, due to the cut in the length of the telethon, and the cut in the length of the local segments; in previous years, the telethon used the local segment time to swap audiences. Most of the attending audience members were representatives for sponsors and major donors.
Despite Jerry's departure and anything that took place backstage, the 2011 telethon's hosts paid tribute to Lewis with a one minute video montage of Jerry hosting the telethon over the years. During the presentation, the hosts said that Lewis "retired" from his position as host.
Following the telethon, Lythgoe commented that he was sorry that Lewis did not take part, but the show had to move on to ensure its survival, but has said that he is welcome to make an appearance on the telethon anytime, saying that the annual event was "his baby." Lythgoe also said that the orchestra had contingency plans in place in the event Jerry did show up, either live or pre-recorded, to sing his signature song, "You'll Never Walk Alone", but never showed up at the venue. Lewis' publicist Candy Cazau would not comment to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
about contingency plans, but has said earlier that Lewis did not agree to make any appearances on the show, following the debacle that led to his removal.
While the 2011 edition of the telethon originated at the South Point, it is unknown if future editions will take place there, or anywhere in Las Vegas.
Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon was Lewis' long-time co-host. McMahon was involved with the telethon beginning in 1967 and co-hosted the show with Jerry from 1973 to 2008. Similar to his regular position as co-host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, McMahon was Lewis' co-host, announcing the intros and outros of each segment, welcoming corporate and charitable sponsors with their donations, and of course, calling for a roll of a timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
drum for each million dollar mark passed on the tote board (Carson himself, a longtime friend of Lewis, surprised viewers by opening the 1970 telethon with a Tonight Show-style monologue while Lewis stood backstage -- a role that Carson would repeat from 1971 until the telethon moved to Las Vegas in 1973). McMahon, borrowing from Carson's prognosticating character, "Karnak the Magnificant," also made predictions on what the final total of funds raised would be -- a practice he abandoned after the 1982 telethon raised $2 million less than the previous year (which Lewis attributed to the severe 1980-82 recession that had gripped the U.S.). The trend of taking a break during the telethon was started in 1985 by Ed. As with Lewis, McMahon would also appear only when Lewis appears, with his duties as co-host filled in by others. McMahon died June 23, 2009. The 2009 edition of the telethon paid tribute to McMahon with a special video tribute narrated by Lewis, which played during the first hour of the show. Following the tribute, Lewis introduced McMahon's wife, Pamela, who was in the audience. During the telethon for that year, Jann Carl assumed Ed's duties during Jerry's hours on-air, while announcer and KKGO (Los Angeles) deejay Shawn Parr billboarded the start and end of each segment.
Scheduling
Previously, the telethon ran live for 21½ hours, ending at 6:30 p.m. ET. During the 2000s, the telethon would end its national portion shortly before 6 p.m. ET, with any remaining time going to stations. In recent years, more "Love Network" stations over the years have opted not to show the entire telethon, opting to join the show in progress after the 11 pm / 10 pm local news, or even on Labor Day morning, after the network morning shows.In 2010, the last year of the full-length telethon, the telethon ran live for 20½ hours, from 9 p.m. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET, though actual start and end times varied by station. However, the MDA still considered 21½ hours as the official length of the telethon, turning over the final hour, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET to its affiliate stations for local wrap-ups (some stations would elect to end at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET instead (or even later), depending on the option of the station).
Effective September 4, 2011, the telethon was shortened to six hours, and broadcast from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight local time in each time zone, with stations in the Eastern and Atlantic Time Zones broadcasting the event live. However, as with the previous format, some stations scheduled the telethon as they saw fit -- in the case of Chicago's WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
, the 2011 telethon was scheduled from 6PM to 1AM ET (5PM to 12 Midnight CT), with the first hour produced locally. In addition, some network affiliates would delay the telethon to start later than 6PM, so that their evening newscasts and some of their network shows, such as CBS's 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, would be seen as normally scheduled.
Conflicts with sports
Some stations broke from the coverage during the afternoon to show sports, such as CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' coverage of the US Open, and subsequently beginning in 2007 NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
covering the Deutsche Bank Championship
Deutsche Bank Championship
The Deutsche Bank Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually over the Labor Day weekend. The tournament made its debut in 2003 and is held at the Tournament Players Club of Boston in Norton, Massachusetts...
. One such station is WGN-TV, which, since the 1970s, pre-empted the afternoon segment of the telethon for Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
or Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
baseball (except for the 1994 telethon, due to the baseball strike
1994 baseball strike
The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years...
); incidentally, WGN-TV simulcasts the telethon (including the local telethon segments featuring WGN-TV personalities) nationally via its WGN America superstation feed.
In another case, some used a sister station affiliated with either The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
or an independent to show the telethon start, and/or air the station's network programming while the telethon station continues to air the telethon; this was the case with CBS affiliate WDJT in Milwaukee and its independent sister station WMLW-CA
WMLW-CA
WMLW-CA, channel 41 , is a LPTV independent television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park...
, which in 2007 aired the first four hours of the telethon during CBS prime time, then aired U.S. Open coverage on Labor Day to allow WDJT to carry the telethon. In Pittsburgh, WPXI
WPXI
WPXI, channel 11, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter located on the north side of Pittsburgh. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in the...
carried the telethon, while sending NBC's coverage of the Deutsche Bank Championship
Deutsche Bank Championship
The Deutsche Bank Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually over the Labor Day weekend. The tournament made its debut in 2003 and is held at the Tournament Players Club of Boston in Norton, Massachusetts...
golf tournament to independent station WBGN-LP
WBGN-LP
WBGN-CD is a Class A television station located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station is owned and operated by Bruno-Goodworth Network, Inc. WBGN-CD began broadcasting in 1995 on channel 59 with the call sign W59BT. WBGN simulcasts on nine Class A television stations that are strategically...
.
While the 2011 reformat resolves sports conflicts on Labor Day, the telethon was still subject to delays the night before in some areas. On September 4, 2011, right before 6PM, the Baltimore Grand Prix
Baltimore Grand Prix
The Baltimore Grand Prix is an IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series race held on a street circuit in Baltimore, Maryland. The inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix was held September 4, 2011. The races are contested on a temporary street circuit around the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore...
was scheduled on ABC, Deutsche Bank Championship golf on NBC, and U.S. Open tennis on CBS. WGN carried a Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
-Cubs game that was scheduled to end before 5:30PM ET, though it could have run over if extra innings, long innings or rain delays were involved.
Markets with no Love Network affiliate
In some markets, no local station carries the telethon for various reasons. In some cases, the MDA would refuse to renew a contract with a station, leaving a market with no Love Network affiliate, if another station is not found in time. During the last year of the old telethon format, 2010, one example was KAME-TVKAME-TV
KAME-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Truckee Meadows area of Northwestern Nevada. Licensed to Reno, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter on Red Hill in Sun Valley. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 7 and in...
in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, which was dropped by the MDA that year, due to economic conditions and a decrease in pledges. Other notable markets with no Love Network affiliate in 2010 included Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
; Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
; Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
; Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
; Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
; Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
; Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...
; Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
; Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
and Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
; and the Tennessee Tri-Cities
Tri-Cities, Tennessee
In Tennessee and Virginia the name "Tri-Cities" refers to the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia...
. Viewers in these markets could watch the telethon on WGN America or a station in a neighboring market, as well as online from MDA's site. In some areas, satellite and online are the only ways to view the telethon, as WGN America is not seen in all areas, and many cable systems carry only channels within their own market.
Affiliate changes for the 2011 reformat
While the new telethon format in 2011 was designed to attract new stations and markets into the Love Network fold, the MDA still found itself dropping some stations, resulting in a net shrinkage of the network to just over 150 stations -- its smallest size since 1973. In May 2011, the MDA dropped WABI-TVWABI-TV
WABI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central and Eastern Maine licensed to Bangor. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Peaked Mountain in Dixmont. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 6 and in high definition...
in Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
from the Love Network after 30 years, citing potential economic costs resulting from the new format. The move will leave WGME-TV
WGME-TV
WGME-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire that is licensed to Portland. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 38 from a transmitter on Brown Hill west of Raymond...
in Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
as the only Love Network affiliate for the state of Maine, which is not available on Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
in most parts of the Bangor market. In addition to Bangor, stations in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
/ Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
; Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
; Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
; Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
; Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
; Alpena
Alpena, Michigan
Alpena is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census...
and Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...
; Austin, Minnesota
Austin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
; Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
/ Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
; St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
; Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
; San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
; Bluefield
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
, Clarksburg
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...
and Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
; Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
; and the entire states of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, and Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
were also dropped from the Love Network fold, with no replacement. This is in addition to markets that did not carry the telethon in 2010, in which no stations were added in these areas in 2011.
The new format had also led to the telethon being moved to other stations, due to scheduling conflicts -- longtime Love Network station KXAS-TV
KXAS-TV
KXAS-TV, virtual channel 5 , is the NBC television station for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station was Texas' first television station when the station made its debut on September 28, 1948. Its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill...
in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
announced that they would no longer carry the telethon, due to the station being an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
owned and operated station, and the fact that the telethon would be pre-empting NBC's Sunday night schedule. KTXA
KTXA
KTXA, virtual channel 21 , is an independent television station based in Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth designated market area. With its transmitter in Cedar Hill, KTXA is owned by CBS Corporation and is the sister station of CBS outlet KTVT .KTXA was originally an...
will be picking up the telethon and will use KTVT
KTVT
KTVT, virtual channel 11, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth designated market area. The station is co-owned with independent station KTXA , and the two stations share facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth...
personalities for local segments.
Other new Love Network affiliate changes include WITI replacing WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV, channel 58, is the CBS-affiliated television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin broadcasting on UHF digital channel 46, that displays WDJT's virtual channel as its former analog channel assignment of 58 via PSIP...
in Milwaukee (thus returning to its original station that had aired the event); WNCF
WNCF
WNCF is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Alabama's Black Belt licensed to Montgomery. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in Gordonville. The station can also be seen on Knology and Charter channel 4. There is a high definition feed...
replacing WAKA
WAKA
WAKA is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Alabama's Black Belt region licensed to Selma. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter in Gordonville. The station can also be seen on Knology and Charter channel 8...
in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
; KOCB
KOCB
KOCB, virtual channel 34 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group of Maryland, LLC, in a duopoly with Fox affiliate KOKH-TV...
replacing KWTV
KWTV
KWTV-DT, virtual channel 9 , is the CBS-affiliated television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; it is owned by Griffin Communications of Oklahoma City...
in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
; KICU-TV
KICU-TV
KICU-TV, known as TV36, is an independent television station in the San Francisco Bay Area market. It shares its broadcast facility with sister station KTVU in Oakland but it is licensed to San Jose, where KICU was formerly located. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. It runs an independent schedule...
replacing KTVU
KTVU
KTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
in San Francisco; KZJO replacing KCPQ
KCPQ
KCPQ, channel 13, is the Fox television affiliate licensed to Tacoma, Washington serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
; KXMN-LP
KXMN-LP
KXMN-LP, channel 11 , is the MyNetworkTV station in Spokane, Washington. KXMN-LP is owned by Morgan Murphy Media, and is the sister station of KXLY-TV...
replacing KSKN
KSKN
KSKN is the CW affiliated television station for Spokane, Washington, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the Inland Northwest. It is also the sister station of KREM-TV and shares some of its programming. KSKN is owned by the Belo Corporation.-History:...
in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
; WNYF-CD replacing WWNY-TV
WWNY-TV
WWNY-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Upstate New York's North Country region, licensed to Carthage. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter along State Street/NY 126 in Wilna's Carthage section. The station can also be seen on Time Warner...
in Watertown, New York; and KXXV
KXXV
KXXV ' is a full-power television station in Waco, Texas, serving Central Texas as an ABC affiliate. It is currently owned by the Drewry Communications Group . A planned late 2008 sale of the Drewry stations to London Broadcasting fell through due to the late 2000s credit crisis...
replacing KWTX-TV
KWTX-TV
KWTX-TV, channel 10, is a full-power television station in Waco, Texas, serving Central Texas as a CBS affiliate. Owned by Gray Television, it airs a digital signal on VHF channel 10...
in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
(KBTX-TV
KBTX-TV
KBTX-TV 3 is the CBS television network affiliate located in Bryan/College Station, Texas, and has the only television news organization based in the Brazos Valley. It airs on digital UHF Channel 50 and is owned by Gray Television. It is a sister station to KWTX-TV in Waco...
in Bryan
Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
, however, still carried the telethon).
Theme songs
- Since the show's inception, its theme has been "Smile," a song from Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's 1936 film, Modern TimesModern Times (film)Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
.
- The telethon's toteboard theme song is an instrumental version of Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
's "What the World Needs Now Is LoveWhat the World Needs Now Is Love"What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month...
" (1965). It was used from 1970 through 1989 in different arrangements. At the show's 25th anniversary in 1990, it was not used, but returned for the 1991 edition. In 1992, the song was replaced by various orchestral fanfares to give the show a fresh effect, but it returned in 1996 at Lewis' request. The 2008 and 2009 versions used the song only for the final tote while a generic fanfare marked the others; the 2010 edition used a generic fanfare for all totes, including the final tote, with "What The World Needs Now Is Love" relegated to a medley of songs that played during the closing credits.
- The song Jerry Lewis perennially sings to conclude the event, "You'll Never Walk AloneYou'll Never Walk AloneYou'll Never Walk Alone is a song from the musical Carousel, a pop standard and football club anthem, for example that of Liverpool F.C.You'll Never Walk Alone may also refer to:* You'll Never Walk Alone , studio album...
," was originally written for the 1945 BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical play, CarouselCarousel (musical)Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
by Rodgers and HammersteinRodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
. Lewis has given conflicting accounts on the air as to the origin of his use of the song. According to his account at the end of the 2007 telethon, the song was suggested to him in 1964 by a disabled child, walking with a cane; it was suggested to Jerry as a song that would specifically represent physically disabled children. In the 2010 broadcast, however, Lewis mentioned that he knew the song by heart, and was singing it that year for the "59th time", which would mean he had been singing it annually since he began hosting MDA telethons in 1952. Also, a recording of Lewis singing the song for a poster child was released as a cardboard record in 1959; that year, Rodgers and Hammerstein gave the MDA permission to use the song as the official theme for the organisation. When Lewis was removed as telethon host in 2011, the song was retired and the closing theme was changed to "God Bless AmericaGod Bless America"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song ....
", a patriotic standard written by Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
.
Canada
Through the 1980s, there were also Canadian "Love Network" affiliates, whose telethon presentations there benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada (MDC), an organization unrelated to the American MDA, but used Lewis's US telethon for fund raising. The telethon also helped launch a new station—in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, CKND-TV
CKND-TV
CKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
's first program on August 31, 1975 was the MDA telethon.
The final Canadian-based local broadcasts of the telethon aired from Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
in 2001. After this, MDC officials canceled the local broadcasts claiming cost savings. The Ottawa broadcasts were first hosted by CFRA radio's
CFRA (AM)
CFRA is a Conservative talk radio station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. The station broadcasts at 580 kHz on the AM band.-History:...
Ken Grant, who expressed concern that there would be fewer donations due to the loss of local broadcast features. Ottawa's telethon broadcasts were conducted for 31 years, most of which originated from the Skyline Hotel (later known as the Citadel Inn).
Today, no Canadian station airs the telethon, though it is available on cable and satellite from WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
, as well as from border US stations, such as WMYD
WMYD
WMYD is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southeast Michigan licensed to Detroit. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21 from a transmitter on Eight Mile Road in Oak Park along the Oakland and Wayne County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast...
in Detroit/Windsor. As of 2011, Muscular Dystrophy Canada continued to operate pledge call centers during the telethon to collect Canadian donations.
Through 2010, the corporate donation segments of the telethon occasionally mentioned their Canadian donors, and WGN's telethon included a number for Canadians to call to make a pledge, 1-800-567-CURE, which connects to the pledge center in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. In 2010, WGN's telecast also included a texting address for Canadian viewers to text in their pledges to MDC for an automatic $10 donation, aside from texting charges; this coincided with the MDA's launch of their own text-to-pledge service. Most border stations would also show either the local pledge number for the Canadian portion of their viewing area (as WMYD did), or the national Canadian number.
When the MDA reformatted the telethon in 2011, it no longer allowed its border Love Network affiliates to display any pledge numbers for Canadian viewers. However, the MDC still had a pledge line open, but only on Labour Day itself, with the MDC relying on other ways to get the message out.
A French-language telethon for MDA Canada was televised in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
concurrently with the American show in the late-1980s on the Radio-Québec network (now Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
); first televised in 1987, this telethon was hosted by entertainer Michel Louvain
Michel Louvain
Michel Louvain is a French Canadian singer most popular in the 60s and 70s among women. His first hit, "Buenas Noches Mi Amor", launched his career, and his biggest hits include "La Dame en Bleu" and "Je Déclare l'Amour au Monde Entier". He has also worked as a host for a varieties of shows on...
.
Puerto Rico
In Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, WKAQ-TV
WKAQ-TV
WKAQ-TV is a full-power television station located in San Juan, Puerto Rico transmitting over digital 2.1. The station is owned and operated by NBCUniversal and is branded simply as Telemundo....
presents their own local telethon for MDA, Sentimiento Telemaratón, generally broadcast the first Sunday after Labor Day, usually from 11am to 9pm AST. As with the English version, the telethon features local and international celebrities, plus information on the organisation, the diseases and the people that rely on MDA's help. While WKAQ does not show the Labor Day telethon, it is considered by the MDA as part of the Love Network.
Hurricanes and other shortfalls
Telethon tote board pledges for 2004 were down nearly 2%, to $59,398,915 (from $60,505,234 in 2003). Hurricane FrancesHurricane Frances
Hurricane Frances was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. The system crossing the open Atlantic during mid to late August, moving to the north of the Lesser Antilles while strengthening. Its outer bands affected Puerto...
had struck through most of the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
peninsula late on September 5, during the telethon, significantly reducing pledges from the southeast United States. As many Florida stations devoted their air-time to coverage of Hurricane Frances, most Love Network stations in Florida cancelled the local segments of the telethon and either showed only parts of the telethon, moved the telethon to a digital subchannel, or did not show the telethon at all. On a Saturday afternoon in early December 2004, some Florida Love Network stations showed a special three-hour telethon, as a way to recoup some of the lost pledges. Telethon pledges were down another 7.5%, to $54,921,586 in 2005 due to significant Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
disaster relief efforts in New Orleans and throughout the region. That year, Jerry and his guests urged telethon viewers to also give donations to The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
and the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
.
The MDA itself donated $1 million to the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
for hurricane relief efforts. Prior to the hurricane-affected results of 2004 and 2005, the only other time the telethon raised less than the previous year was in 1982 ($28,400,000), during the recession of the early 1980s
Early 1980s recession
The early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
. One source said, however, that it was due to Jerry sitting out most of the telethon, due to his heart attack earlier (even though the heart attack did not occur until December of that year). However the next year - 1983, the Telethon succeeded again in raising more money than its previous year and by 1984 was back to its record breaking pace. In 2006, the final tote board tally was $61,013,855 as 5 major regional stations knocked out during previous telecast came back online. It was the first time since 2003 that the telethon raised more money than the previous year. In 2007, the telethon again raised more than any previous year, closing the show with tote board pledges totaling $63,759,478.
On Labor Day in 2008 (September 1, 2008), Hurricane Gustav
Hurricane Gustav
The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....
struck the coast of Louisiana. Some Love Network affiliates in the affected area cancelled the telethon for safety and informational purposes. Meanwhile, in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, the local telethon segments on WNOL-TV
WNOL-TV
WNOL-TV, virtual channel 38, is the CW-affiliated television station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 15. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, in a duopoly with ABC affiliate WGNO.-Digital television:...
were also postponed, with WGNO
WGNO
WGNO, channel 26, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the greater New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan area, as well parts of southern and coastal Mississippi. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, and is the only Big Three network affiliate owned by the company.The station offers ABC...
, the local producer (as well as WNOL's co-owner) urging those wanting to give to do so through "the national telethon". Nationally, Jerry Lewis mentioned Hurricane Gustav and wished those in the affected area, especially his "kids", luck.
Neither he nor his guests made pleas for donations to The Salvation Army, contrary to a press release that said he would, although guest host Tom Bergeron
Tom Bergeron
Tom Bergeron is an American television personality and game show host, best known as the host of the ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars and host of America's Funniest Home Videos . He was also host of Hollywood Squares and a fill-in host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire...
did make a plea for donations to the Salvation Army during his hosting stint on the morning of September 1, as Gustav made landfall. However, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the 2008 telethon, the tote board update reflected an increase from the 2007 total, racking up $65,031,393 in donations, exceeding 2007's tote. Lewis had spoken about his concern at not making his goal of "one dollar more" due to economic conditions and Hurricane Gustav. When the tote board updated to show they'd gotten over 2007's total, he screamed three times, "I got it!" On Labor Day 2009 (September 7, 2009), the telethon only raised $60,481,231 in pledges, more than 2005, but lower than the final 2003 results. Lewis mentioned that the effects of the downfall of the American economy may have played a role in that year's shortfall, but was still amazed by the amount amassed nevertheless. In addition, no hurricanes threatened the United States around Labor Day weekend that year.
The 2010 telethon saw a further reduction by several million dollars. The final tote was $58,919,838. Lewis noted, "I'm heartened by the unique ability of Americans to help others in need, when they themselves are likely struggling financially."
Tote board
- The telethon's toteboards varied from year to year; in the 1970s it was operated on a Solari-board, consisting of seven (later eight) number flippers using a white background and black numbers. Instead of using blank numbers, all flippers began with zeros. This tote board was discontinued after 1989 and replaced with a new tote board, first operated with the "eggcrate" display common on game shows, then later to an LCD-type "vane" display. By 2003, the tote board was changed to a screen display. The 2011 edition was the first not to use a tote board at all during the national segments, due to the show airing live only on most stations in Eastern Time, and on a tape delay in other time zones and on some Eastern Time stations.
- Elgin Watches was the sponsor of the telethon's toteboard as the "Official Timekeeper of the Telethon" in the late-1960s and early-1970s, at least during the telethon's New York years. From the mid-1970s to the early-1980s, HelbrosJules JurgensenJules Jurgensen is one of the most famous watchmaking companies in the world. It was founded by Jürgen Jürgensen in 1740 in Denmark, when Jürgen Jürgensen went into partnership with Isaac Larpent, under the name “Larpent & Jürgensen”....
was the toteboard sponsor. Since the early-1980s, the tote board had no dedicated sponsor, though some local stations continued to have a sponsor for their local tote boards.
Figures are from the final tote board number at the end of each telethon. For years 1967 on, increase or decrease is given compared to the previous year and to the previous record. , the telethon has broken its previous record every year except 1982, 1983, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011; 1983 and 2011's telethons improved over the previous year's totals without breaking the all-time record.
Through 2010, the final totes did not take into account any pledges that are made after the final tote is announced live—many stations would continue with their local segments afterward, with some stations delaying the final national tote until the very end of the telethon. As the 2011 telethon was not live and could not keep a running national tote during the show, the final national tote for that year was not announced until the following day.
| Year | Amount | Change | From Record | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | $575,208 | ||||
| 1966 | $1,002,114 | First modern telethon | |||
| 1967 | $1,126,846 | +12.45% | +12.45% | ||
| 1968 | $1,401,876 | +24.41% | +24.41% | First year of the Love Network | |
| 1969 | $2,039,139 | +45.46% | +45.46% | ||
| 1970 | $5,093,385 | +149.78% | +149.78% | Love Network enters Los Angeles, San Francisco | |
| 1971 | $8,125,387 | +59.53% | +59.53% | ||
| 1972 | $9,200,754 | +13.23% | +13.23% | ||
| 1973 | $12,395,973 | +34.73% | +34.73% | First telethon to originate from Las Vegas | |
| 1974 | $16,129,213 | +30.12% | +30.12% | ||
| 1975 | $18,868,499 | +16.98% | +16.98% | ||
| 1976 | $21,723,813 | +15.13% | +15.13% | Jerry Lewis reunites with Dean Martin | |
| 1977 | $26,841,490 | +23.56% | +23.56% | $26,841,419 or 490 | |
| 1978 | $29,074,405 | +8.32% | +8.32% | ||
| 1979 | $30,691,627 | +5.56% | +5.56% | ||
| 1980 | $31,103,787 | +1.34% | +1.34% | ||
| 1981 | $31,498,772 | +1.27% | +1.27% | ||
| 1982 | $28,415,339 | -9.79% | -9.79% | Recession | |
| 1983 | $30,691,627 | +8.01% | -2.56% | ||
| 1984 | $32,074,566 | +4.51% | +1.83% | ||
| 1985 | $33,181,652 | +3.45% | +3.45% | ||
| 1986 | $34,096,773 | +2.76% | +2.76% | ||
| 1987 | $39,021,723 | +14.44% | +14.44% | ||
| 1988 | $41,132,113 | +5.41% | +5.41% | ||
| 1989 | $42,737,219 | +3.90% | +3.90% | ||
| 1990 | $44,172,186 | +3.36% | +3.36% | Telethon moves to Los Angeles | |
| 1991 | $45,071,657 | +2.04% | +2.04% | Return to Las Vegas | |
| 1992 | $45,759,368 | +1.53% | +1.53% | ||
| 1993 | $46,014,922 | +0.56% | +0.56% | ||
| 1994 | $47,105,396 | +2.37% | +2.37% | ||
| 1995 | $47,827,221 | +1.53% | +1.53% | Return to Los Angeles | |
| 1996 | $49,146,555 | +2.76% | +2.76% | ||
| 1997 | $50,475,055 | +2.70% | +2.70% | ||
| 1998 | $51,577,023 | +2.18% | +2.18% | ||
| 1999 | $53,116,417 | +2.98% | +2.98% | ||
| 2000 | $54,610,289 | +2.81% | +2.81% | ||
| 2001 | $56,780,603 | +3.97% | +3.97% | ||
| 2002 | $58,276,118 | +2.63% | +2.63% | ||
| 2003 | $60,505,234 | +3.83% | +3.83% | ||
| 2004 | $59,398,915 | -1.83% | -1.83% | Florida Hurricanes | |
| 2005 | $54,921,586 | -7.54% | -9.23% | Hurricane Katrina | |
| 2006 | $61,013,855 | +11.09% | +0.84% | Return to Las Vegas | |
| 2007 | $63,759,478 | +4.50% | +4.50% | ||
| 2008 | $65,031,393 | +1.99% | +1.99% | ||
| 2009 | $60,481,231 | -7.52% | -7.52% | Ed McMahon's death; recession | |
| 2010 | $58,919,838 | -2.58% | -9.40% | Final long-form telethon (21.5 hours); Lewis' final telethon as host | |
| 2011 | $61,491,393 | +4.36% | -5.44% | First short-form telethon (6 hours); delayed broadcast by time zone |
Criticism
The MDA and Jerry Lewis have been criticized by disability rightsDisability rights movement
The disability rights movement is the movement to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for people with disabilities. The specific goals and demands of the movement are: accessibility and safety in transportation, architecture, and the physical environment, equal opportunities in independent...
activists for their tendency to paint disabled people as, "pitiable victims who want and need nothing more than a big charity to take care of or cure them." Critics argue that focusing the public's attention on medical cures to "normalize" disabled people fails to address issues like providing accessible buildings, transportation, employment opportunities and other civil rights for the disabled.
Miscellaneous
- Don FranciscoDon Francisco (television host)Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld , better known by his stage name, Don Francisco, is a Chilean television personality, and a popular television personality on the Univision network reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States...
, the host of Sábado GiganteSábado GiganteSábado Gigante is a Spanish-language television show that is Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running variety TV show in the world. Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment...
, is MDA's spokesperson on behalf of Hispanics with neuromuscular diseases—he generally appears in the telethon in a pre-recorded message, appealing to Hispanics in Spanish to donate. Don Francisco is also known in his native ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
as host of that country's TeletónTeletón (Chile)Teletón is a charity event held in Chile on a year basis ever since 1978, mostly within the first week December, unless a political election is being held in the country...
, for handicapped children.
- Game show announcer, Johnny OlsonJohnny OlsonJohn Leonard "Johnny" Olson was an American radio personality and television announcer. His work spanned 32 game shows produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman from the late 1950s through the mid 1980s...
was the telethon's announcer for the first five years, from 1966 to 1970 before Ed McMahon took over the role and held it until his death in 2009.
- The National Association Of Letter CarriersNational Association of Letter CarriersThe National Association of Letter Carriers is an American labor union, representing non-rural letter carriers employed by the United States Postal Service...
embraced the Muscular Dystrophy Association as its "official charity" in 1952, becoming the first official national sponsor of the group founded in 1950. The union's first nationally coordinated campaign to raise funds for MDA came during Thanksgiving Week in 1953, when tens of thousands of letter carriers in more than 800 cities returned to their routes for a second time after completing their holiday-heavy mail deliveries. The all-volunteer effort was called "The Letter Carrier March for Muscular Dystrophy".
- 7 Up7 Up7 Up is a brand of a lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo in the rest of the world, including Puerto Rico, where the concentrate is manufactured at the Pepsi facility in Cidra...
was the telethon's first corporate sponsor, in which they would raise money through special promotions and issue checks in installments to Jerry during the course of the telethon. 7 Up is also the longest corporate sponsor (under current owner Dr Pepper Snapple GroupDr Pepper Snapple GroupDr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is an American soft drink company, based in Plano, Texas.It was spun off from Britain's Cadbury Schweppes, on May 5, 2008, with trading in its shares starting on May 7, 2008...
), supporting the telethon since 1974. Prior to that year, sponsorship was generally limited to trade unions and civic organizations—the most durable being the International Association of Fire FightersInternational Association of Fire FightersThe International Association of Fire Fighters is a labor union representing professional firefighters in the United States and Canada. The IAFF was formed in 1918 and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress in Canada. The IAFF is headquartered in...
, who supported the MDA since1954, and appeared on the telethon since 1966.
- Another notable sponsor was 7-Eleven7-Eleven7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
, who was a sponsor from 1976 to the early-2000s. Early on, Jerry Lewis would appear in commercials urging 7-Eleven shoppers to "Keep The Change" for his Kids. During the late-1970s and early-1980s, Jerry also appeared in commercials for 7-Eleven, promoting its stores and products.
- In 1980, a strike by AFTRAAmerican Federation of Television and Radio ArtistsThe American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a performers' union that represents a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, as well as radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists , promo and voice-over announcers and other...
and SAGScreen Actors GuildThe Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
prevented many guest stars from performing. Instead, they simply walked onstage, shook hands with Lewis, handed him a personal check, and encouraged viewers to make a donation.
- Jerry was also the host of the first edition of the French Téléthon in 1987, which benefits the muscular dystrophy charity in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, L'Association française contre les myopathies. Jerry also co-hosted the 1991 edition. The French MD telethon is generally televised on France 2France 2France 2 is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4, France 5 and France Ô...
on the first weekend in December, with the 2007 edition taking in €96,228,136 (US$141,089,693) in pledges, down from its 2006 total of €101,472,581 (US$136,389,286). (The value in US dollars against EuroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s are as of the telethon's broadcast for that particular year.)
- Today, of the charter affiliates of the "Love Network", WHEC-TVWHEC-TVWHEC-TV, channel 10, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Rochester, New York, USA. WHEC-TV is owned by Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting, and broadcasts from a studio/office facility on East Avenue in Downtown Rochester...
and the present-day WGRZ and WLNE-TVWLNE-TVWLNE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It is licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but is headquartered in and operates from studios at 10 Orms Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of two major Rhode Island...
still carry the telethon. WLNE's carriage was not continuous, however, as WPRI-TVWPRI-TVWPRI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts that is licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
carried the program for some years until WLNE picked up the telethon again in 1994.- What is now WLVI-TVWLVI-TVWLVI, digital channel 41, is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts which serves as the CW affiliate for the Boston, Massachusetts television market. WLVI is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is a sister station to WHDH, Boston's NBC affiliate. The two stations share studios at...
(the former WKBG) has since dropped the event, which has since moved to WCVB-TVWCVB-TVWCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
. - Today's WNYWWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
(the former WNEW) dropped the telethon after 1986, which moved to WWOR-TVWWOR-TVWWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
in 1987. Ironically, both WNYW and WWOR are now under the common ownership of the Fox Television Stations GroupFox Television Stations GroupFox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
.
- What is now WLVI-TV