Jerry Lewis: A Humanitarian Hero and a Comedy Icon
Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon
Photo Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/jerry-lewis-won-host-muscular-dystrophy-association-telethon-awkward-split-fundraiser-article-1.953503
Before Jerry Lewis landed to be the host for a telethon dedicated to muscular dystrophy, he was first seen in telethons together with Dean Martin. Because of this, in the early 1950’s, Lewis was asked to host for what was a little-known disease called muscular dystrophy. Together with Martin, they both hosted the show. After the split, Lewis never stopped hosting the telethon while Martin had decided to part ways.
On the year 1966, Lewis’ first official Jerry Lewis Telethon for muscular dystrophy (MD) took place on the Labor Day Weekend. During this time, many people were skeptical about this move because a lot of people were not home during Labor Day. But despite the controversy, the telethon was a success and raised with over 1 million dollars. Since then until 2011, Jerry Lewis headlined the annual MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) or called Jerry’s Kids. After earning over 2 billion dollars for the organization, Jerry Lewis bid goodbye to his annual headlines.
