jerry finally leaving the telethon...

just heard on the news that Jerry Lewis is going to stop doing the MDA telethon after this year. i've actually been shocked that he's been able to do as much of it as he has been the past 10 yrs or so. don't know what is going to happen after this year though. they didn't say.
i will admit that i gave up trying to watch any of it since i moved back up here. i always wind up working the entire day and getting home when its over. and its just not the telethon here...no entertainment that i can see at all. all it seems to be are the big corporations and richy rich people handing over the big checks. The last one i saw before i left MI was really funny cuz there were little kids bringing in their jars and piggy banks full of change. of course that was back when kids would either go door to door to get money or would have a special bank or jar they would put money in all year round!

While I applaud his efforts with the MDA, I absolutely despise Jerry Lewis as an entertainer. He has a monstrous ego - and that's so hard to handle - but his comedy simply misses on every level. He'll come back on the next MDA telethon, sing his little "You'll Never Walk Alone" song, and then move along. That's fine with me.

Yeah, it's about time he stops...............he's getting too old and sick to be doing marathons of any kind anymore.

he almost didn't make it through some of those telethons the past few years...the guy has got to be in his 80s by now. i remember that he and my mom were born almost in the same year.
but i will admit that those old Lewis and Martin movies got me through a good chunk of my childhood. (and i did break down and cry when Dean walked onto the stage during the telethon back in the 80s) I had a chance to meet Jerry back when i lived in TX but i only looked at him from the other side of the street. i had heard how nasty he could be. (though i do think he's mellowed a bit in these later years....when he got off the pain killers and then wound up having to get on the steriods...that's why he's so bloated right now. getting old is hell...no matter how old you are).

Have to wonder what's going on with this. MDA has announced that Jerry will not be doing this year's telethon after all, and is no longer their spokesman. Several old school comedians up in arms. No word from Jerry's camp. Personally, I think Jerry must be worse than he's willing to acknowlege and is fighting back. Sad to see all this played out in the media.

I hear he's scheduled a press conference for the day after so he can say his piece. This should be interesting.

wow i hadn't seen anything...and just now realized how close it was! i know he hasn't been doing the full thing for years. gawd they at least show have him kick it off and then do the Never Walk Alone song as the end one last time.
i don't know just how bad his health is...i know he's chunked up and has the moon face but that is because he's been on steriods for years now. that can make you look worse than you actually are. but geez, the dude has to be in his 80s by now.

I think he's off the steroids (at least I think so), but I heard he's 85 years old.