LAS VEGAS — After 45 years promoting treatment and a cure for children he calls “my kids,” comedian Jerry Lewis announced Monday that he is retiring as host of the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon that has become synonymous with his name.
Lewis, 85, issued a statement through the group calling it “time for an all new Telethon era.”
“As a labor of love, I’ve hosted the annual Telethon since 1966, and I’ll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ ” Lewis said of a shortened six-hour prime-time broadcast scheduled for Sept. 4.
In recent years, Lewis, a Las Vegas resident, has battled a debilitating back condition, heart issues and the crippling lung disease pulmonary fibrosis. He said he’ll continue serving as national MDA chairman, as he has done since the early 1950s.
“I’ll never desert MDA and my kids,” he said.
Officials with the Tucson-based nonprofit hailed Lewis as one of the world’s great humanitarians.
More than $1 billion has been raised during MDA telethons over the years, association spokesman Jim Brown said. And a national network of about 200 hospital-affiliated clinics has opened since Lewis became involved in the telethon.
Lewis’ first live Labor Day weekend telethon, in 1966, was broadcast by a single New York City television station. It raised more than $1 million in pledges.
