Final Thoughts on the 2008 Jerry Lewis Telethon
September 1st, 2008 by Scott Marks
Years ago I tried watching the Telethon on line, but the pixel-intteruptus effect of streaming video was maddening. With their act perfected, it was 100% smooth sailing. This was the first time in decades where I was able to watch the Telethon from beginning to end uninterrupted by newscasts and sporting events. From now on, it’s a RealPlayer kind of Telethon for me. It was a marvelously liberating feeling.
Biggest complaint: Not enough Jerry, but at 82 I guess we should be thankful for the 8 hours we get.
Second biggest complaint: The information/entertainment dichotomy is out of balance. While the recorded pitches are sharper and more direct than ever, how about some name acts, Jerry? When Celine Dion, Billy Gilman and Frank, Jr. are the biggest draws, we’ve got a show that slinks. If they relocate to Australia we’re doomed. 20 hours of Paul Hogan and kangaroo jokes.
Before knowing how frail Ed McMahon would appear, I expected a lot of cracks about his current financial situation. Goofing on the doddering old guy in his current state would be like picking on a lame dog.
No Casey and Jean Kasem. Not even a pre-recorded pitch.
No Michael DeBakey tribute. I thought that this would have been a shoe-in.
Where’s Charo?
Where’s Julius LaRosa?
For a change, KUSI did not have an afternoon baseball game to soil the festivities. Instead of showing the Telethon live and in its entirety, they play select bits as filler for their local feed. Do they truly believe that weathermen and news anchors have the same knowledge and draw as Jerry Lewis? With all due respect, I don’t watch The Jerry Lewis Telethon in anticipation of seeing meteorologists Dave Scott and Joe Lazura. These guys are on the airwaves every day of the year. Stick with the big guns and leave the pea-shooters to tell us that it will be 72 and sunny every day.
Alison Sweeney should read Gold Star pledges in a thong bikini and high heels.
When all is said and done, the funniest man alive has raised over $2 billion dollars in his fight against muscular dystrophy. Thanks for all of your tireless efforts. I love you, Jerry!
Celine Dion, dere, talking to da’ Jerry Lewis dere.
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6 Responses to “Final Thoughts on the 2008 Jerry Lewis Telethon”
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Maybe you aren’t a regular of the telethon, if you are then your comments don’t make sense. My daughter was diagnosed with SMA in 2001 and we have been involved with the telthon ever since. For the years I have been involved they spend 1/2 hour at the national level with Jerry and his crew and our beautiful and funny ambassador Abbey who I have met personally (or whomever the national ambassador is at the time), and national and big news talent. The other 1/2 hour is always about the local faces of SMA (like my daughter and countless others before and who will be after her). This brings reality home! The more people you can put a face and a personality to a disease the more money generated. While I love Jerry, Billy Gilman and our little friend Abbey…the majority of the country don’t know them personally. By spotlighting the local families it brings it home and generates more donations because “I know somebody who knows somebody who knows this person and she is great”.
I don’t know why your comments bugged me but all we are really trying to do is find a treatment to help the families of the 43 muscle diseases that many are living with and there is no room for negativity there! I felt that the KUSI telethon as always was professionally done and these broadcasters go without sleep for many hours advocating for my kid, and many other people who are living with life threatening illness. Support the cause don’t be a road block. Wishing you the best in what needs to be a supportive world!
and p.s. while Jerry and all the big names do a HUGE PART to bring attention to our cause there are MANY other players who we could not do without…Albertsons, Vons, Stater Brother’s, the fire fighters, the national letter carriers association, the Outback, all the families and the MDA who raise funds by walks and other functions, and I am sorry for any one I have left out. This is truly a cause for support and one that many people embrace.
Hello, Kimberly,
If KUSI (and WGN and many other stations across the country) are truly charitable, why do they insist on interrupting the Telethon for a baseball game? Because it will cost them revenue. This is something that I have spoken to Jerry about personally and it pisses him off, too. Why does WGN spread the last 15 minutes of the program over three hours of Bart and Nadia’s pleas instead of letting the show run its natural course? It’s calculated and manipulative and frankly, it sickens me. And forgive my cynicism, but a lot of the corporate sponsors that you mention are also in it for the money. Being charitable makes them look good. Why shop at mean old Ralph’s when we can patronize the Jerry-supporting Albertsons? Certain groups (most notable the firefighters and letter carriers) are beyond reproach, but if others are so charitable, why make ten appearances throughout the show? Wouldn’t one check presentation be enough? It’s calculated to build drama and give the sponsors as much air time as possible. By the way, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with adding drama to the proceedings because it works to raise the money needed.
I’m not sure how old you are, but I’d bet that I’ve logged a lot more Telethon time than you, admittedly for different reasons. As a kid, I was one of Jerry’s “little people,” I still have my original kit, and actually answered phones a couple of years. When Jerry speaks of the entertainment / information dichotomy, I’m definitely in it for the former. Of course it’s a worthy cause, but face it — were the ‘Thon 20 hours of endless local pitches no one would watch. I’m also a Jerry-holic that has a soft spot in his head for old showbiz. It saddens me that a lot of the regular players have either died off or are too old to make an appearance. In a sense, I am angry that the new crop of showbiz royalty doesn’t help Jerry out. Can’t Angie and Brad bring their UN family to Vegas to make a pitch? Of course it’s important to give Jerry’s kids a face, but I guarantee you that an appearance by Leo or Britney or Paris would raise a lot more money for Jerry’s kids and after all, isn’t that the name of the game? People can only take so much sorrow. We need a little fun to snap us out of it. Don’t think for a second that Jerry isn’t aware of this because that’s been his plan since day one. If you ever meet him, ask him if he’d prefer that his cause be represented by showbiz heavyweights or local weathermen. I think his answer might surprise you.
I thank God that Jerry is there to help you and countless other families. There isn’t a bigger Telethon supporter on the planet than yours truly. I just wish that the local affiliates wouldn’t slight his hard work by allowing their own egos to get in the way of progress.
Warmest Regards,
Scott
PS: You wouldn’t by some chance be related to Sally Fox?
WGN’s final hour of coverage was 55 minutes of local begging (with the inane countdown clock that reset itself every 3 minutes!) followed by the last 5 minutes of Jerry. Of course a Cub game preceded the final hour, so the national telethon feed wasn’t seen by WGN viewers for almost 4 hours.
Did they at least have “The Macarena” on an audio loop to back it up? What WGN does during the final hours of the Telethon is a form of madness.
The WGN telecast was unbearable, as was the KCLA telecast. Jerry sang “Walk On” in the last few minutes, but before that it was an hour of local yokels. Boring!!!
I always wondered why that brought the corporate sponsors on 11 times to deliver different checks. And why not all at once? And yes, 20 hours of information would be too much for anyone to take. We need the entertainment value; that’s why we watch. It needs to be 50/50. I am also a fan of the old show biz front and I need to have Norm Crosby there, since everyone else is gone. Jerry outlived them all! I think he will live to be 100.