WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS: THE JERRY LEWIS MDA LABOR DAY TELETHON
 

By Howard T. Brody

Like many of the residents who called Las Vegas home over the years, The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was not born here but was transplanted from New York.

What started in 1966 on WNEW-TV channel 5, an independent television station in New York City, the 21-and-a-half  hour telethon raised a little more than $1 million that first year. In 1973 the telethon moved to Las Vegas, and by then, it was being broadcast on 150 stations coast-to-coast known as “The Love Network.” By the end of its run in 2010, the annual event was seen on more than 200 stations and had raised more $2.5 billion for the charity. That averages to just shy of $57 million annually – not a bad haul, even by Vegas standards.

From day one, whenever someone broached him on the subject of why he raised money for those with muscular dystrophy, Lewis was always vague. However, during a 1982 appearance on “The Phil Donahue Show,” he explained it by saying, “It was a very personal, very private reason.”

That very personal, very private reason earned Lewis some impressive accolades throughout the years in including a 1977 Nobel Peace Prize nomination for his work with the Association, and the 2009 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Despite the many praises for his work, Lewis’ participation with the charity did not go without controversy. He was often criticized for being condescending and exploitive to the children on the show whom he dubbed “Jerry’s Kids.”

Writer Ben Mattlin, who had appeared on the telethon, supposedly spoke for many when he wrote, “those of us with severe, progressive, neurological conditions (are) fine as we are. We don’t need fixing. We need respect. Your pity campaign is so dispiriting, so destructive, that (no) matter how many millions you raise, the ends do not justify the means.”

In 2001, Lewis publicly apologized for using insensitive language in his appeals, acknowledging some of the hurt he had caused with his words even while raising vast amounts of money for medical research.

For the millions who watched the telethon and gave what they could, none of that mattered. All they really care about was what The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was – and that was a star-studded spectacle, a parade of singers and entertainers.

The annual event was more than just a fundraiser. It marked the end of summer as it became a weekend-long Labor Day tradition, kicking off on Sunday night and running into Monday afternoon.

That first year in Vegas, the telethon originated from the Sahara Hotel. Not only was it the first year that Ed McMahon – The Tonight Show announcer who had been Lewis’ sidekick since the ‘68 telethon – took a break from roaring “Heeere’s Johnny!” to serve as Lewis’ co-host, but it was also when the charity raised more than $10 million during the event for the first time. McMahon had made an on-air prediction halfway through the broadcast that donations would exceed $10 million; one digit more than the seven digits the tote board was designed. Just before the announcement, McMahon came on stage and told Lewis, “I have a brush, and I have some paint” Lewis painted a “1” on the board, recreating a stunt he did during the ‘66 telethon when donations surpassed $1 million for the first time. The final amount raised for the ‘73 telethon was $12,395,973. The following year an additional digit was added to the tote board, accommodating up to $100 million.

The show stayed at the Sahara until 1982 when it moved to Caesars Palace and a bigger space. It then remained at Caesars until 1989 when it moved to the Cashman Center – the only Las Vegas-area venue to host the show that was not a hotel. Then, the telethon originated from the Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles for the 1990 show but returned the following year to Vegas, where it stayed once again until 1995, before moving back to Southern California for a 10-year run.

In 2006 the telethon finally returned to Las Vegas where it would stay to the end, this time at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa (known then as the “South Coast” and owned by Coast Casinos founder Michael Gaughan, a friend of Lewis, who sold his company to Boyd Gaming but bought back the one property and renamed it South Point. Gaughan continues to own the property today).

While in Vegas, hundreds of celebrities appeared for The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon to help raise funds throughout the years. A small sampling of the star power includes Woody Allen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Richard Burton, Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, Doris Day, Robert DeNiro, Jimmy Fallon, Jackie Gleason, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Eddie Murphy, Bob Newhart, Paul Newman, Rosie O’Donnell, Gregory Peck, Mickey Rooney, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, William Shatner, Martin Short, Ed Sullivan, Barbara Walters, Robin Williams and Oprah Winfrey.

That list doesn’t even include the many musical guests that performed including Count Basie, the Bee Gees, Tony Bennett, Clint Black, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Cher, Chicago, Phil Collins, Perry Como, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban, Faith Hill, Enrique Iglesias, Alan Jackson, the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Tom Jones, KISS, Eartha Kitt, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Donny and Marie Osmond, Dolly Parton, Tom Petty, Queen, Kid Rock, Kenny Rogers, Spice Girls, Ringo Starr, Rolling Stones, Sugarland, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder and Wynonna.

But of all the performers throughout the years there were always two legendary Vegas showmen who stood side-by-side with Lewis and made their presence known. Of course, they were Sammy Davis Jr. and the Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra. The banter between them was epic and the love sincere. It was that fondness for Lewis that prompted Sinatra to deliver the most memorable moment in MDA telethon history. During the 1976 telethon, Sinatra, coming straight from his performance at Caesars Palace, orchestrated Lewis’s emotional reunion with his former partner, Dean Martin. It was the first time Martin and Lewis were seen together publicly since they disbanded their act in 1956 and went their separate ways. According to the A.C. Nielsen rating service, it was the most-watched segment in telethon history, drawing more than 85 million viewers.

Even with all that talent and all those memories, it always came back to the money he helped raise for the charity. It was exciting to watch the numbers on the board ring up like a slot-machine jackpot when Ed McMahon would say, “Let’s go to the board,” and Jerry would yell, “timpani” having the drummer build anticipation of the new total with a drum-roll.

Each year the event would conclude with Lewis singing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
When Lewis passed away in 2017 at the age of 91, the White House issued a brief statement of appreciation, mentioning “his incredible charity work” that “touched the lives of millions.” It called him “one of our greatest entertainers and humanitarians.”

MDA Chairman R. Rodney Howell said that after Lewis’s death, “MDA would not be the organization it is today if it were not for Jerry’s tireless efforts on behalf of ‘his kids.’ Jerry’s love, passion and brilliance are woven throughout this organization, which he helped build from the ground up.”

“Though we will miss him beyond measure, we suspect that somewhere in heaven, he’s already urging the angels to give ‘just one dollar more for my kids,’” Howell’s statement concluded.

While we often say What Happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas, when it comes to The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon we can say without hesitation that the memories of What Happened in Vegas remained with all of us who watched, no matter where we were.