1 of 1- Muffaraw Joe
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Labour Day memories
Growing up in Ottawa, the Labour Day weekend meant summer was over and school started the day after.
It was bittersweet, because technically, summer holidays always seemed to come on super fast, like "18 with a bullet".
Now as I am an adult (some may argue), I now know summer is still here until September 22nd, when fall officially arrives.
Now, growing up, Labour day was both exciting and kind of sad, that school awaited on the Tuesday.
What made the weekend kind of fun, was that the Jerry Lewis Telethon was on, for nearly 24 hours straight.
Not only did Jerry and Ed McMahon do their best to raise funds for MDA, our local radio stations and personalities were on the "local" feed for the telethon and they would be doing cut-ins in a valiant effort to encourage donations from local viewers and if you did donate, you would see your name and donation amount on the ticker tape as the local broadcast was on.
You got to see your fave on air hosts like Jim West the then morning man on CFGO 1440 and of course Ken "The General" Grant who owned Ottawa mornings on CFRA 580...
In honour of the upcoming Labour Day weekend this weekend, I want to pay a tribute to the late Jerry Lewis…we share a little history about the MDA Labor Day Telethon and then we share some Jerry Lewis’ comments about life. Please enjoy the learning and a bit of nostalgia.
History:
The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in 1950 with hopes of gaining the American public's interest. The show was hosted by comedian, actor, singer, and filmmaker Jerry Lewis from its 1966 inception until 2010. The history of MDA's telethon dates back to the 1950s, when the Jerry Lewis Thanksgiving Party for MDA raised funds for the organization's New York City area operations. The telethon was held annually on Labor Day weekend beginning in 1966, and raised $2.45 billion for MDA from its inception through 2009.
The telethon broadcast up to 211⁄2 hours, starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon on the holiday itself. MDA called its network of participating stations the "Love Network". The show originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the years it was broadcast. Beginning in 2011 (and coinciding with Lewis's departure) MDA radically reformatted and shortened the telethon's format into that of a benefit concert, shortening the length of the special each successive year.
Here too is a video where Jerry and Frank Sinatra are going through corporate donations and when Dean Martin walks onto the stage and the 2 comedians/actors are re-united after a long “break-up” for the duo and the end of their comedy routine and working together.
When I watch Dean and Jerry, I am reminded of SCTV's Sammy Maudlin show, cue the tears, pile on the accolades and cry your eyes out. SCTV, did a great job lampooning this kind of TV show.
What are your favourite Labour Day moments growing up.
Share away!
Last edited by Muffaraw Joe (August 31, 2025 7:34 pm)
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- RadioActive
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Re: Labour Day memories
In 1980, the late, great CFTR newsman Clint Nickerson flew to Las Vegas to record the goings-on behind the scenes at the Jerry Lewis Labour Day Telethon.
Among the interviews - Ed McMahon, Chad Everett, David Hartman and Wolfman Jack.
Still a great piece, now tinged with nostalgia since nearly everyone on this special is long gone. But then, so is the telethon itself.
Hear it here.
- turkeytop
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Re: Labour Day memories
As a kid, I hated school. The last day of school in June ranked right up there with Christmas as one of my favourite days.
Labour Day weekend almost made me feel sick. I dreaded going back to school,
Now, all these years later, after being a Union activist all my life, Labour Day should be a time to celebrate. But I still feel depressed, in sympathy with the kids.
After all is said and done, more is usually said than done.
- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: Labour Day memories
As I pointed out when this topic was broached a few years ago, Jerry Lewis’s advancing age and increasingly erratic behaviour meant his appearances were scaled back dramatically in the telethon’s latter years. I well remember one year when Jerry’s hostile diatribes reached such a point that Mike Darrow, who was hosting the Canadian cut-ins on Global, was reduced to pleading with the audience to keep donating and promised that the Canadian MDA would pass on “your concerns” to the telethon’s organizers. Eventually, time and changing tastes caught up with this Labour Day tradition, which ended in 2014.
- mace
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Re: Labour Day memories
Labour Day for me, when I was a kid, was a somber day because school started the next day. As I got older it meant watching the Annual Labour Day CFLClassic between the Argos and Tiger Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium. We Argo fans often referred to it as "Never" Wynne Stadium as the Argos were rarely victorious in the Ticat den.
- mic'em
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Re: Labour Day memories
The kids in the Sudbury district school boards get an extra day of summer. School doesn't return here until Wednesday. Labour day for me during the 23 years operating a tow truck was just another work day as were all holidays. I do remember my parents having the Jerry Lewis telethon on our family tv when I was a kid, but it was always a day of dread for me meaning back to school the next morning.
- fyshtalk
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Re: Labour Day memories
From a broadcast perspective , I remember Labour Day weekend when I worked in Huntsville at CKAR. A bunch of us ...people like George Brooks, Paul Mcknight and Mike Seniuk would sit in a restaurant watching all the cars leave town . We felt like we were the only ones who weren't leaving while wondering if we would ever get another job in radio !! As it turned out...it worked out for all of us.