1 of 1- RadioActive
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Remembering A Lost Labour Day TV Tradition
I've posted this before, but it was a long time ago and there are a lot of newcomers here that may get a kick out of it.
TV is a different medium than it was back in the 80s, and there was one thing that lasted for decades we no longer have - the annual Jerry Lewis Labour Day telethon. 1980 was the year when CFTR producer/reporter Clint Nickerson flew to Las Vegas for the nationally syndicated radio show Sunday Sunday to get a backstage look at what really went on at the 24-hour extravaganza.
The 11-minute piece contains interviews with a plethora of people who are no longer with us - including Ed McMahon and Wolfman Jack (and sadly, Clint himself. He was a wonderful and amazing man and I still miss him.) I'm not sure if anyone else ever attempted something like this and I think it was one of Clint's favourite pieces he ever did.
While the telethon and Jerry Lewis have both faded into history, this is a reminder of a time - and some well known voices - that no longer exist but still echo through our collective pasts.
The Jerry Lewis Labour Day Telethon
- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: Remembering A Lost Labour Day TV Tradition
Geez...I remember the final years of this telethon, when Jerry was taken off the air due to a combination of health issues and his own hubris. He spent huge stretches of time ranting about "biased media" coverage and other real or perceived demons that were haunting him. It was so bad that Mike Darrow, who was hosting the Canadian cut-ins on Global, had to make an on-air statement, pleading with people to keep donating and stating that they'd be "communicating your concerns" to the MDA Telethon people in the U.S. It's true the telethon raised a ton of money for MDA over the years, but it's another example of a television tradition that went way past its "best before" date.
- paterson1
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Re: Remembering A Lost Labour Day TV Tradition
Martin Short as Jerry. ,vid:GgwVdVmazYA
- Shorty Wave
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Re: Remembering A Lost Labour Day TV Tradition
Early on in my career I worked on the local cut ins for the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon in Regina. It was a big deal for us and was actually a lot of fun to work on with tons of food provided by McDonalds, perfect for an early 20s version of me!
- Hansa
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Goes to show you the complexity of human beings. By all accounts Lewis was a nasty, self-absorbed narcissist in his private life yet he was capable of doing good.
Last edited by Hansa (September 4, 2023 9:19 am)
- BowmanvilleBob
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As far back as 1981, people living with muscular dystrophy were challenging the MDA telethon and its approach to fundraising: