Hmm…my earlier item on Jerry Lewis no longer hosting the Labor Day Telethon was based in part on that article I linked to, the one headlined, "Jerry Lewis to host his final telethon this Labor Day." But maybe that's not exactly what's happening.
A reader of this site who signs his messages "GE" points me to the actual press release and it doesn't say Jerry's hosting. In fact, it notably does not say that. It says he's retiring as host of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon and quotes him as saying…
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". I'll continue to serve MDA as its National Chairman — as I've done since the early 1950's. I'll never desert MDA and my kids.
So it sounds like he's not hosting, just coming on at the end to sing his song. But this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Do they mean that if he's around and reasonably healthy during the 2012 telethon and continuing to serve as the charity's National Chairman, he won't set foot on the stage? To no longer host is one thing…but to not even show his face on the broadcast? If that's the case, I revise my informed guess as to what's going on here. I'd heard he wanted to host the whole thing and that the telethon operators didn't want that. They, I'm told, were hoping to just get a brief appearance so they could thank him and he could pass the torch.
Sounds like they may be getting their wish…but I still think there's going to be a pretty big deal made out of Jerry's exit. Which brings us to the question of who will host and whether they're going to try to establish anyone as an ongoing replacement or if it'll just be like the Oscars each year. Hey, Billy Crystal wouldn't be bad…