Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon: A Labor of Love
TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 2, 2002 — America's favorite Labor Day tradition will continue as the Muscular Dystrophy Association presents its annual "labor of love" — the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Now in its 37th year, the Telethon will feature the unique combination of national and local broadcasts that has helped it evolve from a television variety show into an institution of American culture.
For the eighth consecutive year, the national broadcast will originate from CBS Television City in Hollywood, Calif., and will air for 21½ hours starting at 9 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 1. The national show will be carried by some 200 television stations in the MDA "Love Network." [Love Network Stations can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat.] Check local listings for stations and start times.
In addition to broadcasting the national MDA show from Hollywood, "Love Network" stations will air hourly segments featuring information about MDA's programs in their communities.
Lewis, MDA's national chairman, will star in the broadcast that bears his name, with the assistance of longtime Telethon anchor Ed McMahon, who also serves as a member of the Association's Board of Directors. Also helping Lewis and McMahon will be co-hosts Jann Carl "Entertainment Tonight," television personality Cynthia Garrett and comedian Norm Crosby. Carl is an MDA director, and Garrett and Crosby are national MDA vice presidents. Entertainers Wayne Brady and Bob Zany also will assist as co-hosts.
"Every year I approach the Telethon with the same goals," Lewis says. "I want to entertain the audience, and to educate the public about these diseases and the kids and adults they affect. And if I do my job, we'll be able to raise at least one dollar more than we did last year."
The 2001 Telethon set a record in pledges and donations of some $56.8 million. The funds support MDA's programs of research, services and public education in the battle against more than 40 neuromuscular diseases that affect more than a million Americans of all ages and walks of life.
Several families served by MDA will be profiled on the national broadcast. Prominent among them is best-selling poet and MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Mattie Stepanek of Upper Marlboro, Md.
The show will also feature interviews with leading physicians and scientists, discussing MDA's progress in the search for treatments and cures.
This year's show will pay tribute to America's fire fighters, particularly those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), whose members Lewis calls "my heroes," is the Association's largest national sponsor.
Entertainment for the broadcast will continue the Telethon's tradition as a great American variety show. Performers on the Hollywood stage will include musicians, comedians and other celebrities. Additional remote segments will come from Branson, Mo., hosted by singer Andy Williams, and Las Vegas, hosted by multifaceted entertainer Charo.
The Telethon can also be seen on the World Wide Web at www.mda.org, through streaming video provided by RealNetworks.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.
