FIRST WORLDWIDE TELETHON SETS $52 MILLION PLEDGE RECORD

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7, 1998 - The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon raised a record $51,577,023 in pledges and contributions for the fight against neuromuscular diseases during its Labor Day weekend broadcast.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! What more can I say," said Jerry Lewis, star of the Telethon and national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

"Today, when we're on the verge of testing gene therapy in people with muscular dystrophy, viewers worldwide heard our message and understood that we need their help more than ever," Lewis said. "The American people are the most generous and caring in the world. Their leadership sparked contributions from around the globe, and I can never thank them enough for their outpouring of faith in and support for our programs."

The funds raised by the Telethon support MDA's unparalleled service and research programs to benefit people with any of 40 muscle-wasting disorders.

The 21½-hour entertainment extravaganza was broadcast live from CBS Television City in Hollywood Sunday and today, and was carried by 200 "Love Network" television stations to an estimated audience of some 75 million in the United States and Canada. The show was also watched live online at www.mda.org by people in 60 other countries (see list).

Satellite feeds and taped segments from New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Nashville, Puerto Rico, Denver and Charenton, La., brought a wide spectrum of entertainment, including Celine Dion, Leann Rimes, Enrique Iglesias, Jose Feliciano, Pam Tillis, comedians Louie Anderson and Tom Dreesen, violin virtuoso Rachel Barton and magician Lance Burton. Special VH-1 segments entertained with Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Hanson, Sarah MacLachlan, the B-52s, Boyz II Men, the Spice Girls, Ringo Starr, actor David Alan Grier and "Baywatch" beauty Yasmine Bleeth.

The show's Los Angeles stage was graced with many notable performances including songs by Patti Page, Ray Charles, Chuck Mangione, Mindy McCready, 6-year-old piano protégé Wesley Chu, and symphonic music by the Young Musicians' Foundation. Laughs were provided by top comedians, including Bill Maher, Max Alexander, Kevin Meaney, Diane Ford, Jeffrey Ross, Bob Zany, Carrot Top and the king of comedy, Jerry Lewis.

A special tribute to comedian Henny Youngman stopped the show, as Lewis, Norm Crosby and Schecky Greene delivered more than a dozen jokes popularized by the legendary comedian who passed away shortly after his 1997 Telethon appearance.

Lewis orchestrated two other memorable Telethon tributes to friends lost since last year's broadcast. The first was for country music star Eddie Rabbitt, who regularly performed to help "Jerry's kids." The second, for "Chairman of the Board" Frank Sinatra, moved the studio audience to tears in the show's final hour.

"The 1998 Telethon is one for the history books," MDA Senior Vice President and Executive Director Robert Ross, Telethon executive producer, said. "It's very gratifying to see the public's tremendously generous response to the fantastic efforts of entertainers, sponsors and volunteers, and to the families across the country who've shared their stories of living with neuromuscular diseases."

MDA is the world's leading voluntary nonprofit organizational sponsor of research on neuromuscular conditions, as well as the nation's primary provider of direct medical services to adults and children affected by them.

• Begun preparation for human trials of gene therapy for Duchenne and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies.
• Successfully inserted the protein utrophin into mice, indicating that increased utrophin might be able to replace dystrophin, the protein missing in the muscle cells of youngsters with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies.
• Uncovered vital information about the genetic causes of several other neuromuscular disorders.
• Expanded promising clinical trials of potential new drug therapies for neuromuscular disorders, including Duchenne MD, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

In its comprehensive services program, MDA has assisted adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases through summer camps, a nationwide network of clinics, flu vaccinations, support groups, and assistance with the purchase and repair of wheelchairs and leg braces.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. Recognized by the American Medical Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award "for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity," MDA maintains 230 hospital-affiliated clinics that offer families the best in care for progressive neuromuscular diseases.

MDA annually funds some 400 scientific teams worldwide. These investigators have made significant advances toward cures for several muscle-wasting diseases. They've pioneered breakthroughs that may well lead to therapies for heart disease, cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and cystic fibrosis. For information about MDA and/or referrals to MDA clinics, call 1-800-572-1717, or visit MDA's Web site at www.mda.org. MDA programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.

60 COUNTRIES WHERE PEOPLE VIEWED THE TELETHON ON THE INTERNET SEPT. 6-7

Argentina · Australia · Austria · Bahamas · Belgium · Botswana · Brazil · Bulgaria · Canada · Cayman Islands · Chile · China · Colombia · Costa Rica · Czech Republic · Denmark · Egypt · England · France · Germany · Ghana · Guam · Guatemala · Holland · Honduras · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Korea · Kuwait · Lebanon · Malaysia · Mexico · Morocco · Netherlands · New Zealand · Norway · Pakistan · Philippines · Portugal · Russia · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · South Africa · South Korea · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sweden · Switzerland · Taiwan · Thailand · Trinidad · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom · Venezuela

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