2015: Plug Pulled on MDA Telethon*

It seems the world has changed in a direction (sadly) where it seems a good cause program cannot air. Very sad.

 

The MDA telethon was absolutely personality driven. Jerry could not live forever. He was no longer capable of the things he could do as a young man.
Suits took over the board long ago, and the dumping of Jerry was bad PR for MDA. Stations left or shrunk their participation. Fundraising shrank. I don't think they can afford the outlay anymore to put this thing together.
I think its instructive to note that MDA mentioned the ALS "Ice Bucket Challenge" as showing the way to raise money in a social media world. Except for before it went viral in a ridiculous manner, it was a small grass roots thing. If MDA thinks it can recreate that on demand Jerry's Kid's(tm) are doomed.

 

Jerry did not willfully "retire" from the telethon.

There were some years (when he was first diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis) when he did the show against doctor's orders and they had to keep oxygen ready for him backstage. He would have done the show to raise money with his last breath.

Someday the full story will be told and people will be shocked at how badly he was treated.

 

Yes, this is the short video clip of yourself era, not a long variety telethon era.

 

Clip of Lennon from 1972.

 

Jerry was interviewed around the time he stepped down as host and made some threats that he would tell the full story after the MDA Telethon aired, but he never made his statements. My take is that he realized it would only make him look like an angry, bitter man, plus it would only take money away from the MDA, which is bad press no matter how you spin it.

I think watching Jerry do the telethon in the last 10-15 years was like watching a trainwreck, but it was sometimes fascinating and entertaining on a certain level, particularly in featuring older Las Vegas entertainers that you don't often see on TV. In one respect, I think it showed how the telethon and Jerry were completely out of touch with modern entertainers, but in another, I think it was interesting to see that side of showbiz again.

Bob knows I'm a huge fan of Jerry's, but I also think that Jerry has a difficult, combative side that didn't make him easy to work with, particularly on projects where he was the boss, and projects done in the last 20 years.

 

I hosted the local segments of the MDA Telethon when I worked in NC (I'm a reformed TV news anchor). They (MDA) would fly us to Vegas for a weekend-long training session that included a pep talk of sorts from Jerry himself. One year a guy started in on the whole exploitation theme and Jerry lit up -- he really got po'd -- and he was entertaining when he was mad. I wish I could remember specifics (this had to be 1988).

As "broadcasting" made way for "narrowcasting", it became harder to justify the overhead and expense vs. audience reach- and the real value of the airtime was more to raise awareness of the cause than to raise money (much of what you see on the tote came in before the show started, at least locally, although there were obviously many $ called in). And Jerry raised a lot of awareness!

 

The highlight of all the years it was on the air was the reunion of Jerry and Dino by Frank Sinatra. The Telethon was the one event I was allowed to stay-up all night for when I was a kid and I saw that reunion.

 

The best part was always the final tote.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that the telethon's demise is indicative that people are more selfish or less willing to support a good cause, and I don't think that is the case at all. The end of the telethon simply means that the world has changed in a direction where money for good causes can be raised more effectively in many other ways besides a telethon. On one hand, maybe it's a little sad to see a tradition come to an end because it's outlived its usefulness. But on the other hand, the fact that there are new ways to more cheaply and efficiently raise money for charities is a very good thing, not sad at all.

 

I can sympathize to some degree with the MDA people, and I don't know that there was any way they could have better handled Jerry's "retirement." The goal of a charity is to raise money for its cause, and bad publicity can seriously affect its image and its ability to do that. Jerry can be a loose cannon, and in his final years on the telethon he sometimes made comments that were embarrassing to or generated bad publicity for MDA. The notion that "there's no such thing as bad publicity" doesn't apply to charitable organizations, and when Jerry said offensive or controversial things it reflected poorly on MDA and likely hurt their cause.

 

There's a lot of truth to that. I like Jerry as a performer, but I can imagine he's not the kind of guy who could be reined in very easily. And the MDA people were confronted with diminishing ratings, higher costs, and lower contributions over the years. Despite being a charity, it was a very expensive show to hold every year.

 

That was an amazing event when it happened.

 

That is not what I said. It seems from your posts that you're not a fan of the telethon. Yes, there are more efficient ways of donating money to charity and less efficient ways. It's still sad this is coming to an end. It was wonderful seeing all the commitment to giving, the performances, the larger aspect of community.

As for telethons not working? Please don't tell the Comic Relief folks. They're under the impression it's still an effective and worthwhile way of raising money.

 

In the town I live in, at least, the Firemen still hang-around the intersections on Labor Day Weekend and ask you to throw some change in their tall boots, so that tradition lives one - for now.

 

Really sad to see this happen. This was like an event growing up. The mall would be doing their part during the Telethon bringing local celebrities in with some local tv coverage.

 

I didn't say telethons do not work anymore, or that they are not worthwhile. What I said is that there are now cheaper and more efficient ways for charities to raise money. If a charity can raise money more cheaply and efficiently, that is always a good thing, because it means they have to spend less on raising money and therefore will have more to spend on their charitable cause.

I did enjoy watching the telethon as a kid, and I do agree it's sad to see it come to an end in the sense that it was a longtime tradition and fun to watch. At the same time, the MDA is not in business to entertain us or to maintain entertainment traditions. Their goal as an organization is to raise money for their charitable cause, and if they've decided the telethon is not the most cost-effective way to raise money then it would be foolish for them to continue doing it. If the telethon is less cost effective than other fundraising methods they have at their disposal, continuing it would be effectively taking money away from the programs and treatments they pay for to help people with muscular dystrophy.

 

This is my last fond memory of the telethon.

 

LOL - That nails it

 

They do that here too, at least they did until a few years ago.
I always looked forward to the telethon, it was fun to "stay up with Jerry". I liked Ed McMahon there as well, and often David Hartman and Chad Everett were helping out too. I watched it less as I got older, but I always made a point to try and catch the opening, tune in once around 2-3 AM to see who was on then and at least one local segment and Jerry at the end.

 

I saw that when it aired and it's probably my most enduring memory of the telethon.

 

I was always kind of fascinated in later years watching the last vestiges of old school show business on the telethon.
Comedians like Norm Crosby and Jack Carter still basically doing their 50' s shtick well into the 90's was interesting to watch in an odd way. Long after variety shows like Ed Sullivan disappeared, I would never see them or the Jack Jone's or Vic Damone's on anything BUT the telethon.

It was kind of like watching the last of the mastadons before they fell into the tar pits or something.

 

But they were funny, even if ancient. Good, clean humor.

 

Well, sometimes yes and sometimes no IMO but as weird as it was to watch these guys work well past their sell date, I always had to respect them for their long successful careers and coming up through WW2 and that era,etc.

So, the show biz history on parade on the telethon was like stepping back in time or something.

 

Just a small correction on his name- his name was Doug Bady.

Here's an obituary

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-08-30/news/mn-39055_1_wheelchair-bound

And am interview with his comedy partner:

http://www.thewrestlingmania.com/that-wrestling-podcast/dave-lerman-interview-exclusive/