Like Whatever Gen-X
Remember the 1980s and 1990s and all things Gen-X. Take a stroll down memory lane, drink from a hose, and ride until the street lights come on. We discuss the past, present, and future of the forgotten generation. From music to movies and television, to the generational trauma we all experienced we talk about it all. Take a break from today and travel back to the long hot summer days of nostalgia. Come on slackers, fuck around and find out with us!
Like Whatever Gen-X
The Nutty Telethon
Remember those late nights when you'd stumble into the living room and find your mom watching Jerry Lewis on TV, his bow tie undone, sweat beading on his forehead as he urged America to donate just a little more? For Gen X kids, the annual Labor Day Telethon wasn't just a charity event—it was a cultural phenomenon that marked summer's end with celebrity appearances, tearful stories, and that magical tote board clicking toward another million dollars.
In this nostalgic deep dive, we explore how the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon evolved from its 1966 beginnings to become a 24-hour marathon that raised over $2 billion for muscular dystrophy research. We unpack the telethon's most memorable moments, from the emotional 1976 Dean Martin reunion orchestrated by Frank Sinatra to Ed McMahon's uncanny ability to predict final donation totals down to the thousands.
But beyond the confetti and celebrity cameos lies a more complicated story. Was the telethon truly helping "Jerry's kids," or was it exploiting disabled children as props while ignoring the 70% of MD patients who were adults? We examine how the telethon's focus on finding cures often overshadowed more immediate concerns like accessibility and rights, creating a divide between charitable intentions and actual impact.
The telethon's legacy remains contested—a perfect reflection of our complicated relationship with celebrity, charity, and how we portray disability in media. Whether you loved Jerry Lewis or found his approach problematic, the telethon shaped how an entire generation thinks about giving and representation.
Join us for this heartfelt conversation about a vanished piece of American culture. And don't go anywhere—we might just reveal which celebrity guest could be joining us on a future episode! Subscribe now and be part of our growing community of Gen X reminiscers who are still trying to figure out what the hell happened to our youth.
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Two best friends. We're talking the past, from mistakes to arcades. We're having a blast. Teenage dreams, neon screens, it was all rad and no one knew me Like you know. It's like whatever. Together forever, we're never the best ever Laughing and sharing our stories. Clever, we'll take you back. It's like whatever.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Like Whatever a podcast for. By and about Gen X, I'm Nicole and this is my BFF, heather.
Speaker 3:Konnichiwa, I'm gonna learn hello in every language.
Speaker 2:Yay, I love it. Sign language. I'll tell you when she does that one, because you won't see it and I think I missed enough in there. But it definitely wasn't the one that stands for fuck.
Speaker 3:I promise you that no she never leaves the fuck out of anywhere. I do not.
Speaker 2:So how was your week?
Speaker 3:It was a week week. I don't even remember what I did, yeah, so all right, there's that I mean it's uh.
Speaker 2:Father's day was two days ago, so shout out to the dads out there yes, I got to text with mine. Oh, I'm having a phone call with him tonight, oh nice yep, yep, texting mine mostly because I told my mom to let him die the other day.
Speaker 3:He didn't know that was his own fault.
Speaker 2:It is his own fault no one whatever, but a Gen X memory I had of my dad on Father's Day was when I was really little, so like five, my mom, I don't know, was at school, maybe I don't know at school, maybe I don't know. In the evenings it would just be me and my dad. I don't know where she was, um, I really don't, but we he would let me stay up late and we would play toss across for hours. You remember toss across? No, I don't. It was a big um plastic floor, tic-tac-toe board, and it had, uh, you had three blue um bean bags, yes, and three red ones, uh-huh, and you threw and tried to get, yeah, yeah, you know what we did?
Speaker 3:we played poker. Yep, we sure did, with pretzels, yeah, and saltines and um we probably had cheese, my dad's big cheese. I did used to eat sardine sandwiches with him too I know but, he was my dad, so I was like okay my dad used to wake my sister up in the middle of the night just to have a bowl of cereal or bowl of ice cream with her.
Speaker 2:Aww, yeah, he didn't do that with you though, right.
Speaker 3:No, I. It's funny because I look. No, I do look like my mom. When I was a kid, I looked like my dad, but my dad and I are exactly the same person. Well, kind of Like we fight the same.
Speaker 2:You are very much alike.
Speaker 3:Yes, very stubborn. He is way more athletic than me. And my sister is way more athletic, so he and my sister were close, but I was close with my mom.
Speaker 2:You're a lot like your mom too. I think you're both a pretty good combination of the two, Combination of both yeah.
Speaker 3:It's so weird because I think she looks like my dad and I look exactly like my mom and people call us twins all the time. I don't think we look anything alike.
Speaker 2:No, and if you look at pictures of your mom young, she looks like Jessica. I know it's weird, right, it's really weird, I know.
Speaker 3:It's crazy. And then yesterday I was thinking about well, because I've been listening to Dateline podcast, Well, because I've been listening to. Dateline podcast and the podcast I was listening to the other day. The person called their sibling and the sibling knew there was something wrong by the wording that was used and I was like I know exactly what wording I would use to my sister to get her to pick it up. And I know she'd pick it up like as soon as I said it.
Speaker 3:I know she would either If I called her sis, because you know how I fucking hate this.
Speaker 2:Or if I called her Jesse. Oh yeah, yeah, nobody calls.
Speaker 3:Me that I mean a lot of people. She hates it, yeah, so if I were to call her that cause I don't, even though hates it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so if I were to call her that because I?
Speaker 3:don't, even though you know, for all the fighting we've ever had, I don't ever call her that, so that's how I would you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, you did name her, so you have to respect the name exactly. I mean, it's a good name, it's a good name.
Speaker 3:What did you do?
Speaker 2:uh, I had a great like relaxing weekend. I got some me time, excellent. The third season of Ginny in Georgia came out and I binged the whole thing. I can't even tell you the last time, like for as much as I talk about TV shows that I watch, like the last time I really sat for two solid days and watched.
Speaker 3:I mean they were an hour apiece and it's ten episodes. I have the next two days off and I don't. I know I'm gonna clean my carpet because it's pretty fucking bad, but beyond that I don't know what I'm gonna do yeah, yeah, stare at the wall, yep.
Speaker 2:So I had some really good down time just relaxing. Um, I don't think really anything else exciting no I don't think I.
Speaker 3:I feel like I did, but then I don't. I should really start writing these things down, you should, yeah but I don't.
Speaker 2:I do and I still don't know what I want to talk about.
Speaker 3:I text my dad on father's day, so he's clearly still alive, because he did answer okay, yeah, nice, he's been sick. That's I know, you know, but for other people I'm not just being a jackass. He has been sick and refused to go to the emergency room. Yep, and my mother was very upset about it and I said just let him die.
Speaker 2:Then if he wants to die let him fucking die. And then what did your sister say? The same, exact same so yeah, I'm not just being an ignorant ass no, I also wanted to give a quick shout out to our friend pat, because he is just so supportive. He is very supportive and he's just, and he just got back from phoenix.
Speaker 2:Uh, for book signing like weekend with his people, or a week it looks like you had a really great time, but we appreciate you, pat, and we love that you put out there what we're talking about yes, and uh, try to get people to listen you. You are definitely our number one fan, so shout out to pat, yay, pat, yay pat and his book is really good, so she read it yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's getting a lot of good reviews on it. It is very good. He keeps getting five star reviews.
Speaker 3:We need to get him on here and send me an email. I figured out how to do yes video. We did we did I learned how to edit. Yes, yes, so yeah, email us yeah, anybody else who wants to be on here and you want to email us, you know yeah, we think we figured it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did.
Speaker 3:Now I got it we, and because I did, I might. I'm just gonna put this out there a because maybe it will happen, but I have a line on a celebrity that I could get on. I don't know if I could get him on here, but I could definitely get a.
Speaker 2:Probably, definitely, probably could get an interview with Just saying just putting it out there.
Speaker 3:There's a possibility that we could get a celebrity.
Speaker 2:That would be so exciting.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, she knows who it is.
Speaker 2:I do know who it is and I'm very excited for who it is. Yes, pretty fucking exciting. Yeah, one of one of my favorite things about gen x. All right, so before we get going, if you could all please like share rate review. Um, you can find us wherever you listen to podcast. Follow us on all the socials, at like whatever pod um, we are on youtube, and you can send us an email to like whatever pod at gmailcom.
Speaker 3:We'll we'll start scheduling out. We record on tuesdays most yeah, get your emails in soon, because unless it's a holiday, and then we, yes, then we record on the holiday and if somebody gen dies, then you get bumped, you get bumped Unless you want to talk about that person.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true. I guess that's true. That's only on her week too.
Speaker 3:It's not my weeks. We don't find out until like five minutes before we record, just book on Heather's weeks.
Speaker 2:You're safe, all right.
Speaker 3:So today, let's fuck around and find out about the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. I know we're just going to come straight out the gate on this one.
Speaker 2:This is a person that Nicole and I have always disagreed on so growing up I was a huge Jerry Lewis fan. I just love slapstick physical comedy. My dad's silly like that. He's not necessarily physically, but he's goofy, silly, funny, talks in funny voices, things like that. So maybe that was my draw voices like things like that.
Speaker 3:So I maybe that was my draw, but um so yeah, so I I love the tell. Did you watch the tell? I did, well, I do I.
Speaker 2:You have memories of watching the tell us. I do have memories of watching the tell okay, um, so firstly, uh, my info comes from Mental Floss, an author named Dylan Dalla, and I had to go wiki a little bit this week. Turns out not a lot of people really have a lot of information out there about the Jerry Lewis Telethon, which is probably a really bad idea for the podcast this week.
Speaker 3:But here we are.
Speaker 2:Here we are, but it was fun reading through this stuff and actually getting an adult perspective on it as well, because I didn't even know it went into the 2000s, I think I did, I don't know. I guess I don't know that I even watched it anymore once. I wasn't a kid, right, I mean I don't think I ever watched it, but well, I can remember it was always kind of neat because, um, it's one of the good memories that I have with my mom was I. Every year, for whatever reason, I would wake up in the middle of the night and go out, and she'd be able to like two in the morning sitting in the dark in the living room watching the Jerry Lewis telethon, and she would always make me blueberry waffles.
Speaker 3:I think the thing I remember most about the Jerry Lewis telethon is him in his tuxedo with his tie, his bow tie, undone. I don't know why that memory sticks out so much, but that's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and even as a little kid it blew my mind how long they were long. That they went on. They were long but it was. So it was kind of really magical to me, um, back then, and I loved watching it and reading about it. I'm like, oh yeah, I guess it wasn't really all that great and uh, there is a little controversy here and there around it, jerry lewis, controversy stop yeah, that hurts my feelings a little bit, but yeah, but yeah, but that's okay.
Speaker 2:Hey, he deserves it. All right. So the background of the jerry lewis telethon uh, tv's first telethon took place in 1949. Uh, it was new york's damon runyon memorial cancer fund telethon and it was hosted by milton burrell, aka the snowman in santa claus cummings town if you want to hear more about that, we have an episode on that. I don't remember what's the name the island of the misfit. Something about the misfit toys, yep yep, the podcast of misfit toys there we, so go back and listen to that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's my job here, I just go back, I remember, because you have the memory. I remember what the thing is.
Speaker 3:And I name every one of them.
Speaker 2:All right. So one of the guests on that very first telethon was a brash young comedian who appeared with his singing partner, dean martin. The young comic was, of course, jerry lewis. At the time, martin and lewis were the hottest act in all of showbiz.
Speaker 2:That's in the good old, good old days oh yeah uh, the comedy team later made an appearance at the 1952 olympic fun telethon hosted by bob hope and ben cros crosby. Another good combo there. Yeah, I don't think there's any controversy around either of those gentlemen. Not at all. It's not at all bing crosby um, you know what, speaking of which I, rod stewart is on in on tour right now and it just grosses me out so bad. Okay hold on Okay.
Speaker 3:How the hell. Digest that Rod Stewart has to be 147 years old, he's in big stadiums. Look so my first 45, because that's how old we are. My first 45 was hot legs, Of course I mean I know you all know. If you don't know how, my parents were. You can check back on dragon's dream to see how I was raised to know that rod stewart's hot legs would indeed be the first 45 I ever got, and I listen to the lyrics now and I'm like wow.
Speaker 2:I mean he literally sang a song about a 15 year old. Yes, and I don't want to hear it. Was the time socially acceptable? It has never been okay to have sex with children. I don't care. I don't care, I will stand on that. Back to the castles and all that shit. It's never been okay.
Speaker 1:I don't care if they only live to be 30.
Speaker 2:It is not okay no, don't, don't, just don't, just don't. So yeah, so me seeing him like still pulling a crowd, I'm like yeah, he's not canceled, like gross I don't think any of them were I mean if you think about it, they, they all had. Well, that is true. I bet it would be hard to find whether they knowingly or not.
Speaker 3:A rock and roller who did not have sex, ted Nugent, all day long, I mean.
Speaker 2:And you know, 15, 16 year olds were getting in his groupies.
Speaker 3:Well, he has a song and they weren't IDing them. He has a song I mean Ted Nugent. But whatever, we won't go there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we're going to hit on a couple more too as we go. Well, here's the thing.
Speaker 3:Before we go any further. Okay, I meant to say this up front and I forgot Because I've had fireball. So last week's episode yes, did garner a little bit of.
Speaker 2:Hostility yeah bullshit.
Speaker 3:yes, did garner a little bit of hostility, yeah, bullshit trolls we don't make any money off of this podcast nobody's paying anything to listen. Nobody, this is just us if you want to listen to us go on about shit, that's great.
Speaker 2:We appreciate you, but you know, if you don't, um, let's fuck off if you don't want to see a um pride flag in your feed, if it hurts your little pussy when you see that um, then you can go into facebook and you can actually like go to our page and block us so that you can make sure that you never see anything else from us again so there are ways around it without giving your bigoted opinions on our feed, but you, you don't need to listen if you want to have a bigoted opinion and you want to tell us all about it.
Speaker 3:I don't, I really don't care.
Speaker 2:We know you're out there.
Speaker 3:We don't have 47 million people listening. So really your opinion? Yeah, she's like an asshole.
Speaker 2:Everybody's got one, okay okay, okay, moving on, there is surviving footage of this appearance by martin and lawrence and they are uninhibited, wild and electric. Incredibly, when martin and lewis come to stage, ben crosby rushes off in fear. Crosby was terrified. Lew Lewis would pull his toupee off, yep, and he never reappeared when the boys were on stage. Oh man, men are funny so.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:In the early 1950s, lewis was asked to host a telethon for a little-known disease called muscular dystrophy. Lewis accepted and together with Martin put on the very first MD telethon. The two hosted other telethons together until their split as a team in 1956. Martin went on to other things, but Lewis never stopped in 1956. Martin went on to other things, but Lewis never stopped. Over the years he hosted several other four-hour muscular dystrophy telethons sans Martin, much shorter than the almost 24-hour telethons to which we over Labor Day weekend, and it broadcast from the Americana Hotel in New York. Some were skeptical about the success of the undertaking as many people were not home on Labor Day, but surprisingly the telethon was a huge success, raising just over $1 million.
Speaker 3:You know, that is pretty crazy.
Speaker 2:Like I don't know.
Speaker 3:It's the last weekend of summer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you'd think people would be out doing summer shit, yeah. But I'm also thinking back to when my kids were little and you did back then go to school the day after Labor Day, like that was always, so maybe you were home, you, you know it was put it on get getting ready yeah, getting lunches packed, getting back into a routine yeah, getting everybody to bed at a decent time, like all that stuff.
Speaker 2:So maybe I don't know. I don't know, but yeah, um. So jerry lewis's annual labor day telethons went on to raise more than $2 billion in donations to fight muscular dystrophy. Lewis claimed his goal each year was to get $1 more and I remember that, yes Than the previous year. The biggest single donations over the years and I remember this too have come from the Firefighters Association, who have given more than $250,000 to the cause. I always remembered it was a big deal when the firefighters came out to present their check. Nothing has hurt Lewis more than accusations that he has pocketed some of the donated money himself, which I don't believe that. But what do I know? He vigorously denies this claim and he even swears he has given seven million dollars out of his own pocket to the cause. He has been accused including by some who are stricken with md of exploiting his quote-unquote kids, portraying them as pitiable victims who just need a big charity to take care of or cure them. Lew Lewis has fought back against these charges too.
Speaker 3:I think the problem is is there's a such a fine line of exploitation and education?
Speaker 2:That and I know from personal experience with my career I I I have never had any issue with disabled people, but I didn't know disabled people and there are things that would offend them that you wouldn't realize. Like it's very condescending to say to them oh good for you, yeah, like, oh great, yay, you did it, like yeah. So I think maybe the intentions were good, but if you're going to do something like this, you need to educate yourself a little bit more on what you're dealing with. Yeah, and there are other problematic things we'll get to as we go. I'm shocked. Many of the biggest celebrities in show business have either hosted or appeared on Lewis's telethons over the years, including Frank Sinatra, sammy Davis Jr and three of the Beatles. In John Lennon's appearance with Waifu Okono, he stated Jerry is one of our favorite comedians.
Speaker 3:I feel like that's probably a lie.
Speaker 2:The ultra-reclusive, joe DiMaggio, came on to answer phones one year and even a US president, ronald Reagan, made an appearance. He's an actor, of course he did. Yeah, I was going to say.
Speaker 2:He's a celebrity, but the all-time highlight of telethon history was unequivocally the reunion of Jerry Lewis and his former partner, dean Martin in 1976, staged by their mutual friend Frank Sinatra. It was an incredible moment in television history, being Martin and Lewis's first public appearance together in 20 years. The two tearfully hugged, kitted around and cracked a few one-liners before Martin and Sinatra sang, after which Martin disappeared with a wave and a friendly ciao. Lewis has always worn his heart on his sleeve regarding his deep affection for his former partner. I think it's so funny they keep calling him his partner because apparently Martin was really bothered by it Because, while Martin was always Mr Macho and rarely displayed any kind of emotion in public. But if you watch the video, you will see Martin quickly sneak a brief kiss on Louis's cheek as they hug.
Speaker 3:Well, okay, but that's probably a cultural thing.
Speaker 2:I was going to say it was very commonplace. I mean, that's what Italians do. Yeah, a lot of Europeans do.
Speaker 3:Italians will kiss you square in the lips, yeah yeah, or both cheeks. My mom Coming hot, like if you don't kiss her on the lips, she's pissed. It's not just you kiss her on the lips.
Speaker 2:She's so cute, she will All right. And then one of my favorites, and I please tell me there wasn't any controversy around Ed McMahon.
Speaker 3:I don't think so.
Speaker 2:I don't think so either.
Speaker 3:I think I've never, I've never, I've never.
Speaker 2:Okay, good, because I always liked Ed McMahon. My dad was a huge Johnny Carson fan, so we watched a lot of that. And then, of course, ed McMahon was on the telethon for a lot of years. So in early 1973, the year I was born, lewis asked Ed McMahon to be his co-host for the show, and McMahon continued in that role, similar to his regular position as announcer and sidekick of the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Mcmahon was Lewis's announcer, voicing the intros and outros of each segment, welcoming corporate and charitable sponsors with their donations and calling for a roll of a timpani drum for each million-dollar mark passed on the tote board. Timpani drum for each million dollar mark passed on the tote board. Johnny carson, himself a longtime friend of lewis, surprised viewers by opening the 1970 telethon with a tonight show style monologue while lewis stood backstage, a role that carson repeated in 1991 and 1971 and 1972, until the telethon moved to Vegas. I want to go back to Vegas so bad I know We'll go soon. We'll make it work.
Speaker 3:Do you know what happened In Vegas? No, it stayed there. It stayed there, no. So you know that app that I just between you and me. You know that app that I gamble on, just between you and me.
Speaker 2:You know that app that I gamble on.
Speaker 3:They just added Texas Hold'em poker, I know, and there's only a $2 buy-in what yeah?
Speaker 2:Oh man, stop telling me things like that. All right, mcmahon, borrowing from Carson's prognosticating character, carmack the Magnificent, also made predictions on what the final total of funds raised would be, and from 1970 through 1979, he was spot on many years missing by as little as thousands of dollars. Considering the final tallies, the practice was abandoned after the 1982 telethon raised $2 million less than the previous year, which Lewis attributed to the severe 1980-82 recession that had gripped the US. The trend of taking a break during the telethon was started in 1985 by McMahon. Much like his role with Carson, mcmahon would co-host only when Lewis was hosting, with his duties as co-host filled in by others when Lewis was away. Mcmahon died June 23rd 2009. The 2009 edition of the telethon paid tribute to McMahon with a special video tribute, narrated by Lewis, which played during the first hour of the show I don't think I realized that ed mcmahon died in that long ago yeah, it keeps happening to me that I only realize people died, yeah, and sometimes I think of somebody.
Speaker 2:I'm like did they? Are they alive? Are you alive? Like how old? Would they even be? Let's see.
Speaker 2:Following the tribute, lewis introduced McMahon's wife, pamela, who was in the audience During the telethon for that year. Jan Carl assumed McMahon's duties during Lewis's hours on air, while Sean Parr billboarded the start and end of each segment. So here's the crazy part why did Jerry Lewis do it? Why did Jerry Lewis do it? You would assume, just with your basic knowledge, he had his sibling with muscular dystrophy. He had a niece or nephew. I don't know if he had any kids of his own, but it's none of that. So anyway, it's none of that.
Speaker 2:One of the biggest mysteries of all regarding his unceasing dedication to the Muscular Dystrophy Association is why does Jerry do it? Association is why does Jerry do it? Oddly, lewis has never revealed to anyone the exact reason. While no one may ever know the real reason, a little known story about Lewis is very telling. When he was two years old, lewis developed a strange and potentially crippling disease. According to Lewis, his beloved grandmother nursed him and, although a very strict Jew, cooked him bacon and crammed it into his mouth to help fight off the impending sickness. What potential disease it was, we have no idea, but Lewis has stated this story is true. If so, the frightening memory of a debilitating disease may have had at least some impact on his tireless work in the fight against muscular dystrophy.
Speaker 3:I'm going to tell you that that's exactly why I eat bacon.
Speaker 2:It's to stave off sickness.
Speaker 1:A piece of bacon a day, you cram it in there.
Speaker 3:A piece of bacon a day keeps the doctor away.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah, apples have too many pesticides on them. Fuck apples.
Speaker 2:They got worms the national muscular dystrophy association announced that in 2011, for the first time since 1966, jerry lewis would not be headlining the annual mda telethon for jerry's kids, after earning more than two billion dollars. The show was going on without him and I do remember when they took him off, but I don't remember any of this controversy. I assumed it was because he was very heavyset and pale and sweaty and looked awful in this last couple years that he did it Like by the end that's how he looked. So I mean, you're just too old for that, yeah, but every Labor Day, the annual Jerry Lewis MDA telethon was a national ritual. It marked the end of summer and the start of fall.
Speaker 2:The show and pledge drive was painful to watch at times, but also gave us many tear jerking moments At times. The teleth was must-see TV most of the duration, clocking in at 21 hours straight on live television. Lewis on stage puffing away constantly on a lit cigarette. It was an endless parade of D-list celebrities interspersed with agonizing promo pieces that critics insisted made the handicapped objects of pity. At its height in 1976, which was watched, at least in part, by 85 million people, the MDA telethon was bigger than the Tonight Show. Yeah, I mean, it was.
Speaker 3:I remember it being a thing. Yeah, I remember. I remember when I'm sure I watched it. I know Just like when they only had three channels. I remember when I'm sure I watched it. I know Just like we only had three channels, so it was really hard to not watch it.
Speaker 2:Like the Wizard of Oz was always a thing that came on once a year. We always watched that, yeah.
Speaker 3:You don't like the Wizard of Oz? No, oh, you're such a weirdo I know.
Speaker 2:Why it's a musical. Oh, fair.
Speaker 3:For one, okay, I didn't think. I love musicals, so I didn't think about that. For two, I don't know, I just it's too much. It's too, it's doing you, bro, you're doing too much. It's just too much, um I don't, it is a lot yeah, it is a lot um, I don't, I don't know Very acid trippy. It's not just that, it's just like it's long.
Speaker 2:I don't know, just doesn't catch your attention.
Speaker 3:No, never liked it. Yeah, the witch dies. I don't think that's right. They just murder. They murder both witches. Yeah, like she's just trying to get revenge on the fact that you dropped the fucking house on her sister and then took her sister's shoes.
Speaker 2:That's fucked up, man. It does kind of take away from it too, that not Liza Minnelli, her mom? Yeah, talk about problematic Judy Garland. Yes, thank you so much. Yes, I actually had to just stop thinking about it because I knew it wasn't going to come and I knew you'd get it, so I just waited for you.
Speaker 3:I don't know, I never got into it. I don't know why.
Speaker 2:I mean that's fair, I get it, I loved it though.
Speaker 3:But anyway.
Speaker 2:Judy Garland was like 12 when she filmed that and she lived on cigarettes and coffee. Yes, yeah, yeah, it's pretty awful.
Speaker 3:Probably cocaine.
Speaker 2:Oh, no doubt she has to stay awake with no food in her. That's true. I didn't let her eat no, so muscular dystrophy is still with us. It hasn't been cured.
Speaker 3:Great Jerry. What did you do then?
Speaker 2:Perhaps the power of these charity events and telethons, which is bringing special needs to the public's attention, is good, but it's better to be aware than ignorant, which is what we were talking about, and it's not your fault if you're ignorant to something you just don't have any exposure to it. But don't, be like well, they shouldn't say that. Or why can't I say that, like if they tell you, don't say it, don't fucking say it, don't fucking say it. Yeah, that's all. They don't have to explain to you why.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right. So what happened to all that money? Who got it and where did it go? Where did it go? Apparently, some of it went in Jerry Lewis's pocket. On average, mda telethons raised about 60 million a year, sometimes more dollar tote board on stage that was constantly upticking to a monetary goal and then, once certain thresholds were crossed, many new year's eve celebrations would break out while the audience cheered and the band played and confetti flew um, at least until the next 10 million dollar cycle was reached.
Speaker 3:I I remember. I think the thing I remember most is when, like they would bring him a piece of paper and he would read like yeah, that's what I remember uh, some live moments were riveting and cringeworthy all at the same time.
Speaker 2:Every few hours, it seemed, some local kid was invited up on stage clutching a piggy bank, or a seven-year-old forked over the entirety of her 42.65 in quarters d and nickels that she had raised for MDA by running a neighborhood lemonade stand. These instances were heartwarming but also bizarre, given the executive base salary of MDA's president's earning of half a million dollars a year.
Speaker 3:Get out. No way, stop it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this really broke my heart. I'll not look at the charity list.
Speaker 3:You know and here's the thing like about charities. Okay, I have certain charities that I give to. Those are the only chance, so don't be bugging me about any other charity I've already. I'm 50 fucking years old, I know what charities I want to give to.
Speaker 2:I don't want to round up. I don't want to give a dollar. I don't want to round up, I don't want to give a dollar.
Speaker 3:I don't want to do any of those things I have already chosen the two charities that I like to give to yes, so leave me alone about it.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately.
Speaker 3:I know for a fact that the one charity I like to give to is a little on the iffy side. However, the one charity that I like to give to, I may, in fact, someday need because of where I live. Okay, that's all I have to say about that. That is why I might actually have to use that charity at some point Yep, yep, gotcha and the other charity I give to. Oh, I was already a part of, I didn't need them.
Speaker 2:Yep Okay. So many advocates for the disabled, including some of Jerry's kids, came to despise the MDA telethon over time. Despite its best intentions, they claim the telethon used handicapped children as props. Some critics even claim the portrayal of victim children widened the divide between able-bodied people and the disabled. Some of the images that were shown even triggered fear, which is really weird. Unless it was triggering fear in the disabled kids, then that's different. I don't know what images they're talking about. There was also intense debate within MDA about diverting the public's attention to cures to normalize people with disabilities, which entirely ignored more urgent issues like providing accessible buildings, transportation, employment opportunities and other basic rights. It also paid little attention to adults, despite about 70% of all people with MD being adults. The telethon telethon solely promoted children and did not fully represent the real lives of people who lived with md.
Speaker 2:got it yeah, that makes sense it does, and this is what I'm talking about. You. You didn't get some people with md in the room and say, hey, how should we do this?
Speaker 3:um, it's kind of the same thing, I think, as the um the cochlear implant push. That was happening where some granted some deaf people are all for it. Some deaf people are like there's nothing wrong with me, right, stop pushing it I agree with that.
Speaker 2:It's like stop pushing it exactly. I don't want to hear what you have to say anyway. Yeah, still, it's hard to argue with the impact of the mda telethon and its legacy as a cultural force. The telethon, the marathon of a telethon, had a bit of everything, though it was often a tedious mess. We'd get the latest medical research updates, akira is just around the corner, stale celebrity interviews, a parade of public service announcements, guilt-inducing videos, off-key musical performances and lots of has-been stand-up comedy skits.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:I do remember that it was glorious at the time to me as a child how many comedians were shoved on stage by their agents to do decades-old acts and try to be funny. At 9.35 am, just moments after, everyone watched a gut-wrenching video of Jerry's kids pleading tearfully from wheelchairs. That made me laugh. The first time too, most of the MDA telethons were held in Las Vegas casinos, which I didn't realize as they were going through. They were talking about where it was held and it never occurred to me that it was at a casino. I don't know where I would have thought it would have been.
Speaker 3:I mean it makes sense because they usually have like a convention. Yeah, like I'm sure they're not doing anything. I don't remember, but maybe I do remember and that's what my gambling issue started.
Speaker 2:Blame it on Jerry Lewis, I like it.
Speaker 3:I am going to guess.
Speaker 2:And it had nothing to do with the fact that my parents took us to Atlantic City all the time. Well, my dad, my dad and stepmom took us to Seaside Heights in Jersey when we were little and there were slot machines right on the boardwalk. I mean just rows and rows and rows of nickel machines and all the fun things for kids to do, 10, 11, 12 years old. They'd set us free. You know, it was like that back then. We'd go get rolls of nickels and sit and play the slot machines. Yeah, we never had a chance. We really didn't.
Speaker 3:We really didn't.
Speaker 2:Lewis was sincere in his care, compassion, compassion and commitment to mda and the children. Unfortunately, he also made a number of controversial statements later in his life and was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. Shocker um that one never shocks me, I don't care who the person is.
Speaker 3:Um charges that severely tarnished his legacy sometimes I think about that and I'm like what celebrity would I just if I found out that they were.
Speaker 2:That was like a sexual harassment issue harassment or any sexual, because, kevin spacey's, that one kicked me really.
Speaker 3:I mean, I could see it, I think because he's, but like I think, if it were to come out about like tomanks, I think that would be very upsetting.
Speaker 2:Like David Letterman.
Speaker 3:Didn't he have one come out about him?
Speaker 2:He had an affair. He cheated on his wife. That's what it was.
Speaker 3:That's his business. Yeah, I don't know. I feel like some celebrities. It would just be devastating.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely yeah. And who has it been devastating? Um, I don't know, I don't know, but I do that. I don't know why this made me think of it, but eric kane is that his name from grace anatomy mcdreamy? Yeah, I saw that last night you saw that interview too yes I knew he was sick. I didn't know he was that sick already. No, it was so sad. He doesn't even look the same no, I wouldn't have recognized that's what I told amy.
Speaker 2:I was with her when I was watching it and I was like, if, if you wouldn't have told me that was him, I wouldn't have known that if you haven't watched gray's anatomy, here's the spoiler alert. His death is probably the saddest thing you'll ever see besides George's death.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah that show was filled with sad deaths that show was great for crying sure that show was great for that's a good show. I haven't.
Speaker 2:I know I've been thinking about going back.
Speaker 3:I have too, I just I don't know, I've tried to watch I think I'm a couple seasons behind and I've tried to watch.
Speaker 2:I think I'm a couple seasons behind and I've tried to go back and watch those, but it once sandra o left I just I think it lost it yeah, yeah, especially leaving it and trying to come back to it now I think I would need to go back and watch my og people.
Speaker 3:I think you have to start from.
Speaker 2:Yeah and then there's like 15 years of it, so it would be yeah, and I don't remember anything, so it would be all brand new to me, all brand new I remember that damn plane crash.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, and lex, I know okay, yeah I'm gonna start crying all right.
Speaker 2:So on may 1st 2015, mda announced that the 2014 show of strength would be the telethon's last broadcast. In announcing the end of the telethon's 49 year run, mda president and CEO Stephen Dirks noted the move was influenced by the realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving. By the realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving. Note the viral success of the Ice Bucket Challenge that built awareness and funds to combat ALS. Instead, mda will focus on new, creative and organic ways to raise support for the organization and its mission, including mobile and digital media. I think I saw that they have like a virtual telethon.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean part of the. So I think probably the problem now is there's like so many different causes to give your money to, to and unless you are, um, very familiar with a specific disorder, or right handicap or anything like that. I mean, I just don't think you would be able, not like you did by a 24-hour telephone right to sympathize not so much sympathize, but to really wrap your head around to give your money, yeah, um, so I think that's probably plus nobody's gonna watch it.
Speaker 2:I mean, nobody's gonna sit there and watch 24 hours no way, there's no way, yeah, so no, no one would definitely watch that now I don't have the patient. I put on the Macy's Day Parade for like 10 minutes and then I'm like okay, good enough.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just don't. I think people On to the next one.
Speaker 2:But like you said before, they had us cornered Like what else were you going to watch? Especially at two in the morning.
Speaker 3:And I think now, with everything being able to, I think you probably could, if you could find a way to go viral.
Speaker 1:I think that's the best way to do it at this point Like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Speaker 3:You know it was very effective.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, that was a fun challenge. I did it I don't usually get into things, I did it too.
Speaker 3:But Me and my little sister Elena. Oh, that's right, I remember that yeah. I let her dump bucket of ice on my head. No, I know.
Speaker 2:You would let her do anything. Yeah. So in 2016, lewis broke a five-year silence by appearing in an online video endorsing MDA's redesigned website, declaring that the work MDA started must go on. Declaring that the work mda started must go on. It would turn out to be his final mda appearance, as he died on august 20th, 19 or 2017, at the age of 91. I do remember when he died, see, and that's funny because, yeah, but yeah, reading through this and just really putting an adult perspective on it, I don't know how adults watched it.
Speaker 3:Like I said, as a kid, with the tally board and the confetti and the music, it was entertaining to me right, but at the time I mean we think that because we are adults now, with the 24-hour news and TikTok and everything, I mean we have the same issue. Yes, we remember back to those days but we have the same issue that the kids have now. Absolutely, our attention span only lasts the two minutes, three minutes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, there's so much to watch, We'll put a show on and we'll watch 10 minutes, look at each other and be like meh, I mean we've literally not given it a chance, I think.
Speaker 3:So you know, looking back, you know probably adults at the time I mean, it was also celebrities that they probably that is true, the crooners were really big.
Speaker 2:Yes, the crooners were yeah.
Speaker 3:And they were the brat pack. So so you know, I think a lot of people always wanted to know what they were doing and what was like the kardashians?
Speaker 2:yeah, it was like a a world that was foreign to most people, but so glamorous yeah and I'm sure it was not, but no, but the money and the clothes and the jewelry, the vegas drinks and yeah, yeah, it was pretty fancy, I guess, yeah, I, I guess I could see it being entertaining back then. I forget that everything was really cheesy back then well, and that's just it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like we've we have. I know I've said it on here. I don't know why we have these weird channels that are just like one show is the only thing on the channel, and it was anyway. We were watching Three's Company the other day. And you know, watching it back. Well, we, I remembered he did not remember that there was a spinoff that was Three's a crowd. And watching it back you're like I don't even know what was going on.
Speaker 3:I don't know, I just things were different then. Very so I think we're seeing it as a perspective of adults today. Fair enough, and we weren't adults then.
Speaker 2:And what was the song you said that he?
Speaker 3:Oh, You'll Never Walk Alone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you said, that's what Jerry Lewis sang at the end of each one.
Speaker 3:I don't remember that part I, I kind of do, but well, they probably ended it probably like prime time sunday, I would think um, that would make the most sense, although I don't know. Did you happen to say what station it was on? Was it on?
Speaker 2:all of them. I didn't put that in here, but yeah, it was on like 64 stations and then a bunch of other like smaller stations. It was on everything oh.
Speaker 3:Was it a specific network?
Speaker 2:Oh, like ABC yeah yeah, yeah, I did not see anything specific to that. Anything that I read, I don't remember.
Speaker 3:So I would imagine, because I know a lot of TV shows.
Speaker 2:I wonder if it was on all the channels. I don't know I mean there's one way to find that out.
Speaker 3:Came on ABC. We took a minute.
Speaker 2:We Googled it.
Speaker 3:It was on ABC and my guess. I didn't look this part up because it is really hard to find anything. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it ended right before the wonderful world of Disney started on a Sunday night Sounds about right. Yeah, that would be my guess, because also on ABC, which is funny because they own ABC now Disney.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it all comes full circle. It really does.
Speaker 3:Oh, speaking of that, I need to start writing things down. Did you see that the Muppet thing ended at Disney?
Speaker 2:No, yes, no yes.
Speaker 3:It's gone.
Speaker 2:Why and I?
Speaker 3:think they said Jim Henson's daughter was the last one to walk into.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah why would you take that out?
Speaker 3:they're putting something else up, I don't know what something for the new stupidly children's the new children's. I don't know I, but I did see that was ending and I I'm a huge Muppets fan, like just Me too. I don't know if he still listens, but our friend, we walked like I don't know it seemed like 47 miles in our docks, in the pouring ass, cold rain, to go watch the Muppet Christmas Carol. Oh goodness sakes, when we were in college Big Muppets.
Speaker 3:I in college big Muppets. I really loved the Muppets, me too. It was the first movie I ever saw.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I watched the show religiously. I bet if I watched it now I'd know most of the words to most of the songs they have it on.
Speaker 3:I think Disney, I think Disney Plus has it. I just I don't know Whatever. Enough about the Muppets.
Speaker 2:Yes, that closed.
Speaker 3:If you're going to Disney World, it's not there anymore, Don't even bother. Yeah, so ABC, I remember. I guess I guess I remember it. I think more than that. I remember Telephones were just a big thing then, See, I don I remember it. I think more than that I remember.
Speaker 2:Telephones were just a big thing then. See, I don't remember, oh, mpt had it.
Speaker 3:You all don't have the M in front of your. Pt, but I did your public television. They always had telephones, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Where you call and get this nice tote bag. No, they still do that. I know If you donate $25,.
Speaker 3:you too can have this nice tote bag, but the PBS does that. Yes.
Speaker 2:And NPR as well.
Speaker 3:Mine's MPT Maryland Public Television. Oh excuse me, but I forget it's also PBS.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't even think that NPR told me anything good this week. It's all just World War.
Speaker 3:III Good times yeah.
Speaker 2:Sorry, I tried not to go there.
Speaker 3:I know this one we decided figured was going to be short because A it's very difficult to find stuff and you know, last couple ones have been very, very long yes, so we'll give you a little break yeah, um, did you have anything else? Uh, nope about, she does love jerry lewis I, yeah, I think he's funny.
Speaker 2:I love Lucille Ball. She's into that, like I love all that stuff. Yeah, again, my dad watched a lot of that stuff too. Yeah, and if you want to see how cute our dads were when they were young, yeah, we have them up on the Facebook page.
Speaker 3:They were posted for Father's Day Me and my dad and her and her dad.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep, yeah, hanging out you can definitely see that I lived in a van and you can see I was a little fancy, always been fancy.
Speaker 3:I'm not going to lie. Actually, if you look at those pictures on the Facebook page, you will definitely see I look like a dirt ball and she is fancy.
Speaker 2:I have pin, street clean hair, pretty dress I had.
Speaker 3:I was rocking my dorothy camel haircut and cut off jeans and I was dirty so. So, speaking of that, you should check out our socials, because that's where you will see pictures of us as children, um, and pictures of us as adults, probably. I don't, I don't know, I don't really get on the facebook page much. I shouldn't say that, but that's her bag. So, like share rate review, find us where you listen to podcasts. Follow us on all the socials, please. Um, you can. No, I gotta think of something I didn't. If you would like to send us an email about jerry's kids, you can send it to like whatever pod at gmailcom or don't Like whatever.
Speaker 3:Whatever, bye.
Speaker 2:Bye, bye.
