[tomder55]

Listened to Tony Orlando on radio this weekend. He does the NY regional telecast of the Jerry Lewis annual MDA telethon. He brought up an interesting thing that is clearly an oversight. Lewis has done this telethon since 1966 ;this year being his 44th years doing it. As of 2009, the telethon had raised $2.45 billion since its inception.
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Add to that his contributions to American entertainment ;(which is too extensive to list here... but you can get an idea of his contribution to entertaninment here The Official Jerry Lewis Comedy Museum and Store
Suffice it to say that there isn't a modern physical comic that hasn't imitated his technique );

And then ask yourself why he has not received the Presidential Medal of Freedom ?


No doubt he will eventually receive this prestigious award. The question then is why should he receive it posthumously ?
I have no idea how to start a drive to get this done . But I know that if places like Facebook can revive Betty White's career ,then there are means for the public to address this .

While I wait for this to happen .I will leave this song that Jerry Lewis sings at the end of his 27 hour marathon every year on Labor Day. It is a song of hope ;and many of us can use the strength in it's message.
From the musical 'Carousel ' sung by Elvis .

YouTube - You'll Never Walk Alone - Elvis Presley

[bleusong52]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Jerry has never wavered on his mission for researching a cure for Muscular Dystrophy. Maybe people who would love to see Jerry Lewis receive that medal should start petitioning their congressmen. Where does one start?

[Catsmine]

Me three! As the head of a household afflicted by this scourge, I'd like to nominate him for canonization, despite his being an a$$ in person.

[bleusong52]

Lol. Yes, he can be the a$$ in person and he is not shy about it either. Met him in the Summer of 1976, I was working as a summer intern for MDA. I give him a lot of credit for what he does for MDA and his zeal is phenomenol.

I do hope that MDA has personally helped you, Catsmine.

So I have a question about when Dean Martin came to the telethon - was that in '76? Frank Sinatra was singing and then told Jerry he had a friend who admired Jerry's work with MDA and then brought Dean out. Was that rehearsed? Was it a peaceful reunion? It looked like on screen...

[tomder55]

You are correct it was'76 .

As Martin and Lewis embraced, the audience erupted in cheers and the phone banks lit up, resulting in one of the telethon's most profitable years. Lewis reported the event was one of the three most memorable of his life. Lewis brought down the house when he quipped, “So, you working?” Martin, playing drunk, replied that he was “at the Meggum” – this reference to the MGM Grand Hotel convulsed Lewis. This, along with the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin a few years later, helped to bring the two men together. They maintained a quiet friendship but only performed together again once, in 1989, on Dean's 72nd birthday.

The link below has the video:
Sunday Echoes: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Reunion Surprise At MDA Telethon CAFFEINATED POLITICS

[speechlesstx]

Let's just do it. Start a FB campaign... I'm in.

Invite your friends, get it rolling.

Jerry for the PMOF award

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, I do work and help with MDA every day. They do a wonderful work. It was so sad that they had to cut funding to help people this year..

[excon]

Hello tom,

If Jerry Lewis did this out of the goodness of his heart, I'd support him. But, he makes a fortune off this charity.

excon

[tomder55]

Spreading more urban legends ?
snopes.com: Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy

[NeedKarma]

As much as I'd like to support him I don't want people here to have access to my FB info.

[excon]

spreading more urban legends ?

Hello again, tom:

Nope. Because I'm the one who set up his charity in the Cayman Islands... Yup. Me personally. Now, I don't know how much he makes if anything. But, he has the OPPORTUNITY to take millions, and I'll bet he does. That IS, after all, WHY it was set up in the Cayman Islands in the first place...

excon

[speechlesstx]

So who is lying to us, Jerry, snopes, MDA? All of the above?

[excon]

So who is lying to us, Jerry, snopes, MDA? All of the above?

Hello again, Steve:

All I know, is what I know. You draw your own conclusions.

excon

[tomder55]

Hello again, tom:

Nope. Because I'm the one who set up his charity in the Cayman Islands... Yup. Me personally. Now, I don't know how much he makes if anything. But, he has the OPPORTUNITY to take millions, and I'll bet he does. That IS, after all, WHY it was set up in the Cayman Islands in the first place...

excon

So in other words ,you have no evidence that he collects as much as a dime from the MDA .

Unless you can provide something besides speculation I have no reason to suspect anything other than what MDA publicly provides . Lewis is listed as a NON-PAID honorary member of the board. The salaries of the rest of the officers are all public knowledge. Neither Lewis ,nor any of the celebs who volunteer receive any compensation

[excon]

Neither Lewis ,nor any of the celebs who volunteer receive any compensation

Hello again, tom:

Yeah, right... Snicker, snicker... Bwa, ha ha ha.

excon