Surprising that the media's not making more of the news of the death of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, or looking into why the Muscular Dystrophy Association is trumpeting the news on its website with a photo of telethon supporting player Jann Carl and not Jerry Lewis himself. Is it a signal Jerry's being pushed aside? His startling display at last month's disappointing, low-wattage event was viewed with horror by many, and his comments about smacking Lindsay Lohan in the mouth days before the telethon were seen as an old man's crazy talk? The story's definitely worth looking into, and we'd figure editors who've grown up with the telethon as we all have would be making hay with this passing.
Back in the day, Jerry would scoff at telethon hosts who wouldn't stay awake and working for the entire 21 hour stretch, and the chopping of the cultural tradition to a bite-sized six hours on a Sunday night that won't even be live for most of the nation is a major cultural milestone, more so than John Lennon's 70th birthday.
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