The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an annual telethon held the night before and through Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in 1950 with hopes of gaining the American public's interest. The show was hosted by comedian, actor, singer and filmmaker Jerry Lewis from its 1966 inception until 2010. The history of MDA's telethon dates back to the 1950s, when the Jerry Lewis Thanksgiving Party for MDA raised funds for the organization's New York City area operations. The telethon was held annually on Labor Day weekend beginning in 1966,"MDA's 'Love Network' has a rich, vital history," from Quest, 7/1/2005 and raised $2.45 billion for MDA from its inception through 2009.()"Jerry Lewis is still going the distance", from Los Angeles Times, 9/3/2010$1.1 billion thru 1991

For most of its run, the telethon was syndicated nationwide to individual local television stations, regardless of network affiliation, and aired for up to 21 hours starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon of the holiday itself.Why Did Jerry Lewis Leave the Telethon?; Zoglin, Richard; Time; Aug. 16, 2012 MDA called its network of participating stations that aired the telecast, the "Love Network". The show originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the years it was broadcast. Beginning in 2011 and coinciding with Lewis's departure, MDA radically reformatted and shortened the telethon's format into that of a benefit concert, airing exclusively on the Sunday evening before Labor Day and shortening the length of the special each successive year. The 2011 edition reduced the telecast to six hours, and was syndicated to approximately 160 television stations throughout the United States on September 4. Nigel Lythgoe, Jann Carl, Alison Sweeney and Nancy O'Dell were brought on as co-hosts and shared hosting duties for that year’s edition.

Successive telethons from 2012 to 2014 ran under the new title MDA Show of Strength and further reduced the show's airtime. The 2012 edition, which aired on Sunday, September 2, ceased referring to the broadcast as a "telethon" and was reduced to a three-hour, primetime-only broadcastMDA Press Release: "MDA Names R.A. Clark as Executive Producer of 2012 Show", February 10, 2012. airing at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time; that year’s edition was televised live only in the Eastern and Central time zones, and tape delayed in the rest of the country.Per MDA Show of Strength website The 2013 Show of Strength, airing on Sunday, September 1, and running for two hours, discontinued the broadcast’s long-standing syndication distribution format and aired for the first time as a national network telecast on ABC. The final edition aired on ABC on August 31, 2014, again as a two-hour special, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. On May 1, 2015, the MDA announced that it would discontinue the annual event. The MDA revisited the national telethon concept on October 24, 2020 and again in 2021 with a new social media-based telethon, The MDA Kevin Hart Kids Telethon.MDA Press Release: "Muscular Dystrophy Association Announces Relaunch of Iconic Telethon Hosted by Actor & Comedian Kevin Hart"

History

Prior to 1966 Jerry Lewis began hosting telethons to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Associations of America (MDAA) in 1952 after a plea from a staff member who worked with Lewis and Dean Martin on The Colgate Comedy Hour. Lewis had previously taken part in what has been described as the very first telethon, a marathon 1951 broadcast benefiting a cardiac hospital that was organized by Budd Granoff, which featured the Martin and Lewis comedy team, who were his clients at that time.First Telethon Retrieved 5 Jan 2015.

The MDAA benefit broadcasts first originated from a variety of locations in New York City in 1954, as local telethons seen exclusively on WABD (later WNEW-TV and now WNYW) or WABC-TV, who donated their broadcast time for the event. Lewis hosted several four-hour shows in the New York area and elsewhere to benefit MDAA and promote the battle against muscular dystrophy during the later 1950s and early 1960s. By the mid-1960s, the success of those shows convinced MDAA to stage a telethon to support MDA's New York efforts, with Lewis agreeing to host the big event when approached by the organization.

According to the MDA's website, on December 28, 1951, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis concluded their popular NBC show with a special appeal to support muscular dystrophy research. MDA's website additionally states that the second national appeal was during its January 4, 1952 network radio program.

MDA's website lists five early local MDA telethons: Cleveland on March 7, 1952; Atlanta on June 6 and 7, 1952; Washington, D.C., on December 26 and 27, 1952; Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 27 and 28, 1953; and Madison, Wisconsin on September 12 and 13, 1953. These telethons did not star or feature Jerry Lewis, but were hosted by other stars such as Dick Van Dyke, Robert Alda, Virginia Graham, and Al Hodge in character as Captain Video.

On June 29 and 30, 1956, Martin and Lewis hosted an MDAA telethon called The Martin and Lewis Roundup, live from Carnegie Hall. The pair ended their comedy partnership a month later, and Lewis was named national chairman of MDAA later that year. Lewis went on to host Thanksgiving Day telethons in 1957 and 1959.

1966 through the 1970s By the mid-1960s, organizers of the telethon chose Labor Day weekend to stage their event, as it was the only time frame made available to hold it. Many, however, expected the Labor Day broadcast would fail, as many people would have traveled out of town and/or be away from their television sets during the holiday weekend; even New York City officials were skeptical that it would succeed, which made them reluctant to issue a fund-raising permit to the MDAA, though one would indeed be granted at the urging of Robert Ross, MDAA's then-Executive Director.

The first MDA Labor Day Telethon was held the weekend of September 4 and 5, 1966. Broadcast by local independent station WNEW-TV, the event was staged at New York's Americana Hotel, with a stage featuring a talk show-style desk and seating area for Lewis and performers, a performance area for a 19-piece jazz band, phone banks, and a large tote board to keep track of donations received. Proving the doubters wrong, the event was so successful that Lewis had to climb a ladder and paint a seventh digit, a "1," on the six-digit tote board when the final total reached $1,002,114 ($9,991,695.17 in 2025 dollars.) The show repeated its success in 1967, raising $1,126,846 ($10,898,962.47 in 2025 dollars.)

Emboldened by positive word of mouth generated from the telethon's success in attracting both donations and celebrity appearances, the event's organizers sought out a wider audience in 1968 by offering a live broadcast to stations outside the New York City market. Before that, however, approval needed to be gained from the Theater Authority, an organization that represented theatrical-related talent unions whose permission was required before their membership could perform at benefits, such as telethons, without reimbursement. MDA gained the Theater Authority's permission and proceed to form a family of stations that was later billed as "The Love Network." Joining WNEW-TV in that 1968 telecast were: WGR-TV in Buffalo, New York (known today as WGRZ) WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York WKBG-TV in Boston, Massachusetts (known today as WLVI-TV) WTEV in New Bedford, Massachusetts (known today as WLNE-TV) WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire

Buoyed by the Love Network's reach, the 1968 Labor Day Telethon generated $1,401,876 in donations. Though the original intent was for the stations to carry the entire 1968 telethon broadcast, breaking only for mandatory station identifications, WHEC-TV chose to break away for a few minutes every hour to show Rochester area volunteers taking donation calls. As a result, WHEC-TV generated more proceeds than the other Love Network stations. With WHEC's move, the "local cutaway" was born: from that point forward, every Telethon broadcast granted local stations cutaway time, usually five or ten minutes per hour, to allow local celebrities, volunteers, and sponsors to highlight fundraising efforts and the services MDAA provided at the local level, with the intention of building local goodwill toward MDAA, its local chapters, and the Love Network stations. The cutaways became an integral part of every MDA Telethon broadcast during its syndication run, an approach later duplicated by other nationally-syndicated charitable telethons.

By 1970, the MDA Labor Day Telethon was seen nationwide on 64 stations, including the addition of Los Angeles and San Francisco stations to the Love Network roster, making the 1970 event the first telethon seen from coast to coast. Proceeds from the 1970 event totaled $5,093,385. The show continued to gain popularity and major stars through the next two years, helped in part by the Theater Authority permanently lifting its ban on nationwide telethon performances by its members in 1970 (at the MDA's appeal).

In 1973, with 150 Love Network stations in tow, the telethon moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where it originated at the Sahara Hotel. That year, Lewis explained the mission of the MDA with his comment: "God goofed, and it's up to us to correct His mistakes." The 1973 telethon was also when the event broke the $10 million mark for the first time (the final tote being $12,395,973). Co-host Ed McMahon made an on-air prediction that donations would surpass $10 million (one digit more than the seven digits the Solari tote board could accommodate); at the moment it did, he came on stage to tell Lewis, "I have a brush, and I have some paint..." and Lewis repeated his 1966 stunt by painting a "1" on the board, this time punctuating it by wiping the paintbrush up and down the front of his tuxedo in celebration. An additional Solari number flipper was added the next year, allowing a display of under $100 million.

In 1976, the Love Network grew to a peak of 213 stations, effectively making it America's fourth major television network, if only for 21 hours. The 1976 telethon was also perhaps the most memorable one in the MDA's history, highlighted by the emotional reunion of Jerry and his former partner, Dean Martin, arranged by frequent telethon guest and mutual friend Frank Sinatra. It was the first time Martin and Lewis were seen together publicly since they separated their act in 1956. The 1976 telethon also was one of the most-watched, drawing more than 85 million viewers, according to the A.C. Nielsen ratings service.

In 1979, donations were a record $30 million.

1980s–1990s