shoop and the dead telethon

The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon was a major milestone for me as a kid. It not only put the final nail in summer's coffin, but it helped me to learn to be concerned for People With Problems. Growing up, you either pretty much had to watch it, since nothing else was on, or you had to do something else, like go outside or read a book.

Watching it this year was just sad. Ed McMahon's gone, and Jerry himself didn't make an appearance while I was watching--just a bunch of co-hosts with whom I'm not familiar. The contrast was that much more glaring when they showed clips from old telethons for the Las Vegas lead-ins. There was Jerry, doing that matchless goofball physical shtick with the Russian boys folk choir, or even trading weak jokes with Milton Berle. And you see what's missing: Old Show Biz. Between the public service announcements and the presentation of various checks from 7-11 management and Knights of Columbus officers, you had all of Jerry's friends and acquaintences from radio, TV, the Catskills, and Vegas, doing their stuff. There was Norm Crosby and his malapropisms, which always made Dad crack up. There were Sinatra and Sammy, and Charo doing her cootchie-cootchie thing. And major movie stars and up-and-coming performers wanted to be there, too. Sometimes you were actually watching it to see a favorite performer--that didn't always work out, because they might have been on past your bedtime, or worse, they might have been on during the local cut-aways (I'll always remember my disappointment as the show returned to Vegas just in time to see the Hudson Brothers making their exit.)

And now? Not even Disney or Nickelodeon stars show up. The anonymous hosts pass the introductions back and forth as they make no impression whatsoever. Jerry could be obnoxious and in-your-face, and he sang way too much for his (or the viewers') own good, but he certainly made an impression. I paid up as I usually do, but it's not the same.

Let's hear tympani, Ed.