Jerry Lewis to retire as host of Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual Labor Day telethon

Jerry Lewis, a legendary entertainer and humanitarian who has served as the host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual Labor Day telethon for 45 years, has announced that he is retiring after this year’s event.

“As a labor of love, I’ve hosted the annual telethon since 1966, and I’ll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’” Lewis, 85, said in a statement issued on the MDA’s official website.

“I’ll continue to serve MDA as its National Chairman – as I’ve done since the early 1950s. I’ll never desert MDA and my kids.”

The telethon will be reduced this year from 21 hours to six. Several high-profile co-hosts, including American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, The Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney, and Entertainment Tonight correspondents Nancy O’Dell and Jann Carl, have signed on to share duties with Lewis.

An MDA spokesman addressed the new format by saying that the changes have been made in an attempt to attract more star power and have the telethon carried by more networks.

“Jerry Lewis has done so much to inspire, all of us who've been privileged to work beside him, and the hundreds of thousands throughout the world affected by the myriad of muscle diseases MDA battles, will acknowledge in our hearts forever the unrivaled role Jerry has played in our lives and the lives of all Americans,” MDA president and chief executive Gerald Weinberg said of Lewis’ departure, according to The Chicago Tribune.