Jerry Lewis No Longer MDA's National Chairman

[alp227]

Source: Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Comedian Jerry Lewis is no longer serving as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's national chairman and won't be appearing on this year's Labor Day telethon, the nonprofit agency announced Wednesday night.

Lewis, 85, has been the MDA's national chairman since the early 1950s and has hosted the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon since 1966.

He announced in May that he was retiring as host of the telethon that has become synonymous with his name. But Lewis added that he planned to make his final appearance on this year's Sept. 4, show and planned on continuing to serve as MDA's national chairman.

MDA Chairman of the Board R. Rodney Howell said in a statement that Lewis "will not be appearing on the telethon" and "we will not be replacing him as MDA national chairman."

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/08/04/us/AP-US-Jerry-Lewis-MDA.html

[global1]

1. Another Tradition That Will Be Missed......

Is nothing sacred anymore?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. It is wispered he is not the man he once was...

Unfortunate if true...

[Kaleva]

4. I've heard that his body and mind are slipping. Not surpising considering his age.

[No Elephants]

9. Age is not the issue as much as his lifestyle, including night club performer's hours, drinking,

smoking, many pratfalls and, in his later years, lots of painkillers.

Pulmony fibrosis lessens the body's supply of oxygen. Without oxygen, your brain and body do slip.

As a kid, I knew a couple of women over a hundred. They ate a Mediterranean diet, never smoked and one never dranked. One of them was physically weak--the one who lived alone and was sad--but both had sharp brains. I loved hearing their stories.

[exboyfil]

12. The last role I saw him in was

as Munch's uncle on Law and Order SVU. I thought he did an excellent job with it.

I remember as a kid loving his brand of humor. As I got older my tastes changed, and I can't say other than SVI when I last watched him.

My Christian grandmother who never smoked nor drank is about the same age as Jerry Lewis. She has been confined to a wheel chair for the last five years and is unable to do the most basic tasks like feeding herself. Her mind has also started to really fail now. Definitely did not eat a Mediterranean diet though. She has lived longer than my three grandparents who drank like fishes though.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[hughee99]

5. Can someone help me with this?

From the first sentence:
Comedian Jerry Lewis is no longer serving as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's national chairman

Quote from MDA chairman of the board:
"we will NOT be replacing him as MDA national chairman."

Is this just some proofreader at the times F'ing up their job, or is there some way both statements can be true?

[Tripper11]

6. The position goes away

At least that's what I think. In other words, when Jerry leaves, the door for that board position goes with it.

[the_chinuk]

7. The statements are not mutually exclusive ....

That he's deciding to retire from the "national chairman" position does not mean they have to hire someone to replace him. The national chair position may be, functionally speaking, ceremonial; while Jerry had undoubtedly had a lot of sway with the organization, the real organizational power might be with the MDA Board of Directors.

Also, they may choose to have power devolve to the board and its chairman.

[hughee99]

19. I understand that, but the original article didn't specify what was happening.

The link to the current article is from today, but the OP is from yesterday. What the NYT originally posted is gone (note the quote in the OP no longer appears in the article). Usually (or at least theoretically) after a journalist explains what ISN'T they follow up with some attempt at what IS, but I don't remember seeing any attempt at clarifying what the situation was. Since it is the NYT, shoddy journalism was my first instinct, and given they've already replaced the article with what appears to be almost a completely new one, that only makes me more convinced my initial instincts were correct.

[Lucinda]

10. Quoting the new MDA chairman that their won't be a new MDA chairman?

LOL Yar. Seems odd.

[SharonAnn]

13. "Chairman of the Board" is different from "National Chairman".

Chairman of the Board is an actual legal title and means head of the Board of Directors of an organization.

National Chairman is symbolic. It is often used as a way to put a "face" on the issue.

[harmonicon]

11. Journalism is dead.

Reporters don't do shit, and editors seem to not exist anymore. The idea that the New York Times should be treated as anything more than a waste of paper is laughable.

[No Elephants]

8. Well, he sure kept his promise, including the part about keeping the details surrounding it secret.

I remember watching the telethon as a starstruck kid and begging my father to let me phone in a pledge.


Good job, Jerry. Not many would have maintained that commitment that long.

[unkachuck]

20. "Not many would have maintained that commitment that long."

....absolutely....

[meegbear]

14. After hearing about this ...

I thought about when Ethel Kennedy died. The buzz, besides her death, was the fact that Ted didn't go the services. He died soon after.

Hearing he was going to make a final appearance, then have it pulled makes me think the worst for him health-wise.

[CTyankee]

16. Ethel Kennedy died? I went and looked it up on Wikipedia and there was no mention

of her death.

[meegbear]

17. You are absolutely correct ... my error ...

it was Eunice.

Thanks! :hi:

[CTyankee]

18. Thanks, whew! I was thinking that I really was losing it if I "forgot" that Ethel Kennedy

had died...

[vanbean]

15. Listen to me. I had a nephew that had muscular dystrophy. The help that my sister and BIIL got from

Jerry's organization was terrific. Don't bad mouth him. What he did was great. I've seen it. The man is a giant. Please give to Jerry's kids. Please. (I'm tearing up.)