Mr. Darcy
60 years ago today, the first Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was held the weekend of September 4-5, 1966, staged at New York's Americana Hotel and carried by a single local independent station, WNEW-TV. City officials had been reluctant to even issue a fundraising permit, skeptical the event would succeed given how many people traveled or stayed away from their televisions over the holiday weekend, and Lewis himself had already hosted smaller scale telethons and benefit specials for the cause going back to the 1950s, including one with former partner Dean Martin at Carnegie Hall in 1956.
The inaugural telethon proved the doubters wrong, raising $1,002,114, a total so far beyond expectations that the tote board, built to display only six digits up to $999,999, forced Lewis to physically paint a "1" in front of the number himself. The show repeated its success in 1967, raising $1,126,846, and by 1968 had expanded into a growing national "Love Network" of participating stations that eventually numbered more than 200.
Lewis went on to host the telethon every year through 2010, with the broadcast running up to 21 and a half hours from 1966 onward, starting the Sunday evening before Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon. By the time he stepped down, the telethon had raised more than $2 billion for the Muscular Dystrophy Association over its run, before the broadcast itself, renamed the MDA Show of Strength after Lewis's departure, ended entirely in 2014.
#JerryLewis #MDATelethon #September4
39 years ago today, September 5, 1987, "American Bandstand" was broadcast for the 2,751st and last time by ABC, after 30 years on the network. Host Dick Clark had refused the network's demand to cut the show from an hour to 30 minutes, ending its ABC run with an episode featuring a performance by Laura Branigan.
The show moved to first-run syndication two weeks later, on September 19, 1987, restored to its full hour length and taped at KCET's studios in Los Angeles with a new set resembling "Soul Train." Clark continued hosting until being replaced by comedian David Hirsch in 1989, and the series moved once more to the USA Network before airing its true series finale on October 7, 1989, 37 years to the day after the original "Bandstand" first premiered on Philadelphia's WFIL-TV in 1952.
#AmericanBandstand #DickClark #September5
💔🤕Bruce Campbell has revealed that he has been given a five-year prognosis following a diagnosis he announced earlier this year.
The Evil Dead star discussed his health during an appearance on The Adam Carolla Show this week, saying that he has “five years to live.” Campbell first revealed his diagnosis in March, though he has continued working and making public appearances.
Campbell, 68, has spent decades as one of horror’s most beloved cult icons, most famously playing Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise.
It’s a heartbreaking update from an actor who has given horror fans so many unforgettable performances. Our thoughts are with Bruce Campbell and his loved ones.
Amber Diva I will always miss blockbuster and Hollywood video