By Lee Pfeiffer
It was no secret that 85 year old Jerry Lewis had planned to limit his participation in the annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. He said as much last year, but promised to stay on as MDA chairman and also make an appearance to sing You'll Never Walk Alone on this year's show. That signature finale on every MDA telethon over the last 50 years is always a very moving moment, with Lewis often getting choked up during the song. However, last month Lewis announced he had basically severed ties with the MDA- an organization he had raised over $1 billion for. Reasons for the parting of ways are the subject of speculation. MSNBC commentator Lawrence O'Donnell, host of the political show The Last Word, had a scathing segment on his program last month in which he said that Lewis had been unceremoniously dumped by the MDA. Lewis has not issued any comment on the matter, simply saying he is "retired". However, Lewis is not retired- he's making a new movie. Thus, there appears to be hard feelings regarding his departure from MDA activities. Did he jump or was he pushed? Despite Lewis' absence, this year's Labor Day Telethon earned a record $61 million- an incredible feat during a recession -especially since the telethon was streamed to only six hours this year. Nevertheless, as O'Donnell pointed out, the shear sentiment of seeing Lewis' last telethon appearance could have made those numbers even bigger. For baby boomers, his MDA telethon remains a part of their lives. The ratings would have been sky high and his graceful departure from the show would easily have become one of the great moments in TV history. For more click here