MDA telethon moves to ABC

[Mario500]

The news about the national telethon for this year reminded me of WEAR-TV (the ABC affiliate in Pensacola, Florida) broadcasting the national telethon for 1979 along with segments from a local telethon held in Mobile, Alabama.

 

[rwells2265]

The trouble is...who are the Sinatras and Dean Martins of today? How many artists are hugely popular recording stars who can perform equally at ease in nightclubs or arenas as well as act, do comedy and (in the case of Sammy Davis, Jr.) dance?

You could book today's biggest heritage acts (Streisand, Neil Diamond, Liza Minelli, Elton John, Bette Midler, Celene Dion) and still not get that kind of star power (though Streisand, Liza and Bette come close).

Could you be more specify the person with the name in bold letters? I'm sure there are other entertainers with the same name.

That's right. I too was confused by the above post. Glad to know Mr. Hagerty cleared it up, because I wondered if he was talking about Jimmy Bob Bubba Streisand, who hosted the MDA Telethon for decades on Channel 37 out of Seminole, Alabama. That amazing little station was a legend on the Gulf Coast. Jimmy Bob Bubba did the news, the weather, was kiddie-show icon "Ira The Intern" playing old Krazy Kat cartoons ... also hosted a fishing show on the weekend, and somehow found time to be Yodeling Yuri, playing subtitled foreign horror movies on Saturday night.

But we won't talk about his short-lived reign as Romper Room schoolmarm "Miss Helga."

Say what you will, but Jimmy Bob Bubba was an unforgettable character. Had that nose which runs in the Streisand family.

Ahhhh, memories light the corners of my mind.........

/sarcasm

--Russell

 

[michael hagerty]

The trouble is...who are the Sinatras and Dean Martins of today? How many artists are hugely popular recording stars who can perform equally at ease in nightclubs or arenas as well as act, do comedy and (in the case of Sammy Davis, Jr.) dance?

You could book today's biggest heritage acts (Streisand, Neil Diamond, Liza Minelli, Elton John, Bette Midler, Celene Dion) and still not get that kind of star power (though Streisand, Liza and Bette come close).

Could you be more specify the person with the name in bold letters? I'm sure there are other entertainers with the same name.

That's right. I too was confused by the above post. Glad to know Mr. Hagerty cleared it up, because I wondered if he was talking about Jimmy Bob Bubba Streisand, who hosted the MDA Telethon for decades on Channel 37 out of Seminole, Alabama. That amazing little station was a legend on the Gulf Coast. Jimmy Bob Bubba did the news, the weather, was kiddie-show icon "Ira The Intern" playing old Krazy Kat cartoons ... also hosted a fishing show on the weekend, and somehow found time to be Yodeling Yuri, playing subtitled foreign horror movies on Saturday night.

But we won't talk about his short-lived reign as Romper Room schoolmarm "Miss Helga."

Say what you will, but Jimmy Bob Bubba was an unforgettable character. Had that nose which runs in the Streisand family.

Ahhhh, memories light the corners of my mind.........

/sarcasm

--Russell

Where's the "Like" button?

 

[hubcity]

ABC should run a Jerry Lewis Movie before AND After the Telethon. Or a couple of 1/2 hour shows of his.

the MDA doesn't want to be associated with Jerry anymore, and they don't even refer to it as a telethon anymore

Well, to be fair, it really isn't a telethon anymore. But to MDA's credit, their history of the annual broadcast is quite detailed, and doesn't downplay Jerry Lewis' role - but, unlike histories they published prior to his departure, it does mention how much of a role Dean Martin played in the early years. Martin & Lewis even did one in 1956 after the announcement of their breakup. (It's in need of an update to include this year's news, though.) Here's that link:

http://mda.org/about/telethon-history

Whether or not former "Love Network" stations choose to air Jerry Lewis movies against this year's broadcast is, I suppose, up to them...

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

Charleston has run it on WCSC Channel 5 for decades, dating back to the late 1960s. They made a lot of money from the local telethon every year. It is probably sad for them that they've lost the rights.

They're not the only ones who'll lose out. Stations like WGN/Chicago...

I never cared for how WGN broadcast the telethon (at least in the 80s and 90s, can't speak for recent airings). They would carry the first two hours live, cut to their hour-long Sunday newscast, then resume the telethon on a 1-hour delay.

In markets where the broadcasts overlapped with a local "love network" affiliate, you could watch the same segment twice (live on the local affiliate, delayed on WGN).

I could understand running the 3rd hour of prime time immediately following the news, but I think it would have made sense (and probably gone unnoticed by viewers) if they had played catch-up to the live telecast at some point in the early morning hours.

In Evansville, WFIE-14 traditionally carried MDA wall-to-wall, and it was always a big deal for them. Sad to hear that part of history will go by the wayside as the program jumps to WEHT (which, incidently, is one of the few stations in the US that continues to broadcast the Easter Seals telethon)

 

[azumanga]

I never cared for how WGN broadcast the telethon (at least in the 80s and 90s, can't speak for recent airings). They would carry the first two hours live, cut to their hour-long Sunday newscast, then resume the telethon on a 1-hour delay.

I could understand running the 3rd hour of prime time immediately following the news, but I think it would have made sense (and probably gone unnoticed by viewers) if they had played catch-up to the live telecast at some point in the early morning hours.

I believe, at least in the later years, was how WGN did it -- go back to a live feed overnight, then cut for a couple of hours for baseball, then back to Jerry afterward on a delay. In recent years before the cutbacks, WGN started the telethon at 11PM ET / 10PM CT, on a two-hour or so delay ("or so", as they have a local live intro for a few minutes before going to Vegas), then going live overnight, then baseball, then the rest on tape.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

In Evansville, WFIE-14 traditionally carried MDA wall-to-wall, and it was always a big deal for them. Sad to hear that part of history will go by the wayside as the program jumps to WEHT (which, incidently, is one of the few stations in the US that continues to broadcast the Easter Seals telethon)

The Easter Seals Telethon is a local production of WEHT. I'm not aware of any other stations carrying such a telethon.

WEHT also produces a "Santa's Clothes Club" telethon in mid-November. I was pleased that Nexstar has continued both telethons after buying the station in 2011.

 

[crainbebo]

I remember watching Jerry Lewis' last telethon via WGN America (2010). It started at 8PM PT and was a heck of a lot better to watch than my local affiliates. I was visiting with relatives in Yakima at the time and for local cut-ins they were on KAPP-35/KVEW-42 (ABC), which aired MDA from 7AM-5PM. None of that toteboard, Jerry Lewis, "You'll Never Walk Alone", etc. anymore.

-crainbebo

 

[soundsandsports]

In Evansville, WFIE-14 traditionally carried MDA wall-to-wall, and it was always a big deal for them. Sad to hear that part of history will go by the wayside as the program jumps to WEHT (which, incidently, is one of the few stations in the US that continues to broadcast the Easter Seals telethon)

The Easter Seals Telethon is a local production of WEHT. I'm not aware of any other stations carrying such a telethon.

WEHT also produces a "Santa's Clothes Club" telethon in mid-November. I was pleased that Nexstar has continued both telethons after buying the station in 2011.

WSMV-4, an NBC affiliate in Nashville, TN had the Easter Seals Telethon for at least the first third of my life, and it went away sometime during the mid 90s.

 

[nathannah]

In Evansville, WFIE-14 traditionally carried MDA wall-to-wall, and it was always a big deal for them. Sad to hear that part of history will go by the wayside as the program jumps to WEHT (which, incidently, is one of the few stations in the US that continues to broadcast the Easter Seals telethon)

The Easter Seals Telethon is a local production of WEHT. I'm not aware of any other stations carrying such a telethon.

WEHT also produces a "Santa's Clothes Club" telethon in mid-November. I was pleased that Nexstar has continued both telethons after buying the station in 2011.

WSMV-4, an NBC affiliate in Nashville, TN had the Easter Seals Telethon for at least the first third of my life, and it went away sometime during the mid 90s.

That's when it went away for me on WVTV in Milwaukee too, though it had become more of a rare film marathon with pledge appeals during the commercial breaks. About 1999 I remember was the last time the Children's Miracle Network had their Osbourne-heavy telethon too before they tried different formats for a few years. Now they do most of their fundraising via special summer days with Dairy Queen and radiothons rather than telethons.

These days the only telethons I see are the local long-running Cerebral Palsy telethon on WBAY in Green Bay, and an annual three hour sports memorabilia auction for the local MACC Fund for Childhood Cancer on WTMJ in Milwaukee.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

All day telethons are obsolete in the age social media. The only all day long telethon now is probably the 700 Club telethon the week before the Super Bowl that ABC Family is contractually obligated to air. The MDA telethon is still enough of an event to some people, even without Jerry. Will the MDA eventually just abandon the Sunday before Labor Day telethon and just do semi annual infomercials like St Jude's?

 

[umfan]

I doubt it. The MDA has been long associated with Labor Day so I see a two hour event each year on that weekend to highlight the organization. There will likely be a crawl at the bottom for local chapter numbers as well as webcasts offered by local chapters. It may move from network to network each year, but I see an event like this years being the new standard for MDA for some time to come.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

I doubt it. The MDA has been long associated with Labor Day so I see a two hour event each year on that weekend to highlight the organization. There will likely be a crawl at the bottom for local chapter numbers as well as webcasts offered by local chapters. It may move from network to network each year, but I see an event like this years being the new standard for MDA for some time to come.

MDA still wants to associate itself with Labor Day but not JL?