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From 1966 through 2014, The Jerry Lewis Mda Labor Day Telethon was associated with Labor Day weekend, so Turner Classic Movies has chosen this coming Labor Day, Sept. 4, to host a daylong marathon of films featuring the star, who died Sunday at the age of 91.

The lineup ranges from 1952’s The Stooge, in which Lewis starred with Dean Martin, to 1983’s The King of Comedy, in which Lewis was directed by Martin Scorsese.

The complete schedule follows:

TCM Remembers Jerry Lewis – Monday, Sept. 4

8:00 p.m. The Nutty Professor (1963) – A timid chemist discovers a potion...

Jerry Lewis, an actor and auteur who was one of the most influential forces in American comedy, died Sunday morning at his Las Vegas. He was 91.

"Legendary entertainer Jerry Lewis passed away peacefully today of natural causes at 91 at his home with family by his side," his family said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal writer John Katsilometes. No cause of death was announced.

In a career that spanned vaudeville, radio, television, film and philanthropy, Lewis established the persona of a manic, juvenile jokester, which belied darker, more self-lacerating elements below the surface,...

Filed under: Features

Another part of TV history is changing.

The Jerry Lewis Mda Labor Day Telethon, which just had its 45th annual show last month, has announced that starting next year the show will no longer be 21 hours long. Instead, the show will change to a six-hour primetime special format.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

It's hard to say how we should feel about this. On one hand, the telethon is a unique kind of television that they don't anymore, an annual show that runs over two days and is live and has both a strong national and local focus. On the other hand, they don't do telethons like this for other causes, and it seems like this is a relic of a TV era that has gone by (for better or worse).

 

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Comedy film icon Jerry Lewis was greeted with a standing ovation when he took the Kodak Theatre stage to accept a special Oscar for his longtime charitable endeavors.

Never nominated for an Oscar, the prolific multihyphenate was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Lewis said he was deeply touched by the honor.

"For most of my life, I've thought that doing good for someone didn't mean you would receive any commendation for an act of kindness -- until now," said Lewis, who has battled health problems in recent years and spoke in slow but strong voice. "This award touches me in the very depths of my soul."

Eddie Murphy presented the honorary Oscar to Lewis, whom he dubbed a "famous overgrown kid" who has drawn inspiration from children.

Jerry Lewis will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 81st Academy Awards, report the trades. The actor and comedian will receive the honorary Oscar statuette at the February 22 ceremony. Lewis, who made his screen debut with nightclub-act partner Dean Martin in 1949's My Friend Irma, began making local and national televised appeals on behalf of the newly founded Muscular Dystrophy Association during the early 1950s. He has been the organization's national chairman since 1952 and has spearheaded the annual Jerry Lewis Mda Labor Day Telethon, which has raised more than $2 billion, since 1966. Lewis starred alongside Martin in 16 films before establishing a solo career as a screen performer, director and producer with such films as The Bellboy, The Nutty Professor, The Disorderly Orderly and Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy. "Jerry is a legendary comedian who has not only brought laughter to millions around the world but has also...

Jerry Lewis finally is getting some respect from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose board of governors has voted to honor him with its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Although the prolific filmmaker never has been nominated for an Oscar, he will receive an Oscar statuette in recognition of his humanitarian efforts Feb. 22 during the 81st Annual Academy Awards ceremony.

"Jerry is a legendary comedian who has not only brought laughter to millions around the world but has also helped thousands upon thousands by raising funds and awareness for those suffering from muscular dystrophy," Academy president Sid Ganis said.

Lewis, who made his screen debut with nightclub-act partner Dean Martin in 1949's "My Friend Irma," began making local and national televised appeals on behalf of the newly founded Muscular Dystrophy Assn. during the early 1950s. He has been the organization's national chairman since 1952 and has spearheaded the annual...