Old-timey comedian Jerry Lewis has a big heart. An avid activist in the fight against muscular dystrophy, the 82-year-old living legend will be broadcasting his 42nd annual telethon come Labor Day.

Sadly, despite the guy's great intentions, it might be in his best interest to throw in the towel and hand the baton to someone like, say, Ryan Seacrest or...well, yeah, Ryan Seacrest. Clips from the telethon in its infancy provide proof that it may have once been, indeed, a respectable forum in which Jerry helped could raise awareness about muscular dystrophy.

And while his eagerness to transform the lives of and possibilities for disabled children is nothing less than admirable, the rocky moments of more recent years, plucked from the annual 21.5 hour circus, seem to only keep growing (at least according to the YouTube canon):

  • Arena rockers KISS are either really uncomfortable on camera or testing a drug they'll soon be filming another PSA to warn kids about.


  • Jerry's quite the ham, and in filming a commercial for a Pittsburgh affiliate in 1979, you can hear that the crew is really on board with the comedian's antics...or just plain terrified.

  • Ed McMahon makes us sad. If there's anything we don't want to see, it's Ed McMahon drool, especially when talking about how he can't feel his arm. ::sigh::

  • Um, does Jerry hate Ed McMahon or is this how old people kid around?

  • Even after all these years, Jerry's still crankin' out terribly awkward Japanese jokes like nobody's business.

  • Last year was an especially notorious show after Jerry worked a, um, pretty harsh slur into his routine.

This year, Jerry might want to think before he speaks. In fact, if it were up to us, we'd play it safe and air 21.5 hours straight of our favorite telethon performer ever, smooth jazz saxaphonist Mindi Abair.