Jerry Lewis: A 59-year association with the MDA draws to a close

A surprise birthday cake is given to Jerry Lewis for his 57th birthday on March 16, 1983. Presenting the cake is Muscular Dystrophy Assn. poster child Geoffrey McWilliams. At left, at the table, is Lewis’ bride, Sandee. Lewis had recently had double bypass heart surgery.   (Wally Fong / Associated Press)

President Ronald Reagan, left, poses with Christopher Rush, the Muscular Dystrophy poster child, 6, from Rochester, Mich., and his parents, Richard and Dorie Rush, with MDA chairman Jerry Lewis in the Oval Office on April 5, 1983.   (Barry Thumma / Associated Press)

Entertainer Jerry Lewis makes his opening remarks at the 25th anniversary of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon on Sept. 2, 1990.   (Julie Markes / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis is joined by co-host Leeza Gibbons during the 27th MDA television fundraiser in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1992. The annual Labor Day telethon raised a record $45.8 million.   (Craig Fujii / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis watches Liza Minnelli, her image seen on the monitor, perform during the last hour of telethon at CBS Studios in Los Angeles on Sept. 4, 1995. The event raised $47.8 million for MDA.   (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis pauses during the start of the “Jerry Lewis Stars Across America, MDA Labor Day Telethon,” in Los Angeles on Sept. 3, 1995. With a goal to exceed the1994 pledge of $47.1 million, Lewis was assisted by Ed McMahon during the 21-hour telecast.   (Michael Tweed / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis accepts a donation of $249 from his 4-year-old daughter, Danielle, who sold cookies to the studio crew during the pre-production phase of the show on Sept. 2, 1996, in Los Angeles.   (Muscular Dystrophy Association / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis and Martin Short perform during the 34th annual MDA Telethon on Sept. 5, 1999, in Los Angeles.   (Jay LaPrete / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis performs at the 2000 Labor Day weekend telethon in Los Angeles.   (Muscular Dystrophy Association / Getty Images)

At the 2004 telethon, the total of $59,398,915 failed to exceed the $60.5 million in donations collected in 2003.  (Ric Francis / Associated Press)

Overcome with emotion, Jerry Lewis ends his 42nd annual Labor Day Telethon with a record-setting $63.7 million in donations and pledges on Sept. 3, 2007, in Las Vegas.   (Muscular Dystrophy Association / Associated Press)

Jerry Lewis gives his acceptance speech after being awarded an honorary trophy at the 81st Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 22, 2009. Lewis had ended a more than 50-year run as the national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.   (Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images)

Jerry Lewis at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, site of his 44th annual MDA telethon, on Aug. 26, 2010.   (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Jerry Lewis, speaking at a Television Critics Assn. panel in Beverly Hills last month, will not host any more telethons, the MDA announced.   (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)