Making impossible dreams come true

To the Editor: It was 50 years ago this past July that my partner Dean Martin and I broke up our wildly successful comedy act and went our separate ways. Each of us knew in our hearts and in our guts that we’d make it on our own. Big. And, of course, we did. I don’t say this to be egotistical. In the 1950s, America buzzed with the sense that if you just tried hard enough, you could achieve whatever you wanted. In 1956, just before we broke up, Dean and I did a 24-hour TV marathon at Carnegie Hall called the “Martin and Lewis TV Round-Up,” to benefit a small organization called the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I stuck with MDA, and we did more Telethons. In 1966, we anchored our Telethon to the Labor Day weekend, and it quickly became an American tradition. And the American public has responded with love and generosity. In the past half-century, MDA has made remarkable progress. We sponsor an international program of research seeking cures and treatments for more than 40 neuromuscular diseases. And we’re making jaw-dropping progress toward curing those diseases. So I’ll keep on starring in the Telethon until I die, because I believe we can accomplish the impossible. Please join us this Labor Day weekend. The 41st annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time Sept. 3 and run for 21½ hours. Check local listings for stations and times. Jerry Lewis for the Muscular Dystrophy Association