September 2, 2025 • 48 mins
Since we just had the Labor day weekend, we thouth we would go back in time and visit about the incredible Jerry Lewis Labor day MDA telethon we grew up watcging!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, busheads, Welcome to the Seventies Buzz Podcast. I'm Curtis Tucker.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
And I'm Todd Wheeler, bringing you our memories or lack thereof,
of growing up in the seventies.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We are not a history podcast. We just want you
guys to know that sometimes we get things wrong, and
if you listen to us long enough, you're going to
be screaming at your device trying to give us the
right answers.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Listen up as we recount growing up in the Midwest
and our unique experience. Go to Seventies Buzz dot com
from war Info and leave us your thoughts.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Let us know if you guys have any show ideas,
if you'd like us to get you on as an advertiser,
and don't forget please leave us reviews on your favorite
podcasting apps.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Bring somebody of the lift phone. I listen for you
when you do that, so you know when where. Hey,
everybody want them to another exciting episode.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Of the seventies podcast to Queen Hit us up at
five eight oh five for one three five or buzz
at postedmedia dot com. That is your official bus aid
hotline and email, and some of you are using it,
(01:17):
some on a very regular basis, some not on a
very regular basis. Krettionen Uh, not to call out any
names or anything. Gretchen Uh anyway, Uh, you got any
Carmel over there before we get the show started. Yeah, here,
how's some thanks good Carmel.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Uh. Dave called, Yes, he did, he did call he
Uh he's he's Him and Styton both went to go
see the fiftieth uh Jaws thingjig fifty years later.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah, basically the I thought that fifty year anniversary in
the movie theater. My question to Dave is he kind
of said he made it sound like this was the
first time he'd seen it since in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, since what he was fifteen?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Heies, how can you how can you not have seen
Jaws like eighty times since the seventies.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, I haven't seen it a bunch. I mean I've
probably seen it ten times.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I bet I've seen it thirty, but even ten, I
mean even just once. I mean, how can you not?
Come on, Dave?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
And they said something about Steven Spielberg was talking to
the audience.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Well, I wonder if on the fifty year at the
beginning of the movie, they have a Stephen on the
screen talking or something. That's probably what he was talking about. Yeah,
so that's funny that you brought that update, because Stayton
texted us today and he and Michelle were watching it
down in Great Well, I don't know if it was
great Vine or Granbury somewhere down in Texas, and they
(02:52):
were watching it and he was recording, and he recorded
bits of it and sent it to us against.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
The law, stayten breaking the law, breaking the law. Oh,
that's right, we won't tell what they did.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And then Dave liked the Jeffrey Show, thought it was funny.
He wonders why I always say how much time we got,
And that's basically because we just we kind of want
to keep the episodes within a forty five minute to
one hour timeframe. They don't have to.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Be look at Joe Rogan, he goes three hours.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
It's just I know that as a podcast listener, I
liked it when I knew a podcast was an hour
long and every week it was kind of like an
hour long. I don't think I would enjoy a podcast
that one week was fifteen minutes and the next week
was an hour and a half, the next week was
thirty seven minutes. So just so if people listen to
(03:47):
like three podcasts on a run or in driving, they
like I think people like to listen to three podcasts
that are all kind of the same amount of time
each week, so they you know, So that's kind of why.
So basically, sometimes I wonder if we're running like too early,
I don't want to stop the show, so I'll ask
Tide how much time we have, or if we've reached
(04:10):
an hour. I just don't want to go way over
an hour. So that so it's really no reason other
than just trying to keep it kind of confise that.
In that spirit, he asked about my Zoinkies podcast. I
actually too funny that you bring that up as well, Dave.
I actually recorded an episode last night, but I think
(04:30):
I'm going to re record it hopefully if I have
time tonight, because I wanted to change it up a
little bit. But there should be a Zoinkies podcast episode
either tomorrow or out on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Churlis is fixing to drop a zoinky.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
I'm a droppers zoinky on you guys k that should
be a T shirt dropping the book. Have been so
busy and out of town.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
It's football season and.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Now it's football season, so I haven't got super far
on it. So that's all from Dave on the seventies buzz,
And then Steve and san Antone called a couple of
times mmmm uh he he Oh well, I'll read Staten's
deal here in a minute. But he also liked Styton's
(05:17):
trick of making you sing Soloman. That was pretty funny.
Uh And then what what now? What was he saying
about serendipitous that we'd never used the word?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
He said he'd never heard me use the word serendipitous before.
I guess I used it the other day.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Oh, you used you did use it?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Okay, I did use it, and it was the first
time I had like four hundred some episodes.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Interesting. Yeah, see, that's funny how things are going to
be popping up now because of the stat episode. And
then he talked about he this is a kind of
a message for you, Jeffrey. Is it the marg Margaret
Margaretson Margaretson Cemetery. He wondered if you knew much about
(06:00):
out the Margareton Cemetery, Jeffrey, I guess us soldiers were
buried there and some family adopted him or.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Theeah the grave site. Yeah, every soldier that's there. I
saw a thing on the newsbout it. It's not too
long ago. They every year they do out at the
same time every year and clean up the grave sites.
It's not like they go every day. I mean, yeah,
it's a uh and they just tend to the grave
sites of the American soldiers that died over there.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That's pretty cool. Yeah, so let us know Jeffrey. And
then speaking of Jeffrey, he emailed and he said, how
Jeffrey here, how are you two doing. I'm well after
a good night's sleep. I'm glad you got some sleep there, Jeffrey,
he says, I now started work again. My mom, dad,
Auntie's and my best friend listened to the podcast episode
(06:50):
with yours Truly, they liked it a lot. But one
friend told me I needed to give the word more
to you two, and that I became a wee bit rambly,
probably because I was really excited I had about the
severe heard about the severe weather in Texas. My love
prayers go out to those affected and to mister petty John. Yeah.
(07:13):
The problem with doing a a interview podcast over the
phone is you and I can look at each other
and if one of us is kind of like, hey, okay,
we need to wrap it up. You can tell by
eyes or nod of the head, and when you're on
the phone and not in the room, you don't you
don't kind of see everybody's expression. So no big deal.
(07:36):
I mean it was we just knew that we were
going to be running a little long if we didn't
kind of cut it off.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
So I just remembered something. Uh oh, I forgot about
the damn phone bill.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Oh poop, Oh, yeah, we got a what was that like?
It said it was over one hundred dollars dollars one
hundred dollars phone bill for college Jeffrey. We forgot. We
forgot that it would cost money, and then nevering Donda,
we were unaware that you can buy like a twelve
dollars day pass and call anybody in the world.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
And they said I could backdate it. Yeah, so it
sounds I need to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
It sounds like we'll be able to get get it reduced.
But yeah, so if you're calling and you and we
almost didn't. It took us a little while to call
Jeffrey because you have to dial like oh one one
or something some three digit number to get out of
the United States. And then Jeffrey, the number you sent
(08:29):
us didn't need the zero. So it's like every time
we dialed it there was some problem and it was
saying it wouldn't connect.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
So took three or four trues.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
We finally got through though, So and then stay and emailed,
and so here's some answers for everybody, says, Hey, guys,
are all enjoyed Jeffrey hearing Jeffrey's voice. It was fun, Jeffrey.
I got a letter off to you a week or
so ago. Hope you received it. Also, I was sitting
on the edge of my seat as you read my email,
and I laughed and high five myself when Todd started singing, Toddy,
(09:00):
thank you for not letting me down. Of course, not
answers to questions Dave question. We did discuss his first call.
I have the SoundBite to prove it. He sent that
to me. I've got it, let's say. First email from
Dave was episode ninety six Silkwood. Oh that's a good one,
September twenty four, twenty nineteen. First call was episode one
(09:24):
point fifteen Uncovering seventies Twang, and that was February eighteenth
twenty twenty, and I don't know if you guys should
I even.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
I would disappear to know.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
There it is question is which one is it? I
think it's this one.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
God day, Dave Day.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
They called, they called, They called Dave. The first contact
with Dave was actually via email on episode ninety six
Silkwood on nineteen seventy four.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Miss.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
That was the first email that she got from.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
And then the.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
First Dave call that you discussed. Now you may have
received some other calls.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Now we got it, we talked about Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
So the first Dave call you discussed was episode one
that I could tell was episode one fifteen, uncovering Us.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Okay, so just I don't know how we I wasn't
even thinking, but we don't go back and listen to
the episode. So so anyway, and then let's see stats.
I wish I had kept. This was a great question.
There are many things that I heard that I thought
about tracking, but the thought of going back and starting
over was too much. Pin clicks, there are definitely pin
(10:41):
clicks to count. Tongue clicks, yes, I noticed those as well.
Number of times Todd shakes the ice around in his
drink before taking a drink. Number of times Curtis mentioned
meeting Steve Walsh out for a jog very prevalent in
early episodes, Todd, I agree with you. Curtis will interrupt
himself on occasion laugh out loud. I don't know the
(11:03):
exact episode, but I do remember laughing once. He interrupted
himself three or four times. First Shria later was from
the very beginning in the Green Stamp episode. Curtis actually
says it as well at the end of episode three
nineteen seventies movie Jaws, and then he also, I don't
know if you want to hear it, but he sent
(11:24):
your first Yeah, it's gonna do this.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Talking. Oh sound effecting, dude, Yeah yeah, oh yeah, thank you, yeah,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Oh no, no, s thanks at thank you.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
We appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Let's go see you.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
There you go anyway, so anyway so, and then he
said there's another anyway anyway, thanks for giving me some homework.
Love you guys, stay tone.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So there is all of our context. And then I
want to throw this in real quick. So you and
I you might want to write this on your yellow
pad over They're not that we ever go back and
read any of that stuff that you write down. But
the other day we were looking for something on your computer.
Was it the birthday song? Yeah, and we found what
(12:15):
we think was the long lost Christie mcnickel episode. So
what we need to do is listen to it and
make sure it's a full episode, and then put that
one in a can, and then if we have to
go out of town or something, we will post the
long God, we must have done that in like twenty seventeen,
(12:36):
eighteens early, So we'll play the Christie mcnickel episode that
we thought was lost.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Okay, so we find that again.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, well we'll dig it up.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Fixing to get the new computer going. I think I
figured it out. I just have had time. And yeah,
that's another story.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Okay. And so today is September twoh on a Tuesday,
which means yesterday was a Monday, meaning it was the
first Monday of September, which means it was Labor Day.
If you guys remember anything about Labor Day in the
nineteen seventies, not the nineteen sixties and not the nineteen eighties,
(13:24):
But if you remember Labor Day in the nineteen seventies,
it was the best. And why is that mister Wheeler,
because that was the greater ticket moves man. And yes
it was. And there was this guy that did this
thing every labor day of every year in nineteen in
the nineteen seventies, are you queueing something? I see your
(13:49):
fingers flying?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Well, this thing's got a mine of its own sometimes.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
So we thought it might be appropriate because we've never
really told I kind of forgot about it.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I mean, well, it's been gone for a while.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah, but in the seventies it was a big deal.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Oh yeah, come on, come on, come on.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Paul's, Paul's, Paul's Hello. Anybody there? Anybody there?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I couldn't find the show.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Version, right, yeah, I mean it was on YouTube, but
you'd had to it.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I have a hard time getting stuff off of you.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I was gonna say you had had you had had
to record it off of YouTube. Basically, it's the intro
music for the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Why is I'm not going down there?
Speaker 1 (14:51):
There we go?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Because that wouldn't turn it into down he was, and well,
I'm such good. That song is from eighteen thirty six
Charlie Chaplin movie. Oh wow, it's called The movie was
called Modern Times in.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Nineteen thirty six, Modern times. Well you know then it
was modern time. Yeah, it was so. So what do
you remember about the Jerry Lewis MDA Telehan Did you
guys used to watch it? Like? Were you guys like
hardcore blitchers of it?
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Yeah, I couldn't wait. It's kind of like it's kind
of like every year when the Wizard of Loss came on.
He was like, you really look forward to it. I
remember it distinctly. I don't think you remember. But the
front door used to be right here, uh huh, and
then we decided to put it our dad's side put
over there.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
So yeah, I actually I don't remember it being there.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
But do you remember that one?
Speaker 1 (15:46):
I remember there was a window there.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, it used to be the front door, and then
we moved it over there. And uh we did that
one Labor Day weekend and oh really, I remember the
TV was sitting right here and that was on all
the time. And yeah, I tried to stay up a
couple times.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I couldn't do it. Yeah, I've got a one section
of this if we have time. I found a really
good thread on Reddit and just the comments from people
were just it was just pretty cool. It was just
a real good reminder of the seventies. But yeah, I
think I watched it every year. The cool thing about
it was was in the seventies, usually the TV flipped
(16:27):
off at twelve or one o'clock, so this was like
the one time every year that TV stayed on all
night long that you could stay up and watch. And
I kind of remember trying to stay up and watch it.
I don't know that. I doubt I ever made it,
and I didn't watch it throughout the day.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Because it starts on Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
And goes all day Monday, basically twenty one hours. And
here's a Mandela effect. There are people that think it
was a three day telethon, that it went all week
in long.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
No, it was just over.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, there's some people I noticed on comments that said, yeah,
we would watch it all all week in long or
remember when it was three days long? And I'm like,
never was, No, not that, not quite that long. I
don't Jerry Lewis wouldn't be able to stay up for
three days. What else do I remember?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
I remember.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Not, But at the time it didn't seem weird. But
everybody on the telethon smoked everybody.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I thought I was watching videos. I was like, I
don't remember that, but there it is.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Everybody smoked.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Johnny Carson used to smoke.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Yeah during during this, you know, there's kids. It's just
so different.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
There's kids all over the place.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
You're smoking, smoking right in front of them. And so
some of this, I'm like you, I watched a lot
of the videos, so I don't but looking at the videos,
the entertainment wasn't very good.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Oh and and the audio quality was terrible.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
And yeah, and so I noticed that like seventy five
seemed like it was the earliest full version you could
find on YouTube. I couldn't really find any anything before
seventy five. Everything was like eighties that had videos of it,
So quality must have been really bad.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, and everybody had to hold microphones. Yeah, I'm like,
don't you get I guess obviously they didn't have wireless mics. Yeah, no,
but no like little mics.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And then I noticed Jerry Lewis had he had like
a handle on the side of his microphone so he
could like hold it either way, yeah straight or it
was weird looking. Yeah. So anyway, Yeah, that was kind
of my memories. Like I say, when I get to
these Reddit memories, it'll be kind of funny. But go ahead,
(18:52):
Well let me get let's do some quick information. So
I got to thinking, you know, it's like every year
the goal to make more money than the last year.
Did they as as far as the videos I saw, they.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Did, Yeah, you know there was a couple million more.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Yeah, except for towards the end when they weren't making more,
And that's when it kind of started a fizzle and
Jerry retired and it went down to like six hours
and then three hours and oh really yeah, so Jerry
wasn't on like the last three or four years, and
those years were only like six hours.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah. I think he quit eleven and the show stopped
in fourteen.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, so I doubt they were making more money at
that point. But you know the one I like seventy six,
they made like thirty thousand dollars, thirty million dollars. Yeah,
and then like the next year it was like thirty
six million. So anyway, they were so but that got
me to thinking, well, Number one, I thought, did that
(19:56):
money ever do any good? Yeah? Did it actually never
improve muscular distrophe? So I look that up and it said, yeah,
it has contributed to certain things of certain muscular dystrophees.
It's not like there's just one muscular distrophee, I guess.
And so it has helped in certain situations for certain people.
(20:19):
It hasn't cured or eliminated it all the money. And
then I got to think, well, I wonder these are
a telethon you you don't donate, but you clinch pledge.
I thought, well, these are just pledges. I wonder how
much money they really make. So I look that up
(20:39):
and instead, according to the Nonprofit pro a shortfall is
not uncommon for charities. In the nineteen seventies and eighties,
collecting sixty to seventy five percent of pledge funds was
considered the norm for telethons. And I heard that even
in the eighties they were only collecting like fifty percent. Wow,
(21:00):
so they were not So people were pledging thirty six
and forty million, but they were only collecting about eighteen
or twenty.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Millis well, you know, like today we got zoom or
not zoom, but we got venmo M and cash app
and all these instant yeah, fun transfers. And I remember
calling in and pledging a dollar.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I was going to ask did you ever pledge?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
I pledged a dollar one year and I don't remember
how I got it to him. I must have put
it in an envelope or something, huh if I did it, Yeah, see,
I don't remember not doing it.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
And that's probably what you know. I would bet that
was like, I mean, two hundred thousand kids that called
in and pledged money and had no you know, I
didn't have any money or any way of sending it,
and that's probably where some of the shortfall came in.
According to one story I read, I kept thinking, well,
why did Jerry Lewis do the MDA telephone. One story
(21:56):
that I read, I don't know if it's true or not,
was that he told a story that he used to
make fun of a fellow student in school the way
that he walked, and that when he found out the
kid had muscular dystrophee, he felt bad and that was
kind of kind of his way of making up to,
(22:16):
you know, let people know that this is a disease
and these people, you know, don't have any choice the
way that they walk and stuff. So it's the longest
running national telethon United States stage for over twenty one
hours each Labor Day.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Now they had the Labor Day Telethon started in sixty six, Yes,
but he was doing telethon telethons, telethons, but in the.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Fifties before that with Dean Martin.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Actually yeah, but those weren't on Labor Day. They were
just yeah telethons.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah, correct, Yeah, when those two were still friends and
telethons were black and white. I saw a couple of those.
I guess over his run, they say he raised two
billion for research and family services, which I guess would
me and see one point two or three billion, which
is still a lot of money, a lot of money,
(23:16):
or maybe that's actually what it brought in. I don't know,
but that's kind of what they put the figure at.
Let's see. Hosted the Labor Day Telethon for forty five years,
from its start in nineteen sixty six until its final appearance.
As his final appearance is host in twenty it is
twenty ten longest running national telethon, shortened and continued without
(23:39):
him for a few years before its cancellation, And basically
I read that part of the reason they quit doing
telethons and the way that they were doing it was
remember the ice bucket challenge. When the ice bucket Challenge
came around, they were like, oh, well that's a lot
easier way to raise money, so that they abandoned television
(24:01):
for social media and a little quirky things like that.
Because the ice bucket Challenge range raised a ton of money.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
For muscular districte I know it was.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
It was for a different disease, but whatever it was.
And I even did it. I remember I went out
in the backyard the first time we lived on Indian
and poured a bucket of water, cold water over my
head and how.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Much my geries.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Oh I didn't of course I didn't raise any but
I guess it brought so much awareness that but some
people did raise money. I just challenged three more people
to do it. I can't remember who.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Well, it wouldn't me because I didn't do it.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
You didn't do it. So yeah, one thing that I
had kind of I don't remember when school started in
Enid this year. It started a couple of weeks ago. Yeah,
but according to a lot of people in the seventies,
literally school started the Tuesday after Labor Day, and so
(25:04):
they all a lot of them associated the telethon with
the end of the summer and it was kind of
a bummer to them because they knew the next day
they had to go to school, which was the Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Right, So that's probably That's probably accurate in a lot
of parts of.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
The country, and it may have been here too. You know.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
I always remember we started on a Thursday or something
like that. Something weird.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Yeah, but I remember they like changed the date because
of he you know, there was that we had a
couple of summers that like lasted a long time and
the schools were really hot, and I think some of
the schools didn't have air conditioning, so they moved they
started playing with the day. So I don't know, but
(25:47):
maybe back in the seventies and en it it was
a day after Labor Day. I don't know, I don't remember.
You got nother factor facts, factor figures.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Ed McMahon joined in nineteen seventy three. In nineteen seventy
the first the first Labor Day of seventy they raised
five million, but by seventy three they had to add
they had the paint of one on the bar with somebody.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Somebody said they remember seeing.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Him do that paint on one on the toeboard. Because
they raised twelve million and seventy three.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
You guys remember the old tote board. Oh yeah, that's
kind of funny. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
They always played what the world needs now?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah, what there were needs now? I am there's more donations, dude.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Something like that.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
Here.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Again, I couldn't get any soundbites off the show.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Yeah. I even searched Apple Music to see if there
was any sound clips and I couldn't. There wasn't any.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Yeah, it definitely was a they're trying to get you
to shed some tears with They were tugging out your
heart's tugging at your heart's drinks to Now do you
remember I don't really remember this in Enid, but it
probably was. Do you remember firefighters on Labor Day being
out with the boots? Yeah, I mean i've seen them
(27:23):
out this last weekend. As I said, I've seen them
in more recent years, but I just don't remember them
being out in the seventies. But I may not have
been driving around on Labor Day weekend in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, I think I did.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, yeah, I think it was nationwide so McDonald's was
real big on on clucking money skateathons. Did remember Enid
ever having a skathon. I wouldn't have gone skated for
twenty four hours to raise money.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Now, iles don't belong on these feet there of the wheels,
whis don't need wheels.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
I guess there was a couple of years where they
would send you carnival kits and you could hold a
carn in your backyard and raise money from the neighborhood
kids and then send the money in. Oh really yeah.
I don't ever remember getting a carnival kid or having
a neighbor do a carnival, but maybe somebody out there
(28:15):
might have. Uh. Some of the guests. Frank Sinatra was big.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
I was trying to find who was on the show
the most. I could not find it. It was had
to be like Frank.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
I'm gonna guess free of those two. Yeah, probably Tony Bennett,
Johnny Carson, some of the big names.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I watched it. I watched a clip with Johnny Carson
doing the the ten card trick. I don't know how
he did it. He's quite a he's a good slide
of him magician. I didn't know, but he would hold
ten cards in this hand and then he'd reach out
his pocket in that card. Would it would magically go
into his pocket, and he did it like three or
(28:57):
four different ways. I was impressed. I was like, holy crap,
h that Neil Johnny did I like Johnny Carson.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Did you catch the nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Oh, that was a famous one.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
The one where Ed said something like, I don't know,
he predicted that they were going to hit a certain number,
and when they did, Jerry took his pants off.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
I watched that one too. I'd forgotten about that, I'm
sure I probably, I don't know if I was watching
it loud.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I was actually seventy five.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Was it seventy five?
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah? Ed said I better get over eighteen million, and
he did.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And so Jerry, yeah, right there on stage, took his
pants off and walked around the stage. But his shirt
and coat, you know, pretty much covered him.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Oh if so, I didn't see nothing. And then in
seventy six is when Frank Sinatra.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Oh that was the big reunion.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Yeah, reunited.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
I watched that one.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I remember that one.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
See, I don't know if I I remember.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
That one, and I remember watching that.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Yeah. They had not literally spoken to each other since
twenty years.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Since nineteen fifty six.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Yeah, and so and I looked it up. I tried
to research, and I tried to find out did Jerry
Lewis know ahead of time that Dean Martin was going
to be on there? And everything I found so now
he didn't know.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Did you watch the video? Yeah, he looks pretty shocked.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah. And then I read some rumory stuff because I
wanted to know if anybody came on the telephone drunk. Oh,
and they there were some rumors that some people Dean
Martin because everybody always assumed Dean Martin was always drunk.
Even Jerry Lewis well in one of these reports said
(30:46):
he was mad or sad that Dean Martin showed up drunk.
But Jerry Lewis would know if Dean Martin, if that
was an actor real, So I don't believe that one.
But anyway, but no, there was no proof that anybody
came on the telethone drunk. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I mean, and a lot of times, even do you
remember watching Dean Martin show. Yeah, Dean Marks show, he
would act drunk and he wasn't.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yeah, well, every interview he did, he had a glass
of something I think it was apple. They said it
was apple cider. Yeah, but it looked like a mixture
in Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
So, and when him and Foster Brooks would get going.
I love Foster Brooks. He was hilarious.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Well, and then when you think about the telethon, think
about being live in front of hot lights NonStop twenty hours,
you're gonna get a little punch drunk anyway. I mean,
I remember when we would have lock ins, or we'd
spend the night at somebody's house and stay up really late. Well,
you get pretty silly towards the end before you kind
(31:48):
of calm down.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Bohot.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah. So anything that looked like being drunk was probably
punch drunk. They were just you know, had been up
a long time. One of the names mentioned a lot
was Charro. Everybody liked to wait, could you Gucci girl
Charloti to show up?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
I forgot about Charo, So I think she.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Was on probably just as much as Frank Sinatra was.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
They had over two thousand artists over the years.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Wow Kiss was on in nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
I read somewhere Adam Sandler was on there.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Oh really not.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It wouldn't have been the seventies. It would have been
one of the later ones.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, could have been. Yeah, yeah, I got a lot
of Joe Namath in seventy A lot of people in
seventy eight, Bernetette Peters, Marvin Hamlish, Lola Falana, Oh, I
forgot about her, Sarah Vaughn, Chubby Checker. Those were all
seventy eight. Bbe King was on the seventy five. Ray
(32:47):
Charles was on in seventy eight. Tony Bennett. I think
Tony Bennett was on several years. Well, then some I
forget who it was. He would kind of like take
over the hosting back at the nighttime, give Jerry lyss
a break.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
I can't remember his name. He was kind of a
regular stand in for hosting. I don't know if Jerry
was taking a nap or what.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Or he probably went to eat or who knows, go
to the bat probably went to the bathroom, it says.
Co host for many years, Jerry Lewis was joined by
co host Ed McMahon. Well took over from Johnny Olsen
in seventy three. But I don't know if that's the
same as I don't I don't really remember Ed, like
(33:33):
kind of no.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Ed didn't It was this other guy and then Ed
would be there.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, that's what I Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Yeah,
I don't know. I'm not sure who who that would
have been.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
I can see him, I can see him. He's a
comedian nineteen seventy five or that was when he dropped
his pant took his pants off. There's a funny skit.
Did you see the one in nineteen seventy eight where
Sammy Davis gives him a golf ball?
Speaker 1 (33:56):
I did not see that one.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
So he got He gets out there and Sammy Davis
is getting ready to for him. He goes, He goes, har,
I got you something. I got you a monogram golf ball,
and Jerry Lysis is like, oh, just a golf ball.
And then Samy's like, I need you'd be this way.
He calls his buddy out and brings out a really
nice golf bag with his his goofy logo, you know,
(34:20):
is his caricature that he always used. And then so
Sammy's like, oh hey, get off my stage, and Jerry
picks up the golf bag upside down and runs off
the stage just dumps all these brand new golf clubs
all over the states. It was funny, don't I don't
remember that, but I came across it. And then one
year he drove Richard Petty's pace car in nineteen seventy six.
(34:43):
I don't know, you know, they had taped it, uh
huh huh, And I was like, that's you got to
because you got to drive those things fast or they
won't stick to the wall or stick to the the racetrack.
Oh that's pretty.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Interesting, that's pretty cool. Yeah. I don't really remember any
one act or performance that like sticks with me after
all these years.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
The only one that sticks with me is when Dean
Martin came back out or came out and they reunited.
I remember that one vividly because they did it in
crime time too. Maybe they're not gotta waste them home
like that at three o'clock.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
Oh yeah, yeah, says it started at eight pm on
Sunday and end at five pm on Monday. So and
then so here here's some of the comments from Reddit,
and we can kind of I mean, there's a lot,
but they're all kind of funny or they just kind
of remind me of the seventies. Every year we watched
(35:42):
to see if they would break last year's record donations.
Another one, I had a sleepover at my best friend's
house on Labor Day weekend when we were probably in
middle school. We were so excited to stay up all
night and watch the telethon. I was just talking about
this a few nights ago. It was always the last
blast of summer, the day before school started when we
(36:03):
were kids in the early seventies. I don't know why.
We always tried to stay up and watch the whole thing,
and it was painfully boring. There were a lot of
comments about how it would drag well, I don't how,
and I didn't want to get into it, but how
unfriendly or unpopular Jerry Lewis what really was? I guess
(36:26):
there was a lot of that, and you know, I
don't know if all that's true or not, so I
didn't really want to include too much of that. Watched
it every year growing up. The only thing I dreaded
was that we knew that when it was off, a
new school year was just a few days away. It
was a huge deal. At our house. We did pledges,
stayed up late and watched the show, jumped up in
(36:47):
the morning to see how far they had gotten. One year,
we got a kit and had some games in someone's
backyard to raise money. That would have been that.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Little carnival kit.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Summer wasn't over until Jerry Lewis cried and then school
started the next day. Yes, it was an event. The
TV guide had most of the lineup, so you picked
who you wanted to see, Jiffy Pop and Coke. One year,
I got to talk to Bob Crane.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah. So if you did call in into the National
I guess the Las Vegas phone line, you could actually
talk to celebrities that were back there. So they remember
talking to Bob Crane.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
This one I remember when they raised over million dollars,
but the toeboard only had six digits, so he climbed
up a ladder and painted a one on with a
paint brush. This one said all weekend long. As a kid,
it was just annoying, but it really wasn't all weekend long.
So my dad was cutting edge because he got the
(37:51):
campsite next to the phone booth and he brought our
black and white portable TV. We were a hit of
the campground because you call in a play edge in
real time and potentially talk to Johnny Cash or Glenn Campbell.
So they would literally watch it on the black and
white TV and use the payphone to call in pledges
while they were camping. Yeah, kind of funny.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
What what was it? ABC, ABC or CVS?
Speaker 1 (38:18):
You know, I didn't I meant to look that up.
I'm not sure which one it was.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
I don't either. It had to be one of those three.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
And that was another deal is we only had four,
well three main channels, and so you almost had to
watch it because it was there really wasn't a whole
lot else on well yeah, reruns and on Sunday. There
wasn't a whole lot to watch on Sunday anyway. Yeah, so, uh,
(38:48):
I guess it was Monday, all day Monday. I guess
a lot of people complain that it interrupted their soap
operas whatever channel.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
That was on, and then it like the our local
stations would have, yeah, their own tote.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Boards, and I don't remember. Yeah, I don't remember if
it was four, five or nine, but I remember one
of them having it doing it. I'm sure we could
look it up pretty quick and find out. Looked forward
to it. Every year. My brother and I would try
to stay up all night with Jerry never made it,
and our dad would make us take turns each year,
(39:26):
calling and making a donation. I remember being so nervous
calling and talking to the person answering the phone. We
watched the heck out of it. A neighbor and I
even went door to door with a coffee can collecting
spare change. Then we go to wherever the local segments
were being broadcast from and pour our change into a
big fish tank. Would stay up late to see Charro
(39:51):
Charro or Lola Falana or Connie Stevens at two am.
Connie Stevens, I remember, Yeah. My parents used to always
be away that weekend, so I throw a rager of
a party and then watched the telethon hung over our
rager of a party. My goodness, my soul just smiled.
(40:13):
We used to watch it every year. Me and my
mom would stay up twenty four hours and watch, and
we would make a small donation. I was one of
those people in the background taking the calls. We were
told that if the phones weren't ringing, act like we
were taking calls.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
So I bet, yeah, yeah, I hold your finger on
a little thing, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Of course, we watched it. There were only four stations.
If you were lucky. At some point it was the
best thing going. So anyway, those were kind of some of.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
The Yeah, they had like over two hundred stations step broadcasting.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
That's pretty cool. I mean that was big time. That
was I mean that was kind of like almost like
the internet before the Internet. Yeah, everybody in the country
watching one thing twenty four hours. Yeah, which didn't happen,
but literally one time of year.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yeah, that's interesting. They have other diseases. Got telethons, I
don't know, like like long. I guess there's that cancer
one that they do. Now it's not a telethone though,
it's a show. Well the big celebrities they do stuff.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Yeah, yeah, now they're not telethons anymore. Yeah, I think
telethons are kind of a thing in the past. It's
just think about people's interests these days. You know, if
the video is over fifteen seconds long, people lose interest.
So a yeah, twenty one hour telethon is probably not
gonna get that's true. Although if somebody did it just
(41:51):
one year and brought back the nostalgia, I bet a
lot of people our age would watch it just for
the nostalgia. If they could get a lot of these.
Anybody that was on it in the seventies or sixties
or eighties that isn't passed away.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
I here to say, aren't they all gone?
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Well most of them? But you know, I think you
could almost throw or even if somebody like did a movie,
but that wouldn't be a telephone. So yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
I just yeah, I think kind of cool. See a
documentary about it?
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Yeah, I've never seen one. I wonder if there are
any out.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Like behind the scenes and what's Jerry doing when he
goes off stage?
Speaker 1 (42:29):
The truth of the MDA telephone.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
I did see some little things as like MDA scams
or NBA MBA, MDA Let's Clue District, MDA scandals and
all that stuff, and I was like, I'm not even
clicking on that.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:52):
Now, So the song that he always sings towards the
end or on the ends, you'll never walk along? Do
you know how that came about?
Speaker 1 (42:58):
I do not.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
So In nineteen sixty four, he was he came across
this little boy and the little boy had just one
one came one crutch and you know, he the little
boy recognized him, knew who he was, and he's like, hey,
he goes look at me. I'm just walking, I only
have to use one crutch. And Jerry's like, oh that's cool, man,
(43:22):
that's really cool. Good for you. And he's like. They're
sitting there chit chatting, and the little kid goes, hey,
you know what, we need a song. He's like okay,
he goes, just a song for us, you know, and
it's nobody else can use it. Nobody else can use
that song. And he was like, well what kind of song?
Little kids like, oh, you know that one? And he
(43:45):
started repeating verse parts of the song. And Jerry's like, oh, yeah,
I know that song so from I guess apparently nineteen
sixty four sixty five, and I was watching the videos.
He would, you know, he referred to them as his kids.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Uh huh, Jerry's kids.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
Yeah, Jerry's kids. And then he would go when he
was getting singing the song, He's like, okay, I'm gonna
sing their song now. When't my song wasn't a song,
it was always what's their song? Let me play? Where
do you go?
Speaker 1 (44:20):
This is when everybody's mom would get teary eyed and start.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
As it may sound, as corny as it may be,
my god, what a good.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
Day for mankind?
Speaker 2 (44:42):
What m.
Speaker 5 (44:50):
When you walk through a stng, keep your head up high,
and don't.
Speaker 1 (45:03):
Be afraid of the dark.
Speaker 4 (45:10):
At the end of the storm is a golden sky.
Speaker 5 (45:20):
And the sweet silver song.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
Walk on.
Speaker 4 (45:34):
To the wind, Walk on to the rain, though your
dreams be tossed.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
And blown, walk on, walk.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
With hope and you you He's doing pretty good on
(46:26):
this one. Some some of them. He was just blubbering
from the get go. Yeah, and he.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Was like half dressed. His tie was off.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
This I was always off. And yeah he was done.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Yeah he was tired.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
He was tired, but he had he had to built
out that song.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
So that was pretty cool. That was That was a
big part. I mean, we don't think much of it now,
but yeah, in the seventies, that was a big deal.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
It was a big deal.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I remember.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
I remember I was looking forward to it, like I said,
as much as the Wizard of Oz. You know. That was.
That was huge.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
Yeah, fun stuff, you guys. Let us know if there
was anybody out there, any of you guys that were
like dead set on watching the whole thing. I don't
I do not remember ever once being able to make
it through the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Did you did you know anybody that had muscular distriphy.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Not that I'm aware of, huh, But that doesn't mean
there wasn't some kid in grade school or junior high
that had it and I just didn't know what it was, Yeah,
what it was. So I don't know, but you guys,
let us know five eight zero five four one three
eight oh five or buzz buzzheadmedia dot com or if
you watched it, like what do you have a distinct
(47:42):
memory of one of the years or that's a lot
of that's a lot of a lot of stuff, I
mean acts and things, And.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
That was no small task putting all that together.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Yeah, especially at that time, and going twenty four hours
and getting all the guests and celebrities on there, getting them,
getting them corraled, getting them whether you know, you know
you're on at twenty minutes and yeah, keeping track, and
then all the people taking phone calls. So pretty cool.
And I guess they collected money at seven eleven's as well.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Yeah, seven elevens was a big one, uh sent McDonald's.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Yeah, cool deal. Okay, how are we doing. How are
we doing on time over there? Dave?
Speaker 2 (48:29):
Pretty good, Dave, Uh, we can go anytime?
Speaker 1 (48:32):
Okay, Yeah again, you guys, let us know your memories
of the Jerry Lewis, MDA telethon five eight ho five
one three eighth five. Buzz the buzz. It need to
got calm. We're gonna get out of here.
Hey, busheads, Welcome to the Seventies Buzz Podcast. I'm Curtis Tucker.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
And I'm Todd Wheeler, bringing you our memories or lack thereof,
of growing up in the seventies.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We are not a history podcast. We just want you
guys to know that sometimes we get things wrong, and
if you listen to us long enough, you're going to
be screaming at your device trying to give us the
right answers.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Listen up as we recount growing up in the Midwest
and our unique experience. Go to Seventies Buzz dot com
from war Info and leave us your thoughts.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Let us know if you guys have any show ideas,
if you'd like us to get you on as an advertiser,
and don't forget please leave us reviews on your favorite
podcasting apps.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Bring somebody of the lift phone. I listen for you
when you do that, so you know when where. Hey,
everybody want them to another exciting episode.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Of the seventies podcast to Queen Hit us up at
five eight oh five for one three five or buzz
at postedmedia dot com. That is your official bus aid
hotline and email, and some of you are using it,
(01:17):
some on a very regular basis, some not on a
very regular basis. Krettionen Uh, not to call out any
names or anything. Gretchen Uh anyway, Uh, you got any
Carmel over there before we get the show started. Yeah, here,
how's some thanks good Carmel.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Uh. Dave called, Yes, he did, he did call he
Uh he's he's Him and Styton both went to go
see the fiftieth uh Jaws thingjig fifty years later.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah, basically the I thought that fifty year anniversary in
the movie theater. My question to Dave is he kind
of said he made it sound like this was the
first time he'd seen it since in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, since what he was fifteen?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Heies, how can you how can you not have seen
Jaws like eighty times since the seventies.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, I haven't seen it a bunch. I mean I've
probably seen it ten times.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I bet I've seen it thirty, but even ten, I
mean even just once. I mean, how can you not?
Come on, Dave?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
And they said something about Steven Spielberg was talking to
the audience.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Well, I wonder if on the fifty year at the
beginning of the movie, they have a Stephen on the
screen talking or something. That's probably what he was talking about. Yeah,
so that's funny that you brought that update, because Stayton
texted us today and he and Michelle were watching it
down in Great Well, I don't know if it was
great Vine or Granbury somewhere down in Texas, and they
(02:52):
were watching it and he was recording, and he recorded
bits of it and sent it to us against.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
The law, stayten breaking the law, breaking the law. Oh,
that's right, we won't tell what they did.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And then Dave liked the Jeffrey Show, thought it was funny.
He wonders why I always say how much time we got,
And that's basically because we just we kind of want
to keep the episodes within a forty five minute to
one hour timeframe. They don't have to.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Be look at Joe Rogan, he goes three hours.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
It's just I know that as a podcast listener, I
liked it when I knew a podcast was an hour
long and every week it was kind of like an
hour long. I don't think I would enjoy a podcast
that one week was fifteen minutes and the next week
was an hour and a half, the next week was
thirty seven minutes. So just so if people listen to
(03:47):
like three podcasts on a run or in driving, they
like I think people like to listen to three podcasts
that are all kind of the same amount of time
each week, so they you know, So that's kind of why.
So basically, sometimes I wonder if we're running like too early,
I don't want to stop the show, so I'll ask
Tide how much time we have, or if we've reached
(04:10):
an hour. I just don't want to go way over
an hour. So that so it's really no reason other
than just trying to keep it kind of confise that.
In that spirit, he asked about my Zoinkies podcast. I
actually too funny that you bring that up as well, Dave.
I actually recorded an episode last night, but I think
(04:30):
I'm going to re record it hopefully if I have
time tonight, because I wanted to change it up a
little bit. But there should be a Zoinkies podcast episode
either tomorrow or out on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Churlis is fixing to drop a zoinky.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
I'm a droppers zoinky on you guys k that should
be a T shirt dropping the book. Have been so
busy and out of town.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
It's football season and.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Now it's football season, so I haven't got super far
on it. So that's all from Dave on the seventies buzz,
And then Steve and san Antone called a couple of
times mmmm uh he he Oh well, I'll read Staten's
deal here in a minute. But he also liked Styton's
(05:17):
trick of making you sing Soloman. That was pretty funny.
Uh And then what what now? What was he saying
about serendipitous that we'd never used the word?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
He said he'd never heard me use the word serendipitous before.
I guess I used it the other day.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Oh, you used you did use it?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Okay, I did use it, and it was the first
time I had like four hundred some episodes.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Interesting. Yeah, see, that's funny how things are going to
be popping up now because of the stat episode. And
then he talked about he this is a kind of
a message for you, Jeffrey. Is it the marg Margaret
Margaretson Margaretson Cemetery. He wondered if you knew much about
(06:00):
out the Margareton Cemetery, Jeffrey, I guess us soldiers were
buried there and some family adopted him or.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Theeah the grave site. Yeah, every soldier that's there. I
saw a thing on the newsbout it. It's not too
long ago. They every year they do out at the
same time every year and clean up the grave sites.
It's not like they go every day. I mean, yeah,
it's a uh and they just tend to the grave
sites of the American soldiers that died over there.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That's pretty cool. Yeah, so let us know Jeffrey. And
then speaking of Jeffrey, he emailed and he said, how
Jeffrey here, how are you two doing. I'm well after
a good night's sleep. I'm glad you got some sleep there, Jeffrey,
he says, I now started work again. My mom, dad,
Auntie's and my best friend listened to the podcast episode
(06:50):
with yours Truly, they liked it a lot. But one
friend told me I needed to give the word more
to you two, and that I became a wee bit rambly,
probably because I was really excited I had about the
severe heard about the severe weather in Texas. My love
prayers go out to those affected and to mister petty John. Yeah.
(07:13):
The problem with doing a a interview podcast over the
phone is you and I can look at each other
and if one of us is kind of like, hey, okay,
we need to wrap it up. You can tell by
eyes or nod of the head, and when you're on
the phone and not in the room, you don't you
don't kind of see everybody's expression. So no big deal.
(07:36):
I mean it was we just knew that we were
going to be running a little long if we didn't
kind of cut it off.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
So I just remembered something. Uh oh, I forgot about
the damn phone bill.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Oh poop, Oh, yeah, we got a what was that like?
It said it was over one hundred dollars dollars one
hundred dollars phone bill for college Jeffrey. We forgot. We
forgot that it would cost money, and then nevering Donda,
we were unaware that you can buy like a twelve
dollars day pass and call anybody in the world.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
And they said I could backdate it. Yeah, so it
sounds I need to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
It sounds like we'll be able to get get it reduced.
But yeah, so if you're calling and you and we
almost didn't. It took us a little while to call
Jeffrey because you have to dial like oh one one
or something some three digit number to get out of
the United States. And then Jeffrey, the number you sent
(08:29):
us didn't need the zero. So it's like every time
we dialed it there was some problem and it was
saying it wouldn't connect.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
So took three or four trues.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
We finally got through though, So and then stay and emailed,
and so here's some answers for everybody, says, Hey, guys,
are all enjoyed Jeffrey hearing Jeffrey's voice. It was fun, Jeffrey.
I got a letter off to you a week or
so ago. Hope you received it. Also, I was sitting
on the edge of my seat as you read my email,
and I laughed and high five myself when Todd started singing, Toddy,
(09:00):
thank you for not letting me down. Of course, not
answers to questions Dave question. We did discuss his first call.
I have the SoundBite to prove it. He sent that
to me. I've got it, let's say. First email from
Dave was episode ninety six Silkwood. Oh that's a good one,
September twenty four, twenty nineteen. First call was episode one
(09:24):
point fifteen Uncovering seventies Twang, and that was February eighteenth
twenty twenty, and I don't know if you guys should
I even.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
I would disappear to know.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
There it is question is which one is it? I
think it's this one.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
God day, Dave Day.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
They called, they called, They called Dave. The first contact
with Dave was actually via email on episode ninety six
Silkwood on nineteen seventy four.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Miss.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
That was the first email that she got from.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
And then the.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
First Dave call that you discussed. Now you may have
received some other calls.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Now we got it, we talked about Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
So the first Dave call you discussed was episode one
that I could tell was episode one fifteen, uncovering Us.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Okay, so just I don't know how we I wasn't
even thinking, but we don't go back and listen to
the episode. So so anyway, and then let's see stats.
I wish I had kept. This was a great question.
There are many things that I heard that I thought
about tracking, but the thought of going back and starting
over was too much. Pin clicks, there are definitely pin
(10:41):
clicks to count. Tongue clicks, yes, I noticed those as well.
Number of times Todd shakes the ice around in his
drink before taking a drink. Number of times Curtis mentioned
meeting Steve Walsh out for a jog very prevalent in
early episodes, Todd, I agree with you. Curtis will interrupt
himself on occasion laugh out loud. I don't know the
(11:03):
exact episode, but I do remember laughing once. He interrupted
himself three or four times. First Shria later was from
the very beginning in the Green Stamp episode. Curtis actually
says it as well at the end of episode three
nineteen seventies movie Jaws, and then he also, I don't
know if you want to hear it, but he sent
(11:24):
your first Yeah, it's gonna do this.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Talking. Oh sound effecting, dude, Yeah yeah, oh yeah, thank you, yeah,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Oh no, no, s thanks at thank you.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
We appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Let's go see you.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
There you go anyway, so anyway so, and then he
said there's another anyway anyway, thanks for giving me some homework.
Love you guys, stay tone.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So there is all of our context. And then I
want to throw this in real quick. So you and
I you might want to write this on your yellow
pad over They're not that we ever go back and
read any of that stuff that you write down. But
the other day we were looking for something on your computer.
Was it the birthday song? Yeah, and we found what
(12:15):
we think was the long lost Christie mcnickel episode. So
what we need to do is listen to it and
make sure it's a full episode, and then put that
one in a can, and then if we have to
go out of town or something, we will post the
long God, we must have done that in like twenty seventeen,
(12:36):
eighteens early, So we'll play the Christie mcnickel episode that
we thought was lost.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Okay, so we find that again.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, well we'll dig it up.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Fixing to get the new computer going. I think I
figured it out. I just have had time. And yeah,
that's another story.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Okay. And so today is September twoh on a Tuesday,
which means yesterday was a Monday, meaning it was the
first Monday of September, which means it was Labor Day.
If you guys remember anything about Labor Day in the
nineteen seventies, not the nineteen sixties and not the nineteen eighties,
(13:24):
But if you remember Labor Day in the nineteen seventies,
it was the best. And why is that mister Wheeler,
because that was the greater ticket moves man. And yes
it was. And there was this guy that did this
thing every labor day of every year in nineteen in
the nineteen seventies, are you queueing something? I see your
(13:49):
fingers flying?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Well, this thing's got a mine of its own sometimes.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
So we thought it might be appropriate because we've never
really told I kind of forgot about it.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I mean, well, it's been gone for a while.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah, but in the seventies it was a big deal.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Oh yeah, come on, come on, come on.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Paul's, Paul's, Paul's Hello. Anybody there? Anybody there?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I couldn't find the show.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Version, right, yeah, I mean it was on YouTube, but
you'd had to it.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
I have a hard time getting stuff off of you.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I was gonna say you had had you had had
to record it off of YouTube. Basically, it's the intro
music for the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Why is I'm not going down there?
Speaker 1 (14:51):
There we go?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Because that wouldn't turn it into down he was, and well,
I'm such good. That song is from eighteen thirty six
Charlie Chaplin movie. Oh wow, it's called The movie was
called Modern Times in.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Nineteen thirty six, Modern times. Well you know then it
was modern time. Yeah, it was so. So what do
you remember about the Jerry Lewis MDA Telehan Did you
guys used to watch it? Like? Were you guys like
hardcore blitchers of it?
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Yeah, I couldn't wait. It's kind of like it's kind
of like every year when the Wizard of Loss came on.
He was like, you really look forward to it. I
remember it distinctly. I don't think you remember. But the
front door used to be right here, uh huh, and
then we decided to put it our dad's side put
over there.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
So yeah, I actually I don't remember it being there.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
But do you remember that one?
Speaker 1 (15:46):
I remember there was a window there.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yeah, it used to be the front door, and then
we moved it over there. And uh we did that
one Labor Day weekend and oh really, I remember the
TV was sitting right here and that was on all
the time. And yeah, I tried to stay up a
couple times.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I couldn't do it. Yeah, I've got a one section
of this if we have time. I found a really
good thread on Reddit and just the comments from people
were just it was just pretty cool. It was just
a real good reminder of the seventies. But yeah, I
think I watched it every year. The cool thing about
it was was in the seventies, usually the TV flipped
(16:27):
off at twelve or one o'clock, so this was like
the one time every year that TV stayed on all
night long that you could stay up and watch. And
I kind of remember trying to stay up and watch it.
I don't know that. I doubt I ever made it,
and I didn't watch it throughout the day.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Because it starts on Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
And goes all day Monday, basically twenty one hours. And
here's a Mandela effect. There are people that think it
was a three day telethon, that it went all week
in long.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
No, it was just over.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, there's some people I noticed on comments that said, yeah,
we would watch it all all week in long or
remember when it was three days long? And I'm like,
never was, No, not that, not quite that long. I
don't Jerry Lewis wouldn't be able to stay up for
three days. What else do I remember?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
I remember.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Not, But at the time it didn't seem weird. But
everybody on the telethon smoked everybody.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I thought I was watching videos. I was like, I
don't remember that, but there it is.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Everybody smoked.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Johnny Carson used to smoke.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Yeah during during this, you know, there's kids. It's just
so different.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
There's kids all over the place.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
You're smoking, smoking right in front of them. And so
some of this, I'm like you, I watched a lot
of the videos, so I don't but looking at the videos,
the entertainment wasn't very good.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Oh and and the audio quality was terrible.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
And yeah, and so I noticed that like seventy five
seemed like it was the earliest full version you could
find on YouTube. I couldn't really find any anything before
seventy five. Everything was like eighties that had videos of it,
So quality must have been really bad.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, and everybody had to hold microphones. Yeah, I'm like,
don't you get I guess obviously they didn't have wireless mics. Yeah, no,
but no like little mics.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And then I noticed Jerry Lewis had he had like
a handle on the side of his microphone so he
could like hold it either way, yeah straight or it
was weird looking. Yeah. So anyway, Yeah, that was kind
of my memories. Like I say, when I get to
these Reddit memories, it'll be kind of funny. But go ahead,
(18:52):
Well let me get let's do some quick information. So
I got to thinking, you know, it's like every year
the goal to make more money than the last year.
Did they as as far as the videos I saw, they.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Did, Yeah, you know there was a couple million more.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Yeah, except for towards the end when they weren't making more,
And that's when it kind of started a fizzle and
Jerry retired and it went down to like six hours
and then three hours and oh really yeah, so Jerry
wasn't on like the last three or four years, and
those years were only like six hours.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah. I think he quit eleven and the show stopped
in fourteen.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, so I doubt they were making more money at
that point. But you know the one I like seventy six,
they made like thirty thousand dollars, thirty million dollars. Yeah,
and then like the next year it was like thirty
six million. So anyway, they were so but that got
me to thinking, well, Number one, I thought, did that
(19:56):
money ever do any good? Yeah? Did it actually never
improve muscular distrophe? So I look that up and it said, yeah,
it has contributed to certain things of certain muscular dystrophees.
It's not like there's just one muscular distrophee, I guess.
And so it has helped in certain situations for certain people.
(20:19):
It hasn't cured or eliminated it all the money. And
then I got to think, well, I wonder these are
a telethon you you don't donate, but you clinch pledge.
I thought, well, these are just pledges. I wonder how
much money they really make. So I look that up
(20:39):
and instead, according to the Nonprofit pro a shortfall is
not uncommon for charities. In the nineteen seventies and eighties,
collecting sixty to seventy five percent of pledge funds was
considered the norm for telethons. And I heard that even
in the eighties they were only collecting like fifty percent. Wow,
(21:00):
so they were not So people were pledging thirty six
and forty million, but they were only collecting about eighteen
or twenty.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Millis well, you know, like today we got zoom or
not zoom, but we got venmo M and cash app
and all these instant yeah, fun transfers. And I remember
calling in and pledging a dollar.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I was going to ask did you ever pledge?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
I pledged a dollar one year and I don't remember
how I got it to him. I must have put
it in an envelope or something, huh if I did it, Yeah, see,
I don't remember not doing it.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
And that's probably what you know. I would bet that
was like, I mean, two hundred thousand kids that called
in and pledged money and had no you know, I
didn't have any money or any way of sending it,
and that's probably where some of the shortfall came in.
According to one story I read, I kept thinking, well,
why did Jerry Lewis do the MDA telephone. One story
(21:56):
that I read, I don't know if it's true or not,
was that he told a story that he used to
make fun of a fellow student in school the way
that he walked, and that when he found out the
kid had muscular dystrophee, he felt bad and that was
kind of kind of his way of making up to,
(22:16):
you know, let people know that this is a disease
and these people, you know, don't have any choice the
way that they walk and stuff. So it's the longest
running national telethon United States stage for over twenty one
hours each Labor Day.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Now they had the Labor Day Telethon started in sixty six, Yes,
but he was doing telethon telethons, telethons, but in the.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Fifties before that with Dean Martin.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Actually yeah, but those weren't on Labor Day. They were
just yeah telethons.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Yeah, correct, Yeah, when those two were still friends and
telethons were black and white. I saw a couple of those.
I guess over his run, they say he raised two
billion for research and family services, which I guess would
me and see one point two or three billion, which
is still a lot of money, a lot of money,
(23:16):
or maybe that's actually what it brought in. I don't know,
but that's kind of what they put the figure at.
Let's see. Hosted the Labor Day Telethon for forty five years,
from its start in nineteen sixty six until its final appearance.
As his final appearance is host in twenty it is
twenty ten longest running national telethon, shortened and continued without
(23:39):
him for a few years before its cancellation, And basically
I read that part of the reason they quit doing
telethons and the way that they were doing it was
remember the ice bucket challenge. When the ice bucket Challenge
came around, they were like, oh, well that's a lot
easier way to raise money, so that they abandoned television
(24:01):
for social media and a little quirky things like that.
Because the ice bucket Challenge range raised a ton of money.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
For muscular districte I know it was.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
It was for a different disease, but whatever it was.
And I even did it. I remember I went out
in the backyard the first time we lived on Indian
and poured a bucket of water, cold water over my
head and how.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Much my geries.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Oh I didn't of course I didn't raise any but
I guess it brought so much awareness that but some
people did raise money. I just challenged three more people
to do it. I can't remember who.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Well, it wouldn't me because I didn't do it.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
You didn't do it. So yeah, one thing that I
had kind of I don't remember when school started in
Enid this year. It started a couple of weeks ago. Yeah,
but according to a lot of people in the seventies,
literally school started the Tuesday after Labor Day, and so
(25:04):
they all a lot of them associated the telethon with
the end of the summer and it was kind of
a bummer to them because they knew the next day
they had to go to school, which was the Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Right, So that's probably That's probably accurate in a lot
of parts of.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
The country, and it may have been here too. You know.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
I always remember we started on a Thursday or something
like that. Something weird.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Yeah, but I remember they like changed the date because
of he you know, there was that we had a
couple of summers that like lasted a long time and
the schools were really hot, and I think some of
the schools didn't have air conditioning, so they moved they
started playing with the day. So I don't know, but
(25:47):
maybe back in the seventies and en it it was
a day after Labor Day. I don't know, I don't remember.
You got nother factor facts, factor figures.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Ed McMahon joined in nineteen seventy three. In nineteen seventy
the first the first Labor Day of seventy they raised
five million, but by seventy three they had to add
they had the paint of one on the bar with somebody.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Somebody said they remember seeing.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Him do that paint on one on the toeboard. Because
they raised twelve million and seventy three.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
You guys remember the old tote board. Oh yeah, that's
kind of funny. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
They always played what the world needs now?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah, what there were needs now? I am there's more donations, dude.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Something like that.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
Here.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Again, I couldn't get any soundbites off the show.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Yeah. I even searched Apple Music to see if there
was any sound clips and I couldn't. There wasn't any.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Yeah, it definitely was a they're trying to get you
to shed some tears with They were tugging out your
heart's tugging at your heart's drinks to Now do you
remember I don't really remember this in Enid, but it
probably was. Do you remember firefighters on Labor Day being
out with the boots? Yeah, I mean i've seen them
(27:23):
out this last weekend. As I said, I've seen them
in more recent years, but I just don't remember them
being out in the seventies. But I may not have
been driving around on Labor Day weekend in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeah, I think I did.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, yeah, I think it was nationwide so McDonald's was
real big on on clucking money skateathons. Did remember Enid
ever having a skathon. I wouldn't have gone skated for
twenty four hours to raise money.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Now, iles don't belong on these feet there of the wheels,
whis don't need wheels.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
I guess there was a couple of years where they
would send you carnival kits and you could hold a
carn in your backyard and raise money from the neighborhood
kids and then send the money in. Oh really yeah.
I don't ever remember getting a carnival kid or having
a neighbor do a carnival, but maybe somebody out there
(28:15):
might have. Uh. Some of the guests. Frank Sinatra was big.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
I was trying to find who was on the show
the most. I could not find it. It was had
to be like Frank.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
I'm gonna guess free of those two. Yeah, probably Tony Bennett,
Johnny Carson, some of the big names.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I watched it. I watched a clip with Johnny Carson
doing the the ten card trick. I don't know how
he did it. He's quite a he's a good slide
of him magician. I didn't know, but he would hold
ten cards in this hand and then he'd reach out
his pocket in that card. Would it would magically go
into his pocket, and he did it like three or
(28:57):
four different ways. I was impressed. I was like, holy crap,
h that Neil Johnny did I like Johnny Carson.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Did you catch the nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Oh, that was a famous one.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
The one where Ed said something like, I don't know,
he predicted that they were going to hit a certain number,
and when they did, Jerry took his pants off.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
I watched that one too. I'd forgotten about that, I'm
sure I probably, I don't know if I was watching
it loud.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
I was actually seventy five.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Was it seventy five?
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah? Ed said I better get over eighteen million, and
he did.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And so Jerry, yeah, right there on stage, took his
pants off and walked around the stage. But his shirt
and coat, you know, pretty much covered him.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Oh if so, I didn't see nothing. And then in
seventy six is when Frank Sinatra.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Oh that was the big reunion.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Yeah, reunited.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
I watched that one.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
I remember that one.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
See, I don't know if I I remember.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
That one, and I remember watching that.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Yeah. They had not literally spoken to each other since
twenty years.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Since nineteen fifty six.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Yeah, and so and I looked it up. I tried
to research, and I tried to find out did Jerry
Lewis know ahead of time that Dean Martin was going
to be on there? And everything I found so now
he didn't know.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Did you watch the video? Yeah, he looks pretty shocked.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah. And then I read some rumory stuff because I
wanted to know if anybody came on the telephone drunk. Oh,
and they there were some rumors that some people Dean
Martin because everybody always assumed Dean Martin was always drunk.
Even Jerry Lewis well in one of these reports said
(30:46):
he was mad or sad that Dean Martin showed up drunk.
But Jerry Lewis would know if Dean Martin, if that
was an actor real, So I don't believe that one.
But anyway, but no, there was no proof that anybody
came on the telethone drunk. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I mean, and a lot of times, even do you
remember watching Dean Martin show. Yeah, Dean Marks show, he
would act drunk and he wasn't.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yeah, well, every interview he did, he had a glass
of something I think it was apple. They said it
was apple cider. Yeah, but it looked like a mixture
in Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
So, and when him and Foster Brooks would get going.
I love Foster Brooks. He was hilarious.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Well, and then when you think about the telethon, think
about being live in front of hot lights NonStop twenty hours,
you're gonna get a little punch drunk anyway. I mean,
I remember when we would have lock ins, or we'd
spend the night at somebody's house and stay up really late. Well,
you get pretty silly towards the end before you kind
(31:48):
of calm down.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Bohot.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah. So anything that looked like being drunk was probably
punch drunk. They were just you know, had been up
a long time. One of the names mentioned a lot
was Charro. Everybody liked to wait, could you Gucci girl
Charloti to show up?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
I forgot about Charo, So I think she.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Was on probably just as much as Frank Sinatra was.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
They had over two thousand artists over the years.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Wow Kiss was on in nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
I read somewhere Adam Sandler was on there.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Oh really not.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It wouldn't have been the seventies. It would have been
one of the later ones.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, could have been. Yeah, yeah, I got a lot
of Joe Namath in seventy A lot of people in
seventy eight, Bernetette Peters, Marvin Hamlish, Lola Falana, Oh, I
forgot about her, Sarah Vaughn, Chubby Checker. Those were all
seventy eight. Bbe King was on the seventy five. Ray
(32:47):
Charles was on in seventy eight. Tony Bennett. I think
Tony Bennett was on several years. Well, then some I
forget who it was. He would kind of like take
over the hosting back at the nighttime, give Jerry lyss
a break.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
I can't remember his name. He was kind of a
regular stand in for hosting. I don't know if Jerry
was taking a nap or what.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Or he probably went to eat or who knows, go
to the bat probably went to the bathroom, it says.
Co host for many years, Jerry Lewis was joined by
co host Ed McMahon. Well took over from Johnny Olsen
in seventy three. But I don't know if that's the
same as I don't I don't really remember Ed, like
(33:33):
kind of no.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Ed didn't It was this other guy and then Ed
would be there.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, that's what I Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Yeah,
I don't know. I'm not sure who who that would
have been.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
I can see him, I can see him. He's a
comedian nineteen seventy five or that was when he dropped
his pant took his pants off. There's a funny skit.
Did you see the one in nineteen seventy eight where
Sammy Davis gives him a golf ball?
Speaker 1 (33:56):
I did not see that one.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
So he got He gets out there and Sammy Davis
is getting ready to for him. He goes, He goes, har,
I got you something. I got you a monogram golf ball,
and Jerry Lysis is like, oh, just a golf ball.
And then Samy's like, I need you'd be this way.
He calls his buddy out and brings out a really
nice golf bag with his his goofy logo, you know,
(34:20):
is his caricature that he always used. And then so
Sammy's like, oh hey, get off my stage, and Jerry
picks up the golf bag upside down and runs off
the stage just dumps all these brand new golf clubs
all over the states. It was funny, don't I don't
remember that, but I came across it. And then one
year he drove Richard Petty's pace car in nineteen seventy six.
(34:43):
I don't know, you know, they had taped it, uh
huh huh, And I was like, that's you got to
because you got to drive those things fast or they
won't stick to the wall or stick to the the racetrack.
Oh that's pretty.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Interesting, that's pretty cool. Yeah. I don't really remember any
one act or performance that like sticks with me after
all these years.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
The only one that sticks with me is when Dean
Martin came back out or came out and they reunited.
I remember that one vividly because they did it in
crime time too. Maybe they're not gotta waste them home
like that at three o'clock.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
Oh yeah, yeah, says it started at eight pm on
Sunday and end at five pm on Monday. So and
then so here here's some of the comments from Reddit,
and we can kind of I mean, there's a lot,
but they're all kind of funny or they just kind
of remind me of the seventies. Every year we watched
(35:42):
to see if they would break last year's record donations.
Another one, I had a sleepover at my best friend's
house on Labor Day weekend when we were probably in
middle school. We were so excited to stay up all
night and watch the telethon. I was just talking about
this a few nights ago. It was always the last
blast of summer, the day before school started when we
(36:03):
were kids in the early seventies. I don't know why.
We always tried to stay up and watch the whole thing,
and it was painfully boring. There were a lot of
comments about how it would drag well, I don't how,
and I didn't want to get into it, but how
unfriendly or unpopular Jerry Lewis what really was? I guess
(36:26):
there was a lot of that, and you know, I
don't know if all that's true or not, so I
didn't really want to include too much of that. Watched
it every year growing up. The only thing I dreaded
was that we knew that when it was off, a
new school year was just a few days away. It
was a huge deal. At our house. We did pledges,
stayed up late and watched the show, jumped up in
(36:47):
the morning to see how far they had gotten. One year,
we got a kit and had some games in someone's
backyard to raise money. That would have been that.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Little carnival kit.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Summer wasn't over until Jerry Lewis cried and then school
started the next day. Yes, it was an event. The
TV guide had most of the lineup, so you picked
who you wanted to see, Jiffy Pop and Coke. One year,
I got to talk to Bob Crane.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah. So if you did call in into the National
I guess the Las Vegas phone line, you could actually
talk to celebrities that were back there. So they remember
talking to Bob Crane.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
This one I remember when they raised over million dollars,
but the toeboard only had six digits, so he climbed
up a ladder and painted a one on with a
paint brush. This one said all weekend long. As a kid,
it was just annoying, but it really wasn't all weekend long.
So my dad was cutting edge because he got the
(37:51):
campsite next to the phone booth and he brought our
black and white portable TV. We were a hit of
the campground because you call in a play edge in
real time and potentially talk to Johnny Cash or Glenn Campbell.
So they would literally watch it on the black and
white TV and use the payphone to call in pledges
while they were camping. Yeah, kind of funny.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
What what was it? ABC, ABC or CVS?
Speaker 1 (38:18):
You know, I didn't I meant to look that up.
I'm not sure which one it was.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
I don't either. It had to be one of those three.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
And that was another deal is we only had four,
well three main channels, and so you almost had to
watch it because it was there really wasn't a whole
lot else on well yeah, reruns and on Sunday. There
wasn't a whole lot to watch on Sunday anyway. Yeah, so, uh,
(38:48):
I guess it was Monday, all day Monday. I guess
a lot of people complain that it interrupted their soap
operas whatever channel.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
That was on, and then it like the our local
stations would have, yeah, their own tote.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Boards, and I don't remember. Yeah, I don't remember if
it was four, five or nine, but I remember one
of them having it doing it. I'm sure we could
look it up pretty quick and find out. Looked forward
to it. Every year. My brother and I would try
to stay up all night with Jerry never made it,
and our dad would make us take turns each year,
(39:26):
calling and making a donation. I remember being so nervous
calling and talking to the person answering the phone. We
watched the heck out of it. A neighbor and I
even went door to door with a coffee can collecting
spare change. Then we go to wherever the local segments
were being broadcast from and pour our change into a
big fish tank. Would stay up late to see Charro
(39:51):
Charro or Lola Falana or Connie Stevens at two am.
Connie Stevens, I remember, Yeah. My parents used to always
be away that weekend, so I throw a rager of
a party and then watched the telethon hung over our
rager of a party. My goodness, my soul just smiled.
(40:13):
We used to watch it every year. Me and my
mom would stay up twenty four hours and watch, and
we would make a small donation. I was one of
those people in the background taking the calls. We were
told that if the phones weren't ringing, act like we
were taking calls.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
So I bet, yeah, yeah, I hold your finger on
a little thing, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Of course, we watched it. There were only four stations.
If you were lucky. At some point it was the
best thing going. So anyway, those were kind of some of.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
The Yeah, they had like over two hundred stations step broadcasting.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
That's pretty cool. I mean that was big time. That
was I mean that was kind of like almost like
the internet before the Internet. Yeah, everybody in the country
watching one thing twenty four hours. Yeah, which didn't happen,
but literally one time of year.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yeah, that's interesting. They have other diseases. Got telethons, I
don't know, like like long. I guess there's that cancer
one that they do. Now it's not a telethone though,
it's a show. Well the big celebrities they do stuff.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Yeah, yeah, now they're not telethons anymore. Yeah, I think
telethons are kind of a thing in the past. It's
just think about people's interests these days. You know, if
the video is over fifteen seconds long, people lose interest.
So a yeah, twenty one hour telethon is probably not
gonna get that's true. Although if somebody did it just
(41:51):
one year and brought back the nostalgia, I bet a
lot of people our age would watch it just for
the nostalgia. If they could get a lot of these.
Anybody that was on it in the seventies or sixties
or eighties that isn't passed away.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
I here to say, aren't they all gone?
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Well most of them? But you know, I think you
could almost throw or even if somebody like did a movie,
but that wouldn't be a telephone. So yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
I just yeah, I think kind of cool. See a
documentary about it?
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Yeah, I've never seen one. I wonder if there are
any out.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Like behind the scenes and what's Jerry doing when he
goes off stage?
Speaker 1 (42:29):
The truth of the MDA telephone.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
I did see some little things as like MDA scams
or NBA MBA, MDA Let's Clue District, MDA scandals and
all that stuff, and I was like, I'm not even
clicking on that.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:52):
Now, So the song that he always sings towards the
end or on the ends, you'll never walk along? Do
you know how that came about?
Speaker 1 (42:58):
I do not.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
So In nineteen sixty four, he was he came across
this little boy and the little boy had just one
one came one crutch and you know, he the little
boy recognized him, knew who he was, and he's like, hey,
he goes look at me. I'm just walking, I only
have to use one crutch. And Jerry's like, oh that's cool, man,
(43:22):
that's really cool. Good for you. And he's like. They're
sitting there chit chatting, and the little kid goes, hey,
you know what, we need a song. He's like okay,
he goes, just a song for us, you know, and
it's nobody else can use it. Nobody else can use
that song. And he was like, well what kind of song?
Little kids like, oh, you know that one? And he
(43:45):
started repeating verse parts of the song. And Jerry's like, oh, yeah,
I know that song so from I guess apparently nineteen
sixty four sixty five, and I was watching the videos.
He would, you know, he referred to them as his kids.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Uh huh, Jerry's kids.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
Yeah, Jerry's kids. And then he would go when he
was getting singing the song, He's like, okay, I'm gonna
sing their song now. When't my song wasn't a song,
it was always what's their song? Let me play? Where
do you go?
Speaker 1 (44:20):
This is when everybody's mom would get teary eyed and start.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
As it may sound, as corny as it may be,
my god, what a good.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
Day for mankind?
Speaker 2 (44:42):
What m.
Speaker 5 (44:50):
When you walk through a stng, keep your head up high,
and don't.
Speaker 1 (45:03):
Be afraid of the dark.
Speaker 4 (45:10):
At the end of the storm is a golden sky.
Speaker 5 (45:20):
And the sweet silver song.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
Walk on.
Speaker 4 (45:34):
To the wind, Walk on to the rain, though your
dreams be tossed.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
And blown, walk on, walk.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
With hope and you you He's doing pretty good on
(46:26):
this one. Some some of them. He was just blubbering
from the get go. Yeah, and he.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Was like half dressed. His tie was off.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
This I was always off. And yeah he was done.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Yeah he was tired.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
He was tired, but he had he had to built
out that song.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
So that was pretty cool. That was That was a
big part. I mean, we don't think much of it now,
but yeah, in the seventies, that was a big deal.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
It was a big deal.
Speaker 4 (46:53):
I remember.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
I remember I was looking forward to it, like I said,
as much as the Wizard of Oz. You know. That was.
That was huge.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
Yeah, fun stuff, you guys. Let us know if there
was anybody out there, any of you guys that were
like dead set on watching the whole thing. I don't
I do not remember ever once being able to make
it through the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Did you did you know anybody that had muscular distriphy.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Not that I'm aware of, huh, But that doesn't mean
there wasn't some kid in grade school or junior high
that had it and I just didn't know what it was, Yeah,
what it was. So I don't know, but you guys,
let us know five eight zero five four one three
eight oh five or buzz buzzheadmedia dot com or if
you watched it, like what do you have a distinct
(47:42):
memory of one of the years or that's a lot
of that's a lot of a lot of stuff, I
mean acts and things, And.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
That was no small task putting all that together.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Yeah, especially at that time, and going twenty four hours
and getting all the guests and celebrities on there, getting them,
getting them corraled, getting them whether you know, you know
you're on at twenty minutes and yeah, keeping track, and
then all the people taking phone calls. So pretty cool.
And I guess they collected money at seven eleven's as well.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Yeah, seven elevens was a big one, uh sent McDonald's.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Yeah, cool deal. Okay, how are we doing. How are
we doing on time over there? Dave?
Speaker 2 (48:29):
Pretty good, Dave, Uh, we can go anytime?
Speaker 1 (48:32):
Okay, Yeah again, you guys, let us know your memories
of the Jerry Lewis, MDA telethon five eight ho five
one three eighth five. Buzz the buzz. It need to
got calm. We're gonna get out of here.
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