Jerry Lewis retiring as telethon host

TUCSON, May 16 (UPI) -- Hollywood screen icon Jerry Lewis says he will appear for the last time on the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon this summer.

Lewis, 85, has been battling numerous health issues in recent years.

"As a labor of love, I've hosted the annual telethon since 1966 and I'll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, 'You'll Never Walk Alone.' I'll continue to serve MDA as its national chairman -- as I've done since the early 1950s. I'll never desert MDA and my kids," Lewis said in a statement Monday.

The association said the actor and comedian has banked about 900 hours of live television time encouraging viewers to help fund worldwide research seeking treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases while enabling MDA to provide medical and healthcare services through its U.S. network of 200 hospital-affiliated clinics.

"It's time for an all new telethon era," Lewis said. "This year's 6-hour prime-time telethon on Sept. 4 will be spectacular and I'm thrilled to be part of it. We're so close to treatments that it's absolutely vital for everyone to tune in and make a generous donation. America has always found a way each year to give me that just one dollar more to help my kids."

"As MDA continues the growth Jerry Lewis has done so much to inspire, all of us who've been privileged to work beside him and the hundreds of thousands throughout the world affected by the myriad of muscle diseases MDA battles, will acknowledge in our hearts forever the unrivaled role Jerry has played in our lives and the lives of all Americans," said MDA President and Chief Executive Officer Gerald C. Weinberg. "We're deeply honored that Jerry Lewis will continue as MDA's national chairman and we're profoundly grateful for everything he has done and is doing for the association."