Pen-Elayne on the Web

On The 'Thon

White Rabbits, happy Labor Day (although not so happy for workers under the current administration), and welcome to my favorite time of the year! From now until right around our birthdays and anniversary (and lately through the winter holidays), I tend to go through very creative and energetic bursts. I've loved autumn the best since I was a kid, and autumn meant an end to summer boredom and discomfort (fat kids in bathing suits still suffer ridicule) and new clothes and school starting (hated the socializing since fat kids-- well, you know-- but loved the learning) and leaves turning pretty colors and that indefinable Autumnal Smell that I cannot pinpoint to this day but I can tell you when I smell it in the air and it makes me positively giddy with anticipation. And the harbinger of all of that has been Labor Day, and the harbinger of Labor Day has been, from my earliest memories, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

Now, I haven't come to bury Jerry-- goodness knows that's been done by enough organizations and writers with far more personal experience than I-- but to discuss the kitsch aspect of the Telethon's entertainment. Before there were D-list celeb reality shows, even before The Love Boat and Hollywood Squares, the Telethon was the surefire place you knew you'd find people famous for... well, as far as you knew famous for being on the Telethon. Oh sure, many of them probably had gigs in the Borscht Belt or nightclubs around the country, but as variety shows became less and less visible they weren't really entertainers you saw on TV outside of their yearly schtick in support of Jerry's Kids. Some were, and are, quite good - this year opened with a killer tap dance extravaganza featuring appearances by everyone from Fayard Nicholas (who at nearly 89 didn't actually bust a move but it was great to see him shimmying up on the stage!) on down to a couple very talented kids, and at the end they flashed a portrait of Gregory Hines in the background, which I thought was lovely. And then I actually found myself giggling at Norm Crosby's routine (which can best be described as malapropism meets vaudeville-era jokes), probably more out of comfort than the actual level of humor involved. And in a way, for me that's what the Lewis kitsch is about. It's a kind of visual and aural comfort food, a nostalgic reminder of when I was younger and watched it with my family. I like the continuity of it, that it hasn't changed all that much through the years (which is its nature, after all) and that I can introduce Robin to among the weirdest and most obscure acts to better help him, um, appreciate American entertainment. My one regret is that I still haven't caught Charo in the past few years - I really want him to have the complete Charo Telethon Experience (from the amazing guitar playing to the, um, other stuff) just once. It's looking increasingly like we may have to visit my parents in Vegas for that... Oh, and as one might expect, Mark Evanier (link at sidebar) has a couple observations on the Telethon as well, here and here. Update: Okay, around 3-3:30 PM Eastern, Robin finally had the Charo Experience. We believe it's because I invoked it in my blog. :)