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May 16, 2007 6:30 pm US/Central
Lewis' Telethon To Air From Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) ―
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Jerry Lewis moved the telethon out its longtime home in Los Angeles last year. (File)
Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethon to fight muscular dystrophy, which aired from Las Vegas last year, will return this year.
The broadcast, which benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association, will air Sept. 2-3 from the South Point hotel-casino south of the Las Vegas Strip, organizers said Wednesday.
Lewis moved the telethon out its longtime home in Los Angeles last year, saying it had been overshadowed by other productions there.
"`Back in Vegas!' is my mantra these days," Lewis, 81, said in a statement. "It's great to have this super production telecast from my hometown."
The 2006 telecast raised a record $61 million, bringing the total raised by the telethon to $1.4 billion since 1966. The show features Lewis, his "kids" and celebrities.
This year's show, to air on 190 television stations nationwide, will be produced by KTNV-TV Channel 13, an ABC affiliate, in Las Vegas.
MDA works to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through research programs and professional and public health education. Its programs are funded largely by individual private contributors, the group said.
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