Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in seven retired.

 After 45 years promotion of treatment and a cure for children he calls "my children", comedian Jerry Lewis announced Monday that he retires as host of the Telethon Association of muscular dystrophy of the feast of the work that has become synonymous with his name.

Lewis, 85, issued a statement through the association, calling for "the time for a new era Telethon".

"I welcomed the annual Telethon since 1966 as a labour of love, and I will make my last appearance on the show this year in interpreting my signature song, you'll Never Walk Alone," Lewis said of a primetime shortened six broadcast hours scheduled for September 4.

Lewis, a resident of Las Vegas, has struggled in recent years against a disease debilitating back, cardiac and pulmonary fibrosis of chilling pulmonary disease. He said that he will continue to serve as President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association national, as it is since the beginning of the 1950s.

"I'll never desert MDA and my children," he said.

Officials with the base of Tucson, Arizona non-profit hailed Lewis as one of philanthropists great of the world.

More than 1 billion raised during telethons Association muscular dystrophy over the years, spokesman for the association, said Jim Brown. And a national network of some 200 hospital-affiliated clinics opened since Lewis became involved in the Telethon.

First live Labor Day weekend Telethon Lewis in 1966 was issued by a single New York City television station. He raised more than 1 million dollars in pledges.

in this September 1, 2008 file photo, Jerry Lewis listens to the final count of donations during the 43rd Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon one Point South hotel-casino in Las Vegas. After 45 years, Lewis, 85, retired as host of the Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association labor day, the actor said Monday, May 16, 2011.

The Telethon transferred from New York to Las Vegas in 1973 and played in Los Angeles before returning in 2006 to Las Vegas.

Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon last year aired coast South hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip and was broadcast by more than 170 stations. He raised nearly $ 59 million to fund research to find a cure for muscular dystrophy and als or Lou Gehrig's disease.

The live Telethon takes usually 21? hours. Sometimes Lewis sings and tells funny jokes. He introduced guests and other artists as a ringmaster. Sometimes it turns into a serious and sharing stories of people affected by the disease or who are helped by the association. During this time, it urges donors to contribute so that a Board tote rings up total of pledge.

Some moments Telethon made history.

In Las Vegas during the Telethon in 1976, Lewis was assembled by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Lewis was an acrimonious split 20 years earlier. The famous artist known for his slapstick humor first teamed with Martin in the 1940s to play nightclubs and television and making a series of comedy films.

Recognized association telethons to 900 hours live Lewis, President of the association and Chief Executive Gerald Weinberg called Lewis a unparalleled advocate and humanitarian aid.

"All those who have had the privilege of working at its sides and hundreds of thousands around the world affected by the myriad battles of MDA of diseases of the muscle, will acknowledge in our hearts the role is incomparable that Jerry has played in our lives and the lives of all Americans"Weinberg said"always" in the Declaration.

The success of Lewis as a philanthropist has been celebrated in 2009 when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences presented him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The prize was awarded to Lewis by Eddie Murphy, who played in a remake of one of the iconic roles of Lewis, "the Professor nutty."