Every year since 1955, The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon has raised money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Entertainer Jerry Lewis has become well-known for his tireless work supporting "Jerry's kids", as the children he's helped are known. Around 200 stations air the program annually, called the "Love Network", which features entertainment from performers. The list of appearances includes hundreds of celebrities. The show has been hosted 38 times by Ed McMahon.

In 1998, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon made history as the first telethon seen around the world via Internet simulcast, hosted by RealNetworks on MDA's Web site.

Appearances

2001

• Kermit sings "Bein' Green" with Calvin Ray Johnson (YouTube)

2002

• Kermit sings "Mahna Mahna" with the Snowths.

2003

• Johnny Fiama and Sal Minella host.
• Bear performs "It's Great to Be a Bear", "The Any Way You Wanna Conga," and "The Goodbye Song."

2005

• Johnny and Sal host with Tom Bergeron and perform their own rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
• Statler and Waldorf appear a few times in inserts.

2007

• Rizzo the Rat and Pepe the King Prawn co-host three hours of the overnight portion of the telethon, with Tom Bergeron and Alison Sweeney. The Muppets close their three-hour segment with a version of "Wake Up Little Susie" -- which they remake as "Wake Up, Little Pledgers".

• Later in the morning, Bear sang three songs for a group of kids. Noel MacNeal performed Bear live to interact with the children, and lipsynced to the studio recorded songs. This was Bear's final appearance to date.