Jerry Lewis has announced on Monday (May 16), that after tirelessly hosting the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual Labor Day telethon for 45 years, he is retiring.

The 85-year-old comedian, issued a statement through MDA calling it  ”time for an all new Telethon era.” 

“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,’” Lewis said of a shortened six-hour prime-time broadcast scheduled for Sept. 4.

 Lewis will remain the MDA’s national chairman, a position he’s held since the 1950s, promoting treatment and a cure for children he calls “my kids” .

His first telethon in 1966 was carried by only one New York station and raised more than $1 million.  Last year’s telethon brought in nearly $59 million.  

More than $1 billion has been raised during Muscular Dystrophy Association telethons over the years, association spokesman Jim Brown said. And a national network of some 200 hospital-affiliated clinics has opened since Lewis became involved in the telethon.

Hailed as one of the greatest humanitarians of all times, Labor Day will never be the same without Jerry Lewis and ‘his kids’.