The 38th edition of the Telethon begins this Friday, November 29. The singer Mika is the godfather this year. This event is celebrating its 70th anniversary since it was born in 1954 on the American television channel ABC. The Telethon comes from the contraction between the words “television” and “marathon”. In its beginnings, it was dedicated to cerebral palsy.
The comic Jerry Lewisinvested since the 1950s in the fight against muscular dystrophy, created the Telethon as we know it in France in 1966: 30 hours live to raise funds. The artist was also the first sponsor of the French version in 1987.
The Telethon went beyond the expectations of its importers in France, Claude Barathaud and Pierre Birambeau of the AFM, Louis Bériot of Antenne 2 and the director Jean-Pierre Spiero. But the beginnings were complicated. The Telethon almost never existed in France. Already, in the mid-80s, Dorothée, star of the show Recreation A2, had tried to put it on the air. The leaders of the 2nd channel had refused, they were convinced that this event would never work.
The decisive intervention of a French Football boss
But Antenne 2 ended up accepting. The presence of Jerry Lewis, then a world-famous comedian, particularly convinced the channel. But it is French football which will ultimately make the Telethon exist. However, Channel 2 was reluctant to organize this show. The reason? The cost.
More Jean Sadoulpresident of the National Football League, involved in the project, intervened. He proposed to Antenne 2 to give free broadcasting rights to a Coupe de France match in exchange for the launch of the Telethon. He even added that he would reimburse the channel in the event of a loss of money.
An unexpected success
The first evening of the Telethon was complicated. Jerry Lewis, disappointed with the first figures for pledges, even left the set, treating the French as losers. In reality, the numbers were very good. A technical problem prevented the information from going back to the board and the famous counter which, originally, only had eight digits.
The organizers thought they would reach, at most, the mark of 50 million francs. When the 100 million francs mark was exceeded, it was necessary to paint the 9th digit by hand on the counter. Pmore than 181 million francs had been collected. And Jerry Lewis finally came back. Since then, the Telethon has become the largest popular fundraising event in the world.
If you want to help research into rare genetic diseases, you can make a donation by dialing 3637 or go to the Telethon website.
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