Telethon take hits $56 million

The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon raised $54.9 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. and more than $1 million for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Lewis, 79, decided after seeing reports from the Gulf Coast to devote the two-day telethon both to children with muscular dystrophy and to Katrina victims.

The telethon’s total to fight muscular dystrophy was $4.5 million less than last year, but lower figures were expected due to the outpouring of donations for the hurricane victims. It was only the third time in 40 years that the telethon failed to surpass the previous year’s total.