After 45 years as host, Jerry Lewis is retiring as the public face of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s telethon. “I’ll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’†said Lewis. “I’ll continue to serve MDA as its national chairman as I’ve done since the early 1950s. I’ll never desert MDA and my kids.†Since Lewis took on hosting duties, the MDA has raised more than $2.6 billion, but in recent years Lewis’s age and declining health have made it difficult for him to make it through the six — yes, it’s been reduced to only six — hours of the telethon. [Chicago Tribune]