He raised $2.5B for muscular dystrophy

When it came to one particular cause — finding a cure for muscular dystrophy — Jerry Lewis wasn’t kidding around.

To generations of Americans, Lewis was equally well known for helping to raise money for people suffering from the crippling neurological disease as he was for his work with Dean Martin and those knee-buckling pratfalls.

For 45 years, Lewis hosted the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The legendary jokester, who also served on the charity’s board, became so integral to the effort that children the group helped were nicknamed Jerry’s Kids.

“MDA would not be the organization it is today if it were not for Jerry’s tireless efforts on behalf of ‘his kids,’ ” charity Chairman R. Rodney Howell said in a statement. “Jerry’s love, passion and brilliance are woven throughout this organization, which he helped build from the ground up.”

During the 24-hour telethons, Americans tuned in to watch Lewis yuk it up with entertainment legends.

Lewis would spend 21 ¹/2 hours straight pleading viewers to raise “just one more dollar” and concluded the show with his personal anthem, the ballad “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

The comedian gave hope to people suffering from the debilitating disease, according to CUNY Vice Chancellor Christopher Rosa, who has muscular dystrophy and works with the MDA.

“Knowing that Jerry was in my corner meant the world to me,” Rosa said. “While MDA provided the medical care that gave me support and the research that gave me hope, Jerry radiated an energy that inspired me and so many others to keep fighting.”

The telethons raised more than $2.45 billion since Lewis started hosting in 1966. He ended his hosting run in 2010 but remained the group’s national chairman until 2011. He died Sunday at age 91.