( CNN ) -- The Muscular Dystrophy Association announced Wednesday that comedian Jerry Lewis is no longer serving as the organization 's national chairman . Lewis , 85 , and MDA had announced in May that he was retiring as host of the MDA Labor Day Telethon in September . But he said then in a statement that he was planning to continue to serve as the organization 's national chairman . `` As a labor of love , I 've hosted the annual telethon since 1966 , '' Lewis said in the news release issued in May by the association . `` And I 'll be making my final appearance on the show this year , by performing my signature song , 'You 'll Never Walk Alone . ' '' Jim Brown , vice president of public relations for the MDA , told CNN in a telephone interview that Lewis will not be replaced in his role as national chairman . He also said that Lewis will not host this year 's telethon , which is scheduled for September 4 . Instead , it will be hosted by Nigel Lythgoe , Nancy O'Dell , Allison Sweeney and Jan Carl , Brown said . No explanation was offered for the change of plans -- either about his position as national chairman or about the plan to replace him in next month 's telethon . For 45 years , Jerry Lewis and the organization 's annual Labor Day fundraiser have been synonymous , so much so that it became known as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon . Lewis hit it big at age 20 in 1946 , teaming up with Dean Martin to become one of the most popular comedy partnerships in history . Together , they headlined thousands of sold-out performances , 16 hit movies and two dozen top-rated television shows . After the break-up of the Martin and Lewis team , Lewis made a successful solo career . In 1959 , he signed a seven-year , $ 10 million contract with Paramount -- at the time , the largest contract ever between a studio and performer . His solo film career included classics such as `` The Nutty Professor , '' `` The Bellboy '' and `` The Geisha Boy . '' Still , for several generations since , Lewis has been known as much as a philanthropist as a movie star . That 's because of his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association , a nonprofit dedicated to curing that disease , ALS and related ailments as well as providing support , education and other services . Lewis joined the cause in the early 1950s , and he gave it star power in 1966 when he became the host of what would be the charity 's first of many telethons over Labor Day weekends . In between occasional songs , comic bits and passionate pitches for people to donate , his biggest challenge was keeping the variety show lively and engaging for as long as 21.5 consecutive hours . Scores of television stations across the country picked up the program , while volunteers stood by to take calls from people pledging donations . The 2010 edition raised $ 58,919,838 after performances by the likes of acrobatic dancers from Cirque du Soleil , `` American Idol 's '' David Archuleta , and a host of comedic performers . Still , throughout the acts , the one constant over 900 hours of programming has remained Lewis . This year 's event will be shorter than many of years past at six hours . CNN 's Matthew Carey contributed to this story .
The decades - old man had said in May that he was going to continue as chairman . He said then that next year 's telethon would be the last one he would host . But the MDA says he will not host this year 's telethon .