Jerry Lewis Is Giving Up Telethoning

85-year-old JERRY LEWIS has announced that this year's Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day telethon will be his LAST.

Jerry has been hosting the telethon for 45 years.  He'll remain the MDA national chairman... a role he's had since the early 1950s.

In a statement, Jerry said

It's time for an all new telethon era.  I've hosted the annual telethon since 1966, and I'll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

For what it's worth, during last year's telethon, Jerry vowed, quote, "I will be here as long as I breathe."

Last year, it was announced that the 2011 telethon would be cut from 21-and-a-half hours to just six hours.  (Last year's show raised $58.9 million, and the annual telethon has raised around $2.5 billion overall.)