THE ULTIMATE REUNION:  Frank Reunites Dean and Jerry!

September 5, 1976   MDA Labor Day Telethon

By Karen Morris

As Frank Sinatra said, "It was time."

In 1976, an extraordinary and memorable surprise was about to be affectionately hatched for Jerry Lewis by the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra.

But folks who knew Jerry well understood that he was not fond of unexpected jolts that might catch him off guard. It seemed likely that this surprising upcoming moment, arranged by his pally Frank, could be one of those times!

Yet, unbeknownst to many, Frank Sinatra was orchestrating a secret plan that would lead to a stunning, warm and touching reunion between Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin on September 5, 1976, at the MDA Telethon in Las Vegas. This would turn out to be a momentous occasion, especially for devoted fans of Jerry and Dean.

The MDA telethon was a must-see TV event. Every Labor Day we tuned in, laughed, and then cried watching Jerry and "Jerry's Kids". As the host of the highly rated and not-to-be-missed event (from 1966-2010), Jerry was the perfect emcee, exuding a combination of genuine emotion yet never losing his zaniness to entertain.

 In 1946, thirty years before the remarkable and unifying televised moment, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were the hottest American comedy and musical duo around town.

'When Jerry and Dean started, it was like an explosion,' singer Steve Lawrence told Mike Miller for PEOPLE.com. 'When these two guys got together and opened at the Copacabana, you would not believe the pandemonium that existed in that club. It just went nuts, and you couldn't get in the joint after that. They broke every record in the house. This was the first time there was a comedy act that looked like this. They were very attractive-looking guys, and before that you had duos like Laurel and Hardy. Abbot and Costello and Olson and Johnson. Then Martin and Lewis came along and they were just so different than any of those guys.'

Jerry and Dean oozed chemistry and delivered slapstick humor that delighted audiences. Sold-out appearances from their show-stopping nightclub act, hugely popular movies, television and radio programs brought smashing success, as kudos followed them. But eventually, the long-running act and partnership began to fade. A final farewell came ten years later on July 24, 1956, as it was Splitsville for these two sensational performers who had decided to move on independently.

Rumors abounded whether they had briefly connected personally during the twenty-year hiatus before the MDA telethon reunion. They knew of each other's subsequent careers, and in a small way Dean was supportive of Jerry's. During a September 1967 edition of The Dean Martin Show, he even encouraged viewers to tune into NBC's The Jerry Lewis Show (which premiered that same month). But one thing was certain, they hadn't been performing together.

Fast forward to 1976, to the entertainment mecca Las Vegas and the Sahara Hotel. Frank Sinatra was scheduled to perform live at the telethon (instead of remotely which he had done since 1953.) And he was preparing his bombshell idea to reunite Dean with Jerry.

Author James Kaplan (Sinatra: The Chairman & Frank: The Voice) adds his insights in an interview by Donald Liebenson in the Vanity Fair article "When Jerry Met Dean - Again, on Live Television": 'Frank was singing live on that telethon for the first time in 23 years,' Kaplan said in a phone interview. 'It was a big deal, and I think he wanted his friend along for support. But he also had a prankish side, Frank did, and I think he thought it would be a fun thing to do.'

But how was Frank to keep this a secret and how would the MDA organizers hide Dean so that Jerry would not know? Would the King of Comedy and the King of Cool be reunited without any spoiler issue?

Behind the scenes, things appeared chaotic.The tone of the day was described to me by Hollywood sitcom director Howard Murray, son of well-known comedian Jan Murray, a close friend of the Rat Pack, who performed at the telethon frequently.

 Howard recalled, 'Over the years, Dad co-hosted the [MDA] telethons when he was available. I imagine he did at least a dozen. I did stage manage one of the years Dad was cohosting from NY. [He] worked on at least five MDA Telethons, twice as a stage manager/talent coordinator in NY for the local cutaways, and three at The Sahara Hotel in Vegas,' although he wasn't part of the working crew on that particular day. But he was fortunate to be on-site to witness what was happening backstage, as Howard observed with anticipation:

'I was there when Frank brought Dean out on stage. My most vivid memory of the time was the chaos that was going on when Frank's entourage arrived. I remember everyone freaking out and trying to keep Dean hidden. Dean insisted on seeing where Jerry went when he came offstage to pee or change shirts. Jerry had a trailer parked in the loading dock of The Sahara. The MDA people were freaking out that the surprise would be blown. I know people who were there that insist it was totally staged, while others remain convinced it was spontaneous. I choose to think it was the latter. I had a front-row seat for all of the pre- production meetings and the "autopsy" meeting after the show. JL (as the MDA people referred to him) was the ultimate control freak....so I guess anything is possible.'

Media sources have noted that Jerry's son, Gary Lewis, was assisting at the telethon when he suddenly caught a fleeting glimpse of Dean. Remembering how much his Dad didn't like surprises, he was careful to keep this private. Amid the chaos, Frank Sinatra was about to discreetly invite Dean Martin onto the telethon stage while we all were about to watch the event unfold.

Frank had just performed one song, and Dean was waiting in the wings to enter.

How was Jerry going to react as Dean calmly approached the stage and walked up to Jerry and Frank?

Keep in mind that this was live TV!

In an online apnews.com article, Associated Press entertainment writer Bob Thomas detailed the moment:

'Frank Sinatra had just finished a song, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," when he told Lewis, 'I've got a friend I'd like you to meet.' Dean Martin, holding a cigarette, strode onstage with his usual nonchalance. The audience exploded, and Lewis was stunned. The two old partners hadn't spoken since they had acrimoniously ended their act 20 years before. They embraced, and Lewis later recalled saying a quick prayer: Dear God, give me a line. Help me to say something. I don't know what to do. When he regained his composure, Lewis said to Martin: 'Ya workin'?' The laughter rocked the theater...'

The broadcast audience at the telethon was elated, giving the trio a standing ovation for over a minute.

Jerry would eventually be asked what we all were asking ourselves. Could it be that he knew in advance that this was going to happen?

He responded honestly to this question in an interview published September 5, 2016 by thirteen.org/ Metrofocus titled 40 Years Later: The Martin & Lewis Reunion: 'No. Look at the film. You look at my face. Look at Dean's face. You'll see we just saw one another for the first time in twenty years.'

Jerry had said Frank was the only guy who could have done it! Metrofocus asked, 'Why is that?" Jerry responded, 'Because we loved Frank and Frank loved us. And we had this wonderful three-way love affair. But Frank never got in the way of Dean and I. Dean never got in the way of Frank and I. And we always had the greatest respect for one another's friendship.'

It does seem fitting that it was Frank Sinatra who would design this historical and significant occasion with panache. Years later, USA Today declared that the telethon reunion was one of the greatest moments in TV history.

As we all tenderly watched Jerry and Dean give each other a genuine hug, Frank smiled broadly and said to them and the audience, 'I think it's about time, don't you?'

We agree, and we thank you, Frank Sinatra, for bringing these two artists back together again.

It was time.