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This weekend before Jerry Lewis took to his telethon stage, Johnny Depp was performing with his old band The Kids in Pompano, Florida. Depp and The Kids were honoring Sheila Witkin, the women that revolutionized the South Florida rock music scene in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s. According to sheilawitkin.org, “Through live music and in Sheila Witkin’s memory, our cause is to support proven charities that make a difference.”

Depp didn’t start out on a high school theater stage, instead he was a guitarist for The Kids, playing the South Florida scene, even opening for Iggy Pop. Find out more about Depp’s musical history here.

This is, of course old news to all the diehard Depp followers out there. On Friday, August 29th, they were tracking and uploading up to the minute reports on Johnny and his old bandmates in Florida, flooding YouTube, Flickr, and other internet media channels with videos, and images of Depp rocking out on electric guitar.

I know most of the Depp enthusiasts out there are aware of the Jerry Lewis and Depp connection. If you haven’t seen the movie Arizona Dream , you should rent it today. Jerry Lewis and Johnny Depp hit the big screen together in the 90′s with this abstract, and unique film directed by Emir Kusturica, that has become somewhat of a classic in France.

Here’s Iggy Pop in his video for the Arizona Dream movie soundtrack:

When I think of Labor Day weekend I think of The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. I remember staying up almost all night in 1977 watching the pledges come in, the performances by celebrities, Jerry Lewis and Ed McMann looking more tired as the hours went by, waiting for the timpani and the numbers to be tallied up. The next morning with very little sleep I got my piggy bank together full of pennies, nickels and dimes and took it to the nearest 7-Eleven store. Back in the 70′s the radio featured a DJ named Wolfman Jack. He was the one that told me via the radio to get my money together, take it to 7-Eleven for Jerry’s Kids, and have a Slurpee afterward. Wolfman Jack is probably the only DJ I’ve ever paid any attention to. With his unique voice, Be-Bop Medley’s he played over the radio, and his signature howl, he really was a cool dude. Some of you might remember Wolfman Jack being featured in the movie American Graffiti. For those of you who never heard of him take a listen to  this record via Youtube:

The telethon has been around since the 60′s. Just like everything in showbiz it’s had some controversies. Jerry has shown his human side on live television with jokes that may not be politically correct, and maybe offensive to some, but I still believe his heart and passion for the cause that he’s spent so much personal time and effort on is true. Lewis is a performer from old Hollywood, before politically incorrect was uttered for the first time, when Las Vegas was more about Downtown and less about The Strip, when the Rat Pack reigned supreme and you could smoke and drink a scotch while performing a number on TV.

I won’t be dragging my piggy bank to the store this year but I will be donating to the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon online. You can too. Check it out here www.mda.org/