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If you were wondering how people like Bill Wyman, Ringo Starr and Todd
Rundgren turned up on the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, which
traditionally has spurned rock, the answer comes from Astrid Wyman, Bill Wyman’s
wife. After watching the 1978 telethon, Astrid decided the show needed some rock
& rollers. So she called Lewis, met him, and he hired her as a promotion
consultant. “I’d been looking for a charity for a while,” she said. “I thought
the way Jerry was doing his was a great idea, except he didn’t cover rock & roll
and I thought that was all wrong. I was getting very bored with all the barriers
between music styles and decided it was time for a change.” She started calling
up people like ABBA, Peter Frampton, Journey, Paul McCartney, Kiss, Eddie
Money and her husband’s band. Most groups were touring but agreed to furnish
taped performances. Wyman himself decided to fly from France to Las Vegas for
the live show and assembled a group with Dave Mason, Rundgren, Ringo and Doug
Kershaw. Astrid was pleased with the results and said next year’s telethon will
be “incredible.” She said Lewis was so happy with her efforts that she may book
him for a European tour. She’s also started working with France’s leading
promoter and moved to Los Angeles for a while to mull over the TV offers she’s
now getting to produce rock shows. “It’s unbelievable,” she said. “I’d never
worked before in my life. This has completely changed my life.” We asked Astrid,
who has been with Bill for thirteen years, how he managed – unlike other Rolling
Stones – to stay out of trouble. “Oh, Bill is very together. He doesn’t take any
drugs or anything like that.” Then she was off to lunch with Rod Stewart and a
meeting with Elton John to discuss future projects.
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