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Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
, Lewis was nicknamed "The King of Comedy". Starting in 1946, he teamed with singer Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
to form the famous Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...
, then in 1956, went on as a solo act on stage, top-grossing movie star, a staple on television and filmmaker.
He starred in 60 films, directed 13 movies and was an early and prominent user of video assist, which allows real-time review of how a scene looks on camera. During his years as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular di ...
(MDA), Lewis supported fundraising for muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...
research and hosted '' The Jerry Lewis Telethon'', which raised $2.6 billion.
Early life
Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, inNewark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. His parents were Daniel "Danny" Levitch (1902–1980), a master of ceremonies and
Rae Lewis in household of Daniel Lewis, Ward 2, Irvington, Irvington Town, Essex, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 7-174B, sheet 4B, line 49, family 95, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2334. Reports about his birth name are conflicting; in Lewis's 1982 autobiography, he claimed his birth name was Joseph, after his maternal grandfather, but his
In 1945, Lewis was 19 when he met 27-year-old singer
"''Rock-a-Bye'' helps Jerry Lewis become a singer"
/ref> With the success of that album, he recorded the additional albums ''More Jerry Lewis'' (an EP of songs from this release was released as ''Somebody Loves Me''), and ''Jerry Lewis Sings Big Songs for Little People'' (later reissued with fewer tracks as ''Jerry Lewis Sings for Children''). Non-album singles were released, and ''
March 15, 2018), Ester Calonico in household of John Farinno, Tract 911, Highland Park, Highland Park City, Wayne, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 82–155, sheet 15B, line 60, family 46, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1832. They had six sons together; five biological: Gary (born 1945), Scott (born 1956), Christopher (born 1957), Anthony (born 1959) and Joseph (1964–2009); and one
"Sammy Petrillo Speaks Out"
(1992 interview with Petrillo), WFMU.org, posted 1998 so much so that Lewis at first tried to catch and kill Petrillo's career by signing him to a talent contract and then not giving him any work. When that failed (as Petrillo was under 18 at the time), Lewis tried to blackballing, blackball Petrillo by pressuring television outlets and then nightclubs,Rutt, Todd. "Duke Mitchell & Sammy Petrillo: Those Two Fireballs of Fun", ''Psychotronic Video'' No. 11, Fall 1991, pp. 23–32 also threatening legal action after Petrillo used his Lewis impersonation in the film ''Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla''.Havesi, Dennis. "Sammy Petrillo, an Actor and Nightclub Comedian, Dies at 74"
''
* 1952 – Photoplay Award
* 1952 – Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Best Comedian or Comedienne
* 1954 – Most Cooperative Actor, Golden Apple Award
* 1958 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1959 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1960 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1960 – Two stars (one for film and one for television) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* 1961 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Comedy Performance for ''Cinderfella''
* 1961 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1962 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1963 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1963 – Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists, Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Film Award Nomination for Best Film for ''The Nutty Professor''
* 1964 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1965 – Golden Laurel, Special Award – Family Comedy King
* 1965 – Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Film Award Nomination for Best Film for ''The Family Jewels''
* 1966 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Comedy Performance (Male) for ''Boeing Boeing''
* 1966 – Golden Light Technical Achievement Award for his 'video assist'
* 1966 –
Bright Lights Film Online Journal
Film School Rejects
la furia umana (Multilingual Film Quarterly)
at MUBI
Museum of the Moving Image
An American Original: The RogerEbert.com Staff Remembers Jerry Lewis
Senses of Cinema
at Directors Guild of America
Lewis interview video
with Peter Bogdanovich
Jerry Lewis Interview Podcast WTF with Marc Maron
with Buddy Rich a
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jerry Jerry Lewis, 1926 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male actors American film producers American humanitarians American male comedians American male comedy actors American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male non-fiction writers American male screenwriters American male singer-songwriters American male stage actors American male television actors American memoirists American people of Russian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American television directors Comedians from New Jersey Comedy film directors Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Decca Records artists Film directors from New Jersey Film producers from New Jersey Honorary Members of the Order of Australia Irvington High School (New Jersey) alumni Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winners Jewish American male actors Jewish American male comedians Jewish American musicians Jewish American writers Jewish activists Jewish singers Las Vegas shows Liberty Records artists Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from Newark, New Jersey Musicians from Newark, New Jersey New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees Nightclub performers Paramount Pictures contract players People from Irvington, New Jersey People with type 1 diabetes Screenwriters from New Jersey Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Television producers from New Jersey Traditional pop music singers Vaudeville performers Writers from Newark, New Jersey
vaudevillian
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
who performed under the stage name Danny Lewis, whose parents immigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
to New York, and Rachael "Rae" Levitch (née Brodsky; 1903–1983), a WOR radio pianist and Danny's music director, from Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
.
* United States Census, 1940," database with images, ''FamilySearch'' (March 15, 2018)Rae Lewis in household of Daniel Lewis, Ward 2, Irvington, Irvington Town, Essex, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 7-174B, sheet 4B, line 49, family 95, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2334. Reports about his birth name are conflicting; in Lewis's 1982 autobiography, he claimed his birth name was Joseph, after his maternal grandfather, but his
birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
, the 1930 U. S. Census, and the 1940 U. S. Census all named him as Jerome.
Reports about the hospital where he was born conflict as well; biographer Shawn Levy
Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the ''Night at the Museum'' film franchise an ...
claims Lewis was born at Clinton Private Hospital and others report it as Newark Beth Israel Hospital. Other aspects of his early life conflict with accounts made by family members, burial records, and vital record
Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some ...
s.
In his teenage years, Lewis was known for pulling pranks in his neighborhood, including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies. He dropped out of Irvington High School in the tenth grade. Lewis said that he ceased using the names Joseph and Joey as an adult to avoid being confused with Joe E. Lewis
Joe E. Lewis (born Joseph Klewan; January 12, 1902 – June 4, 1971) was an American comedian, actor and singer.Obituary ''Variety'', June 9, 1971, page 54.
Early life
Lewis was born was born into a family of Russian immigrants on Januar ...
and Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...
.
Early career
By age 15, Lewis had developed his "Record Act", miming lyrics to songs while a phonograph played offstage. He landed a gig at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but his performance fell flat and he was unable to book any more shows. To make ends meet, Lewis worked as asoda jerk
Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person — typically a young man — who would operate the soda fountain in a pharmacy (shop), drugstore, preparing and serving carbonated drink, soda drinks and ice cream sodas. T ...
and a theater usher for Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...
's father Gene at the Paramount Theatre as well as at Loew's Capitol Theatre, both in New York City.
A veteran burlesque comedian, Max Coleman, who had worked with Lewis's father years before, persuaded him to try again. Irving Kaye, a Borscht Belt
The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the north ...
comedian, saw Lewis's mime act at Brown's Hotel
Brown's Hotel is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, London, established in 1837 and owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 3 July 2003. It is considered one of London's oldest existing hotels.
History
Brown's Hotel was founded in 1837, by James and Sarah Br ...
in Loch Sheldrake, New York, the following summer, and the audience was so enthusiastic that Kaye became Lewis's manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Lewis was rejected from military service because of a heart murmur
Heart murmurs are unique heart sounds produced when blood flows across a heart valve or blood vessel. This occurs when turbulent blood flow creates a sound loud enough to hear with a stethoscope. Turbulent blood flow is not smooth. The sound di ...
.
Career
Teaming with Dean Martin
In 1945, Lewis was 19 when he met 27-year-old singer Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
at the Glass Hat Club in New York City, where the two performed until they debuted at Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
's 500 Club as Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...
on July 25, 1946. The duo gained attention as a double act with Martin serving as the straight man
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
to Lewis's zany antics. The inclusion of ad-libbed improvisational segments in their planned routines added a unique quality to their act and separated them from previous comedy duos.
Martin and Lewis quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, then as stars of their radio program ''The Martin and Lewis Show
''The Martin and Lewis Show'' is a radio comedy-variety program in the United States starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. It was broadcast on the NBC Radio Network beginning April 3, 1949, and ending July 14, 1953.
Background
After losing ''The J ...
''. The two made their television debut on CBS' ''Toast of the Town'' (later renamed as ''The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'') June 20, 1948. This was followed by an appearance on '' Welcome Aboard'' on October 3, 1948, and by a guest stint on ''Texaco Star Theater
''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...
'' in 1949.
In 1950, they signed with NBC to be one of a series of weekly rotating hosts of ''The Colgate Comedy Hour
''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...
'', a live Sunday evening broadcast. Lewis, writer for the team's nightclub act, hired Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...
and Ed Simmons as regular writers for their ''Comedy Hour'' material. Their ''Comedy Hour'' shows consisted of stand-up dialogue, song and dance from their nightclub act and movies, backed by Dick Stabile
Richard Dominic Stabile (May 29, 1909 – September 18, 1980) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.
Career
He was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The son of a band leader and violinist, Stabile learned piano a ...
's big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
, slapstick and satirical sketch comedy, Martin's solo songs, and Lewis's solo pantomimes or physical numbers.
Martin and Lewis often broke character, ad-libbing and breaking the fourth wall
Breaking or breakin' may refer to:
Arts
* Breakdancing (also breaking), an athletic style of street dance
* ''Breakin, a 1984 American breakdancing-themed musical film
* "Breakin, a twelfth-season episode of the American animated television se ...
. While not completely capturing the orchestrated mayhem of their nightclub act, the ''Comedy Hour'' displayed charismatic energy between the team and established their popularity nationwide. By 1951, with an appearance at the Paramount Theatre in New York, they were a hit. The duo began their film careers at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
as ensemble players, in ''My Friend Irma
''My Friend Irma'' is a media franchise that was spawned by a top-rated, long-running radio situation comedy created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard. The radio show was so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated the films, ...
'' (1949) and its sequel ''My Friend Irma Goes West
''My Friend Irma Goes West'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and based on the radio show ''My Friend Irma.'' It stars the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The film is a sequel to ''My Friend Irma'' (1949) and was r ...
'' (1950).
They then starred in their own series of 14 new films, ''At War with the Army
''At War with the Army'' is a 1950 American musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker, released by Paramount, starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis and introducing Polly Bergen. Filmed from July through August 1949, the film premiered in ...
'' (1950), '' That's My Boy'' (1951), '' Sailor Beware'' (1952), ''Jumping Jacks
''Jumping Jacks'' is a 1952 American semi- musical comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was directed by Norman Taurog, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was one of the military comedies that marked the duo's ea ...
'' (1952), ''The Stooge
''The Stooge'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released nationally in the United States in February 1953 by Paramount Pictures.
Plot
In 1930, entertainer Bil ...
'' (1952), '' Scared Stiff'' (1953), ''The Caddy
''The Caddy'' is a 1953 American semi-musical-comedy-sports film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It is noteworthy for Dean Martin introducing the hit song "That's Amore".
Plot
Harvey Miller, whose father was a famous golf pro, is e ...
'' (1953), ''Money from Home
''Money From Home'' is a 1953 American comedy film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The comedy was the first for the Martin and Lewis team to be shot in color and was their only film in 3-D. The picture was premiered as a special preview ...
'' (1953), ''Living It Up
''Living It Up'' is a 1954 American comedy film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis which was released by Paramount Pictures.
The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelso ...
'' (1954), ''3 Ring Circus
''3 Ring Circus'' is a 1954 American comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The picture was shot from February 17 to March 31, 1954, and released on December 25 by Paramount Pictures. The supporting cast ...
'' (1954), ''You're Never Too Young
''You’re Never Too Young'' is a 1955 American semi- musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring the team of Martin and Lewis and co-starring Diana Lynn, Nina Foch, and Raymond Burr. It was released on August 25, 1955 by Paramoun ...
'' (1955), ''Artists and Models
''Artists and Models'' is a 1955 American musical romantic comedy film in VistaVision directed by Frank Tashlin, marking Martin and Lewis's 14th feature together as a team. The film co-stars Shirley MacLaine and Dorothy Malone, with Eva Gabor an ...
'' (1955), ''Pardners
''Pardners'' is a 1956 American comedy western film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was released on July 25, 1956 by Paramount Pictures.
A western spoof directed by Norman Taurog, this was the penultimate film of the 16 screen c ...
'' (1956) and '' Hollywood or Bust'' (1956), all produced by Hal B. Wallis
Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...
and appeared on Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
and Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
's Olympic Fund Telethon.
Martin and Lewis cameoed in Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's film ''Road to Bali
''Road to Bali'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 19, 1952, the film is the sixth of the seven ''Road to …'' movies. It was ...
'' (1952), then Hope and Crosby would do the same in '' Scared Stiff'' a year later. Attesting to the duo's popularity, DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
published ''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' is the title of a celebrity comic book published by DC Comics and featuring the popular team of comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The series ran for forty issues from 1952 through 1957, at w ...
'' from 1952 to 1957. The team appeared on ''What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'' in 1954, the 27th annual Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
in 1955, ''The Steve Allen Show
''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC,
'' and ''The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
'' in 1956.
Their films were popular with audiences and were financial successes for Paramount. In later years, both Lewis and Martin admitted frustration with Wallis for his formulaic and trite film choices, restricting them to narrow, repetitive roles. As Martin's roles in their films became less important over time and Lewis received the majority of critical acclaim, the partnership came under strain. Martin's participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when '' Look'' magazine published a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out.
After their final nightclub act on July 24, 1956, both Lewis and Martin went on to have successful solo careers, but neither would comment on the split nor consider a reunion. They were occasionally seen at the same public events and even reunited on stage for 15 minutes to do their old act together in 1960 at The Sands hotel.Dean surprised Jerry on his appearance on ''The Eddie Fisher Show
''The Eddie Fisher Show'' is an American musical comedy/variety television series starring Eddie Fisher. The series alternated on Tuesday nights with ''The George Gobel Show'' with episodes running from October 1, 1957 – March 17, 1959 on NB ...
'' on September 30, 1958, and they appeared on TV together at the 1959 Academy Awards closing. They reunited several times publicly, and sometimes privately according to interviews they gave to magazines.
Twenty years after their breakup, Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
surprised Lewis by bringing Martin onstage during the Jerry Lewis Telethon
The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded i ...
in September 1976. In 1989, Lewis returned the gesture, attending Martin's 72nd birthday.
Solo period
After ending his partnership with Martin in 1956, Lewis and his wife Patty took a vacation in Las Vegas to consider the direction of his career. He felt his life was in a crisis state: "I was unable to put one foot in front of the other with any confidence. I was completely unnerved to be alone". While there, he received an urgent request from his friendSid Luft
Michael Sidney Luft (November 2, 1915 – September 15, 2005) was an American show business figure, the second husband of actress Lynn Bari, and later the third husband of actress and singer Judy Garland.
Early life
Luft was born in New Yor ...
, who was Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
's husband and manager, saying that she couldn't perform that night in Las Vegas because of strep throat
Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as streptococcal sore throat (strep throat), is pharyngitis (an infection of the pharynx, the back of the throat) caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a gram-positive, group A streptococcus. Common symptom ...
, and asking Lewis to fill in.
Lewis had not sung alone on stage since he was five years old, twenty-five years before. He delivered jokes and clowned with the audience while Garland sat off-stage, watching. He then sang a rendition of a song he'd learned as a child, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody
"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" is a popular song written by Jean Schwartz, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway musical '' Sinbad'' and published in 1918.
Probably the best-k ...
" along with "Come Rain or Come Shine
"Come Rain or Come Shine" is a popular music song, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the Broadway musical '' St. Louis Woman'', which opened on March 30, 1946, and closed after 113 performances.
Chart perf ...
". Lewis recalled, "When I was done, the place exploded. I walked off the stage knowing I could make it on my own".
At his wife's urging, Lewis used his own money to record the songs on a single. Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
heard it, liked it and insisted he record an album for them."Jerry Lewis 'Goes Over' in a Big Way," ''The Star Press'' (Muncie, Indiana), December 2, 1956, p. 23 The single of ''Rock-a-Bye Your Baby'' went to No. 10 and the album ''Jerry Lewis Just Sings'' went to No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' charts, staying near the top for four months and selling a million and a half copies.Lewis, Jerry"''Rock-a-Bye'' helps Jerry Lewis become a singer"
/ref> With the success of that album, he recorded the additional albums ''More Jerry Lewis'' (an EP of songs from this release was released as ''Somebody Loves Me''), and ''Jerry Lewis Sings Big Songs for Little People'' (later reissued with fewer tracks as ''Jerry Lewis Sings for Children''). Non-album singles were released, and ''
It All Depends On You "It All Depends on You" is a 1926 popular song with music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song, written for the musical '' Big Boy'', was published in 1926. It was featured in the hit 1928 Warner Bros. film ''The Sing ...
'' hit the charts in April and May 1957, but peaked at only No. 68. Further singles were recorded and released by Lewis into the mid-1960s.
But these were not Lewis's first forays into recording, nor his first appearance on the hit charts. During his partnership with Martin, they made several recordings together, charting at No. 22 in 1948 with the 1920s ''That Certain Party'' and later mostly re-recording songs highlighted in their films. Also during the time of their partnership, but without Martin, he recorded numerous novelty-comedy numbers for adults as well as records specifically intended for the children's market.
In late 1956, Lewis began performing regularly at the Sands Hotel and Casino
The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic American hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent high sign, the Sands was the sevent ...
in Las Vegas, which marked a turning point in his life and career. The Sands signed him for five years to perform six weeks each year and paid him the same amount they had paid Martin and Lewis as a team. The critics gave him positive reviews: "Jerry was wonderful. He has proved that he can be a success by himself," wrote one. He continued with club performances in Miami, New York, Chicago and Washington.
Live performances became a staple of Lewis' career and over the years he performed at casinos, theaters, and state fairs. In February 1957, Lewis followed Garland at the Palace Theater in New York and Martin called on the phone during this period to wish him the best of luck. "I've never been happier," said Lewis. "I have peace of mind for the first time."
Lewis established himself as a solo act on TV starting with the first of six appearances on ''What's My Line?'' from 1956 to 1966 and then guest starred on ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...
''. He appeared on both ''Tonight Starring Jack Paar
''Tonight Starring Jack Paar'' (in later seasons ''The Jack Paar Tonight Show'') is an American talk show hosted by Jack Paar under the ''Tonight Show'' franchise from 1957 to 1962. It aired during late-night.
During most of its run it was br ...
'' and ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' and beginning in January 1957, in a number of solo TV specials for NBC. He starred in his adaptation of "The Jazz Singer
''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...
" for '' Startime''. Lewis hosted the Academy Awards three times, in 1956, 1957 and the 31st Academy Awards
The 31st Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1959, to honor the best films of 1958. The show's producer, Jerry Wald, started cutting numbers from the show to make sure it ran on time. He cut too much material and the ceremony ended 20 ...
in 1959, which ran twenty minutes short, forcing Lewis to improvise to fill time. DC Comics published a new comic book series titled ''The Adventures of Jerry Lewis'', running from 1957 to 1971.
Lewis remained at Paramount and started off with his first solo effort ''The Delicate Delinquent
''The Delicate Delinquent'' is an American VistaVision comedy film starring Jerry Lewis, released on June 6, 1957 by Paramount Pictures. It was the first film to star Lewis without his longtime partner Dean Martin and marked Lewis' debut as a pro ...
'' (1957) then starred in his next film '' The Sad Sack'' (1957). Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator, screenwriter, and film director. He was best kn ...
, whose background as a ''Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
'' cartoon director suited Lewis's brand of humor, came on board. Lewis did new films with him, first with ''Rock-A-Bye Baby
"Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top" (sometimes "Hush-a-bye baby in the tree top") is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768.
Words
First publication
The rhyme is believed to have first appeared in print in ...
'' (1958) and then ''The Geisha Boy
''The Geisha Boy'' is a 1958 American comedy film starring Jerry Lewis, distributed by Paramount Pictures. Filmed from June 16 to August 7, 1958, it had its first screening in New York City on December 19, 1958. This motion picture featured th ...
'' (1958). Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...
asked Lewis to play the lead role of an uptight jazz musician named Jerry, who winds up on the run from the mob in ''Some Like It Hot
''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...
'', but he turned the role down.
Lewis then appeared in '' Don't Give Up The Ship'' (1959) and made a cameo appearance in ''Li'l Abner
''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...
'' (1959). A 1959 contract between Paramount and Jerry Lewis Productions specified a payment of $10 million plus 60% of the profits for 14 films over seven years.
This contract made Lewis the highest paid individual Hollywood talent to date and was unprecedented in that he had unlimited creative control, including final cut and the return of film rights after 30 years. Lewis's clout and box office were so strong (his films had already earned Paramount $100 million in rentals) that Barney Balaban
Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive who was the president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964 and an innovator in the cinema industry.
Life and career
Barney Balaban (formerly Birnbaum) was the el ...
, head of production at Paramount at that time, told the press, "If Jerry wants to burn down the studio I'll give him the match!"
Lewis had finished his film contract with Wallis with ''Visit to a Small Planet
''Visit to a Small Planet'' is a 1960 American black-and-white science fiction comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Jerry Lewis, Joan Blackman, Earl Holliman, and Fred Clark. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, it was produced by Hal ...
'' (1960) and wrapped up production on his own film ''Cinderfella
''Cinderfella'' is a 1960 American semi-musical comedy film adaptation of the classic ''Cinderella'' story, with most characters changed in gender from female to male and starring Jerry Lewis as Fella. It was released on November 22, 1960 by P ...
'' (1960), directed by Tashlin and was postponed for a Christmas 1960 release. Paramount Pictures, needing a quickie movie for its summer 1960 schedule, held Lewis to his contract to produce one. As a result, he made his debut as film director of ''The Bellboy
''The Bellboy'' is a 1960 American comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on July 20, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and marked Lewis's directorial debut.
Plot
In a prologue sequence, fictitious execut ...
'' (1960), which he also starred in.
Using the Fontainebleau Hotel
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach (also known as Fontainebleau Hotel) is a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Designed by Morris Lapidus, the luxury hotel opened in 1954. In 2007, the Fontainebleau Hotel was ranked ninety-third in the American Institute ...
in Miami as his setting — on a small budget, with a very tight shooting schedule — Lewis shot the film during the day and performed at the hotel in the evenings. Bill Richmond
Bill Richmond (5 August 1763 – 28 December 1829) was a British boxer, born into slavery in Richmondtown, New York. Although born in Colonial America, he lived for the majority of his life in England, where all his boxing contests took p ...
collaborated with him on many of the sight gags. Lewis later revealed that Paramount was not happy about financing a "silent movie" and withdrew backing. Lewis used his own funds to cover the movie's $950,000 budget. Meanwhile, he directed an unsold pilot for ''Permanent Waves''.
Lewis continued to direct more films that he had co-written with Richmond, including ''The Ladies Man
''The Ladies Man'' is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount Pictures.
Plot
Herbert H. Heebert is a young man who loses his girlfriend, swears off romance, and then takes ...
'' (1961), where Lewis constructed a three-story dollhouse-like set spanning two sound stages, with the set equipped with state of the art lighting and sound, eliminating the need for boom mics in each room and his next movie ''The Errand Boy
''The Errand Boy'' is a 1961 American comedy film directed by, co-written by and starring Jerry Lewis.
Plot
Paramutual Pictures decide that they need a spy to find out the inner workings of their studio. Morty S. Tashman, (the 'S' stands for 's ...
'' (1961), was one of the earliest films about movie-making, using all of the Paramount backlot and offices.
Lewis appeared in ''The Wacky World of Jerry Lewis'', ''Celebrity Golf'', ''The Garry Moore Show
''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talent ...
'' and Tashlin's ''It's Only Money
''It's Only Money'' is a 1962 American comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis and was released by Paramount Pictures. It was the final film of Zachary Scott.
Plot
Lester March is a 25-year-old orphan who is an electroni ...
'' (1962), then guest hosted ''The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' during the transition from Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...
to Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...
in 1962 and his appearance on the show scored the highest ratings thus far in late night, surpassing other guest hosts and Paar. The three major networks began a bidding war, wooing Lewis for his own talk show, which debuted the following year.
Lewis then directed, co-wrote and starred in the smash hit ''The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor may refer to:
* ''The Nutty Professor'' (1963 film), directed by and starring Jerry Lewis
* ''The Nutty Professor'' (1996 film), directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Eddie Murphy
** ''The Nutty Professor'' (soundtrack), sound ...
'' (1963). A parody of ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
'', it featured him as Professor Kelp, a socially inept scientist who invents a serum that turns him into a handsome but obnoxious ladies man. It is often considered to be Lewis's best film. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
in 2004. The film inspired a franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
, which has included a 1996 remake starring Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
in the title role and a stage musical adaptation.
In 1963, he had cameo roles in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians, is a ...
'' and Tashlin's ''Who's Minding the Store?
''Who's Minding the Store?'' is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis, Jill St. John, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Walston, Kathleen Freeman, and John McGiver. It was released on November 28, 1963, by Paramou ...
''. He also hosted ''The Jerry Lewis Show
''The Jerry Lewis Show'' was the name of several separate but similar American variety, talk and comedy programs starring comedian Jerry Lewis that aired non-consecutively between 1963 and 1984. The original version of the series aired on ABC from ...
'', a lavish 13-week, big-budget show which aired on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from September to December in 1963.
Lewis next starred in '' The Patsy'' (1964), his satire about the Hollywood star-making industry, ''The Disorderly Orderly
''The Disorderly Orderly'' is a 1964 American comedy film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Jerry Lewis. The film was produced by Paul Jones with a screenplay by director Frank Tashlin, based on a story by Norm Liebermann and Ed Haas ...
'' (1964), his final collaboration with Tashlin, appeared in a cameo on '' The Joey Bishop Show'' and '' The Family Jewels'' (1965) about a young heiress who must choose among six uncles, one of whom is up to no good and out to harm the girl's beloved bodyguard who practically raised her. All six uncles and the bodyguard were played by Lewis.
In 1965, Lewis was interviewed on ''The David Susskind Show
''The David Susskind Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by David Susskind which was broadcast from 1958 to 1986. The program began locally in New York City in 1958 as ''Open End,'' which referred to the fact that the program was open ...
'', then starred in '' Boeing Boeing'' (1965), his last film for Paramount, based on the French stage play, in which he received a Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nomination; an episode of ''Ben Casey
''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols " ♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...
'', an early dramatic role; ''The Andy Williams Show
''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...
;'' and '' Hullabaloo'' with his son Gary Lewis. In 1966, after 17 years, and with no explanation, Lewis left Paramount and signed with Columbia Pictures where he tried to reinvent himself with more serious roles.
He went on to star in ''Three on a Couch
''Three on a Couch'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Jerry Lewis and starring Jerry Lewis and Janet Leigh.
Plot
Christopher Pride wants to marry his girlfriend, Dr. Elizabeth Acord. However, she is too involved with her patients and s ...
'' (1966), ''The Merv Griffin Show
''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...
'', '' Way...Way Out'' (1966), ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show'', ''Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'', ''Laugh In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...
'', ''Password
A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...
'', a pilot for ''Sheriff Who'', a new version of ''The Jerry Lewis Show'', this time as a one-hour variety show for NBC, which ran from 1967 to 1969, ''The Big Mouth
''The Big Mouth'' is a 1967 American comedy film produced, directed, co-written, and starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in San Diego and features Frank De Vol as an onscreen narrator.
Plot
Gerald Clamson is a bank examiner who loves fishing on ...
'' (1967), '' Run for Your Life'' and ''The Danny Thomas Hour
''The Danny Thomas Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC during the 1967–68 television season.
Synopsis
''The Danny Thomas Hour'' comprised various formats, including dramas, comedies and musical-variety ...
''.
Lewis appeared in ''Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
''Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'' is a 1968 British comedy film produced by Walter Shenson and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on 12 July 1968 by Columbia Pictures and is based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name, with the ori ...
'' (1968), ''Playboy After Dark
''Playboy After Dark'' is an American television show hosted by Hugh Hefner. It aired in syndication through Screen Gems from 1969 to 1970 and was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles.
Overview
''Playboy After Dark'' followed much the sa ...
'' (surprising friend Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
), '' Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969), '' Jimmy Durante's The Lennon Sisters Hour'', ''The Red Skelton Show
''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televis ...
'' and ''The Jack Benny Birthday Special'' and contributed to some scripts for Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...
's animated series ''Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down
''Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down'' is a 1970 animated showcase for various caricatured Jerry Lewis characters, all based on characters from the 1965 film '' The Family Jewels'', and styled in a fashion similar to ''Archie's TV Funnies' ...
'', appeared on ''The Mike Douglas Show
''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into nati ...
'' and directed an episode of ''The Bold Ones
''The Bold Ones'' is the umbrella title for several television series. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast on NBC from 1969 to 1973. It was a wheel format series, an NBC programming approach also used by that network in serie ...
''.
Lewis guested on ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...
'', ''The Hollywood Palace
''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...
'', ''The Engelbert Humperdinck Show'', ''The Irv Kupcinet Show'', '' The Linkletter Show'', ''The Real Tom Kennedy Show'' and ''A Christmas Night with the Stars'', directed '' One More Time'' (1970), in which he played his first (and only) off-screen voice as a bandleader, starred in ''Which Way to the Front?
''Which Way to the Front?'' is a 1970 American comedy film produced, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis, which was his first film for Warner Bros.
Plot
Brendan Byers III is a rich playboy who enlists to fight in the war against the Axis powe ...
'' (1970) and appeared on ''The Carol Burnett Show
''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harvey ...
'', ''The Rolf Harris Show'' and ''The Kraft Music Hall
''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949.
Radio
''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety program ...
''.
Lewis directed and appeared in the partly unreleased ''The Day the Clown Cried
''The Day the Clown Cried'' is an unfinished and unreleased 1972 Swedish-French drama film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It is based on an original screenplay by Joan O'Brien and Charles Denton, from a story idea by O'Brien, with additio ...
'' (1972), a drama set in a Nazi concentration camp
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
. The film was rarely discussed by Lewis, but he said that litigation over post-production finances and copyright prevented its completion and theatrical release. During his book tour for ''Dean and Me'', he also said a factor for the film's burial was that he was not proud of the effort.
Lewis explained his reason for choosing the project and the emotional difficulty of the subject matter in an interview with an Australian documentary film crew. A 31-minute edited compilation of the film's scenes was compiled by Lewis fan Kay Brown/Donazify, and went viral on the internet in 2016, after the footage was shown on the German television station ARD, in the documentary Der Clown. It was later put on DVD and shown at Deutsches Filminstitute. The film was the earliest attempt by an American film director to address the subject of The Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. Significant speculation continues to surround the film. Following this, Lewis took a break from the movie business for several years.
Lewis appeared as guest on ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', ''The Dick Cavett Show
''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:
* ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning''
* ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...
'', ''NBC Follies'', ''Celebrity Sportsman'', ''Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
'', ''Dinah!
''Dinah!'' is a daytime variety talk show that was hosted by singer and actress Dinah Shore. The series was distributed by 20th Century Fox Television and premiered on October 21, 1974, in syndication. In 1979, the show became known as ''Dinah ...
'' and ''Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include "Candida (song), Candida" ...
''. Lewis surprised Sinatra and Martin after walking onto the Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
stage in Las Vegas during their show and exchanged jokes for several minutes. He then starred in a revival of '' Hellzapoppin'' with Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career.
A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...
, but closed on the road before reaching Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. In 1979, he guest hosted as ringmaster of ''Circus of the Stars
''Circus of the Stars'' was an annual television special, broadcast by the CBS network in the United States, in which celebrities performed circus-type acts. With 19 shows in total, the first was broadcast in 1977 and the last was in 1994. Over ...
''.
Lewis guest starred on '' Pink Lady'' in 1980, then made a comeback to the big screen in ''Hardly Working
''Hardly Working'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by, co-written by and starring Jerry Lewis and Susan Oliver, filmed in 1979, released in Europe in 1980 and then in the United States on April 3, 1981 through 20th Century Fox. This film ...
'' (1981), after an 11-year absence from film. Despite being panned by critics, it eventually earned $50 million. In 1982 and 1983, Lewis appeared on ''Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
'' and in '' The King of Comedy'', as a late-night TV host, plagued by two obsessive fans, in which he received wide critical acclaim and a BAFTA nomination for this serious dramatic role.
Lewis then starred in ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', ''Star Search
''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
'', '' Cracking Up'' (1983), '' Slapstick (Of Another Kind)'' (1984), '' To Catch a Cop'' (1984) and '' How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave'' (1984), the latter two films from France which had their distribution under Lewis's control and stated that they would never be released in American movie theaters and on home media. He then was a guest on an episode of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...
''.
He then hosted a new syndicated version of ''The Jerry Lewis Show'', this time as a talk show for Metromedia, which was not continued beyond the scheduled five shows. In 1985, Lewis directed an episode of ''Brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
'', appeared at the first Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
in 1986, where he was the only performer to receive a standing ovation, was interviewed on ''Classic Treasures'' and starred in the ABC television movie '' Fight for Life'' (1987).
In 1987, Lewis performed a second double act with Davis Jr. at Bally's in Las Vegas, then after learning of the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin
Dean Paul Martin Jr. (born Dino Paul Crocetti Jr., November 17, 1951 – March 21, 1987) was an American pop singer and film and television actor. A member of the California Air National Guard, Martin died in a crash during a military training f ...
, he attended his funeral, which led to a more substantial reconciliation with Martin. In 1988, Lewis hosted ''America's All-Time Favorite Movies'', then was interviewed by Howard Cosell
Howard is an English language, English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (disambiguation), Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defe ...
on ''Speaking of Everything.'' He then starred in five episodes of '' Wiseguy''.
The filming schedule of the show forced Lewis to miss the Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...
's opening with a retrospective of his work. In 1989, Lewis joined Martin on stage, for what would be Martin's final live performance, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Lewis wheeled out a cake on Martin's 72nd birthday, sang " Happy Birthday" to him and joked, "Why we broke up, I'll never know". He next appeared in ''Cookie
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...
'' (1989).
Lewis handled two years directing episodes of ''Super Force
''Super Force'' is an American action-adventure TV series which aired from October 1990 to May 1992.
The series is about a former astronaut turned cop who uses a highly advanced powered exoskeleton and motorcycle to fight crime in the city of ...
'' and '' Good Grief'' in 1990 and 1991, then star in ''Mr. Saturday Night
''Mr. Saturday Night'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that marked the directorial debut of its star, Billy Crystal.
It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with ...
'' (1992), ''The Arsenio Hall Show
''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall.
There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...
'', '' The Whoopi Goldberg Show'' and ''Inside The Comedy Mind''. A three-part retrospective ''Martin & Lewis: Their Golden Age of Comedy'', aired on The Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
in 1992, using previously unseen kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...
s from Lewis's personal archive, highlighted his years as part of a team with Martin and as a soloist.
After guest spots on ''Mad About You
''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...
'' and ''Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...
'' and film appearances in ''Arizona Dream
''Arizona Dream'' is a 1993
indie surrealist comedy drama film co-written and directed by Emir Kusturica and starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Lili Taylor and Vincent Gallo.
Plot
Axel has a dream about an Eskimo who catches a ...
'' (1993) and ''Funny Bones
''Funny Bones'' is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co produced by Simon Fields, and co written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman, and the cinematogr ...
'' (1995), Lewis made his Broadway debut, as a replacement cast member playing the devil, in a revival of ''Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during ...
'' and was reportedly paid the highest sum in Broadway history at the time for performing in both the national and London runs of the musical. He missed only three shows in more than four years, one of those occasions being the funeral of Martin, his comedy partner of ten years.
Lewis appeared on ''Inside the Actors Studio
''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel Cente ...
'' in 1996, the 12th annual American Comedy Awards
The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually in the United States recognizing performances and performers in the field of comedy, with an emphasis on television comedy and comedy films. They began in 1987, billed as the "f ...
in 1998, ''The Martin Short Show
''The Martin Short Show'' is a syndicated talk show, based on the late night model, hosted by Martin Short with announcer/sidekick Michael McGrath. The talk show aired for one season from 1999 to 2000. It was produced by King World Productio ...
'', ''Russell Gilbert Live'', ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'', ''Live with Kelly'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', the song " Time After Time" with Deana Martin
Deana Martin is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer Dean Martin.
Film and television
Martin was born in Manhattan to Dean Martin and his first wife, Elizabeth Anne "Betty" McDonald. She moved to Beverly Hills, Californ ...
on her album ''Memories Are Made of This'' and '' Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!'' (2009).
He made his last appearances for the 81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 ...
, '' Till Luck Do Us Part 2'' (2013), '' The Talk'', ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'', ''The World Over with Raymond Arroyo'', '' The Trust'' (2016), his final film ''Max Rose
Max N. Rose (born November 28, 1986) is an American military officer and politician who served as a United States representative from New York for a single term from 2019 to 2021. A moderate Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served ...
'' (2016), ''WTF with Marc Maron
''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald.
Background
The show's ti ...
'' and ''Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
''Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'' is an American talk-show web series directed and hosted by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The series premiered on digital network Crackle on July 19, 2012. As of May 2015, it had been streamed nearly 100 million tim ...
''.
Video assist and film class
During the 1960 production of ''The Bellboy'', Lewis pioneered the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors, which allowed him to review his performance instantly. This was necessary since he was acting as well as directing. His techniques and methods of filmmaking, documented in his book and his USC class, enabled him to complete most of his films on time and under budget since reshoots could take place immediately instead of waiting for thedailies
In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and pri ...
.
''Man in Motion'', a featurette
In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film.
Medium-length film ...
for ''Three on a Couch'', features the video system, named "Jerry's Noisy Toy" and shows Lewis receiving the Golden Light Technical Achievement award for its development. Lewis stated he worked with the head of Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
to produce the prototype. While he initiated its practice and use, and was instrumental in its development, he did not hold a patent. This practice is now commonplace in filmmaking.
Starting in 1967, Lewis taught a film directing class at the University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
in Los Angeles for a number of years. His students included George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
, whose friend Steven Spielberg sometimes sat in on classes. Lewis screened Spielberg's early film ''Amblin'
''Amblin is a 1968 American short film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. It was Spielberg's first completed film shot on 35 mm. The film is a short love story set during the hippy era of the late 1960s about a young man and woman who ...
'' and told his students, "That's what filmmaking is all about." The class covered all topics related to filmmaking, including pre and post production, marketing and distribution and filming comedy with rhythm and timing.
His 1971 book ''The Total Film Maker'', was based on 480 hours of his class lectures. Also, Lewis traveled to medical schools for seminars on laughter and healing with Dr. Clifford Kuhn and also did corporate and college lectures, motivational speaking and promoted the pain-treatment company Medtronic
Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...
.
Acclaim and exposure in France
While Lewis was popular in France for his duo films with Dean Martin and his solo comedy films, his reputation and stature increased after the Paramount contract, when he began to exert total control over all aspects of his films. His involvement in directing, writing, editing and art direction coincided with the rise ofauteur
An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...
theory in French intellectual film criticism and the French New Wave
French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...
movement. He earned consistent praise from French critics in the influential magazines ''Cahiers du Cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' and '' Positif'', where he was hailed as an ingenious auteur.
His singular ''mise-en-scène
''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...
'', and skill behind the camera, were aligned with Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name."
A v ...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
and Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
. Appreciated too, was the complexity of his also being in front of the camera. The new French criticism viewed cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
* ...
as an art form unto itself, and comedy as part of this art. Lewis is then fitted into a historical context and seen as not only worthy of critique, but as an innovator and satirist of his time. Jean-Pierre Coursodon
Jean-Pierre Coursodon (23 July 1935 – 31 December 2020) was a French film critic and historian. He wrote film reviews and journal articles to the magazines including ''Cinéma'' (1958–1965, 1977–1986) and ''Anthologie du Cinéma'' (1966–1 ...
states in a 1975 ''Film Comment
''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...
'' article, "The merit of the French critics, auteurist excesses notwithstanding, was their willingness to look at what Lewis was doing as a filmmaker for what it was, rather than with some preconception of what film comedy should be."
Not yet curricula at universities or art schools, film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.
...
and film theory
Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for und ...
were avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
in early 1960s America. Mainstream movie reviewers such as Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
, were dismissive of auteur theory, and others, seeing only absurdist comedy, criticized Lewis for his ambition and "castigated him for his self-indulgence" and egotism. Despite this criticism often being held by American film critics, admiration for Lewis and his comedy continued to grow in France.
Appreciation of Lewis became a misunderstood stereotype about "the French", and it was often the object of jokes in American pop culture. "That Americans can't see Jerry Lewis's genius is bewildering," says N. T. Binh, a French film magazine critic. Such bewilderment was the basis of the book ''Why the French Love Jerry Lewis''. In response to the lingering perception that French audiences adored him, Lewis stated in interviews he was more popular in Germany, Japan and Australia.
Muscular dystrophy cause and criticism
As a humanitarian, philanthropist and "number one volunteer", Lewis supported fundraising for research intomuscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...
. In 1951, he and Martin made their first appeal for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular di ...
(simply known as MDA and formerly as the Muscular Dystrophy Associations of America and MDAA) in early December on the finale of ''The Colgate Comedy Hour''. In 1952, after another appeal, Lewis hosted New York area telethons until 1959 and in 1954, fought Rocky Marciano
Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...
in a boxing bout for MDA's fund drive.
After being named national chairman in 1956, Lewis began hosting and emceeing ''The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon
The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded ...
'' in 1966 and aired every Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend for six decades. Ed McMahon
Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...
, announcer of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' and host of ''Star Search'', began his involvement in the telethon in 1968, before coanchoring with Lewis from 1973 to 2008. The show originated from different locations including New York, Las Vegas and Hollywood, becoming the most successful fundraising event in the history of television. The songs "Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses ...
" (by Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
), "What the World Needs Now Is Love
"What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a relea ...
" (by Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwr ...
) and "You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...
" (by Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popu ...
) have been long associated with the telethon.
It was the first to: raise over $1 million, in 1966; be shown entirely in color, in 1967; become a networked telethon, in 1968; go coast-to-coast, in 1970; be seen outside the continental U.S., in 1972. It: raised the largest sum ever in a single event for humanitarian purposes, in 1974; had the greatest amount ever pledged to a televised charitable event, in 1980 (from the ''Guinness Book of World Records''); was the first to be seen by 100 million people, in 1985; celebrated its 25th anniversary, in 1990; saw its highest pledge in history, in 1992; and was the first seen worldwide via internet simulcast, in 1998.
By 1990, societal views of disabled individuals and the telethon format had shifted. Lewis' and the telethon's methods were criticized by disabled-rights activists who believed the show was "designed to evoke pity rather than empower the disabled". The activists said the telethon perpetuated prejudices and stereotypes, that Lewis treated those he claimed to be helping with little respect, and that he used offensive language when describing them.
Lewis rebutted the criticism and defended his methods saying, "If you don't tug at their heartstrings, then you're on the air for nothing."
The activist protests represented a very small minority of countless MDA patients and clients who had directly benefitted from Lewis's MDA fundraising. During Lewis' lifetime, MDA-funded scientists discovered the causes of most of the diseases in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's program, developing treatments, therapies and standards of care that have allowed many people living with these diseases to live longer and grow stronger. Over 200 research and treatment facilities were built with donations raised by the Jerry Lewis telethons.
In December 1996, Lewis and MDA were recognized by the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016.
The AMA's state ...
with Lifetime Achievement awards for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity. Lewis received a Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
nomination in 1977, a Governors Award in 2005 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Governors Awards ceremonies for an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes". Prior to 2009 and i ...
in 2009, in recognition of his fight and efforts with MDA. His motto summed up the philosophy behind his years of devotion to MDA: "I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again".
2010 would be Lewis' final hosted telethon. On August 3, 2011, MDA announced that Lewis would no longer host its telethons and that he was no longer associated with MDA. A tribute to Lewis was held during the 2011 telethon (which originally was to be his final show bearing his name with MDA). In May 2015, MDA said it was discontinuing its telethon in view of "the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving".
In early 2016, at MDA's brand relaunch event at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Lewis broke a five-year silence during a special taped message for the organization on its website, marking his first (and as it turned out, his final) appearance in support of MDA since his final telethon in 2010 and the end of his tenure as national chairman in 2011. MDA's website states, "Jerry's love, passion and brilliance are woven throughout this organization, which he helped build from the ground up, courted sponsors for MDA, appeared at openings of MDA care and research centers, addressed meetings of civic organizations, volunteers and the MDA Board of Directors, successfully lobbied Congress for federal neuromuscular disease research funds, made countless phone calls and visits to families served by MDA.
Non-career activities
Lewis opened a camera shop in 1950. In 1969, he agreed to lend his name to "Jerry Lewis Cinemas", offered by National Cinema Corporation as a franchise business opportunity for those interested in theatrical movie exhibition. Jerry Lewis Cinemas stated that their theaters could be operated by a staff of as few as two with the aid of automation and support provided by the franchiser in booking film and other aspects of film exhibition. A forerunner of the smaller rooms typical of later multi-screen complexes, a Jerry Lewis Cinema was billed in franchising ads as a "mini-theatre" with a seating capacity of between 200 and 350. In addition to Lewis's name, each Jerry Lewis Cinema bore a sign with a cartoon logo of Lewis in profile. Initially 158 territories were franchised, with a buy-in fee of $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the territory, for what was called an "individual exhibitor". For $50,000, Jerry Lewis Cinemas offered an opportunity known as an "area directorship", in which investors controlled franchising opportunities in a territory as well as their own cinemas. The success of the chain was hampered by a policy of only booking second-run, family-friendly films. Eventually the policy was changed, and the Jerry Lewis Cinemas were allowed to show more competitive movies. But after a decade the chain failed and both Lewis and National Cinema Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1980. In 1973, Lewis appeared on the 1st annual 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation telethon, hosted by Davis Jr. andMonty Hall
Monty Hall (born Monte Halparin; August 25, 1921 – September 30, 2017) was a Canadian radio and television show host who moved to the United States in 1955 to pursue a career in broadcasting. After working as a radio newsreader and sport ...
. In 1990, Lewis wrote and directed a short film for UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
's ''How Are The Children?'' anthology exploring the rights of children worldwide. The eight-minute segment, titled ''Boy'', was about a young white child in a black world and being subjected to quiet, insidious racism, and outright racist bullying.
In 2010, Lewis met with seven-year-old Lochie Graham, who shared his idea for "Jerry's House", a place for vulnerable and traumatized children. Lewis and Graham entered into a joint partnership for an Australian and a U.S.-based charity and began raising funds to build the facility in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. On September 12, 2016, Lewis lent his name and star power to Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos ( el, Χριστόφορος Νικόλαος Σαραντάκος; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. Angel began his career in New ...
's HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event.
Political views
Lewis kept a low political profile for many years, having taken advice reportedly given to him by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
, who told him, "Don't get into anything political. Don't do that because they will usurp your energy." Nevertheless, he campaigned and performed on behalf of both JFK and Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
, and was a supporter of the civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
. For his 1957 NBC special, Lewis held his ground when southern affiliates objected to his friendship with Sammy Davis, Jr. In a 1971 ''Movie Mirror'' magazine article, Lewis spoke out against the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
when his son Gary returned from service traumatized. He vowed to leave the country rather than send another of his sons.
Lewis observed that political speeches should not be at the Oscars
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. He stated, "I think we are the most dedicated industry in the world. And I think that we have to present ourselves that night as hard-working, caring and important people to the industry. We need to get more self-respect as an industry". In a 2004 interview with ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Lewis was asked what he was least proud of, to which he answered, "Politics".
He mocked citizens' lack of pride in their country, stating, "President Bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
is my president. I will not say anything negative about the president of the United States. I don't do that. And I don't allow my children to do that. Likewise when I come to England don't you do any jokes about 'Mum' to me. That is the Queen of England, you moron. Do you know how tough a job it is to be the Queen of England?"
In a December 2015 interview on EWTN's ''World Over'' with Raymond Arroyo, Lewis expressed opposition to the United States letting in Syrian refugees, saying, "No one has worked harder for the human condition than I have, but they're not part of the human condition if 11 guys in that group of 10,000 are ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
. How can I take that chance?" In the same interview, he criticized President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for not being prepared for ISIS, while expressing support for Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, saying he would make a good president because he was a good "showman
Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country.
Australia
Travelling showmen are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and festivals througho ...
". He also added that he admired Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's presidency.
Controversies
In 1998, at the Aspen U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, when asked which women comics he admired, Lewis answered, "I don't like any female comedians. A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world." He went on to praiseLucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...
as "brilliant" and said Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...
is "the greatest female entrepreneur of comedy". On other occasions Lewis expressed admiration for female comedians Totie Fields
Totie Fields (born Sophie Feldman; May 7, 1930 – August 2, 1978) was an American comedian.
Early life
Fields was born Sophie Feldman in Hartford, Connecticut. She started singing in Boston clubs while still in high school, taking the stage na ...
, Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and e ...
, Kathleen Freeman
Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost in ...
, Elayne Boosler
{{Orphan, date=July 2021
Elayne is a female given name of French origin, which means "light". The name can be a variant of Elaine or Elena. Elayne may refer to:
People
*Elayne Angel
* Elayne Arrington
*Elayne Boosler (born 1952), American comed ...
, Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
and Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
. During the 2007 MDA Telethon, Lewis used the slur " fag" in a joke, for which he apologized. Lewis used the same word the following year on Australian television.
Personal life
Relationships and children
Lewis wed Patti Palmer (née Esther Grace Calonico; 1921–2021), a singer withTed Fio Rito
Theodore Salvatore Fiorito (December 20, 1900 – July 22, 1971),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 95. known professionally a ...
, on October 3, 1944."United States Census, 1940," database with images, ''FamilySearch''March 15, 2018), Ester Calonico in household of John Farinno, Tract 911, Highland Park, Highland Park City, Wayne, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 82–155, sheet 15B, line 60, family 46, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1832. They had six sons together; five biological: Gary (born 1945), Scott (born 1956), Christopher (born 1957), Anthony (born 1959) and Joseph (1964–2009); and one
adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
: Ronald (born 1949). It was an interfaith marriage
Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religiou ...
; Lewis was Jewish and Palmer was Catholic.
He openly pursued relationships with other women and gave unapologetic interviews about his infidelity
Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...
, revealing his affairs with Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
and Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
to ''People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' in 2011. Palmer filed for divorce from Lewis in 1980, after 35 years of marriage, citing Lewis's extravagant spending and infidelity on his part, and it was finalized in 1983. All of Lewis's children and grandchildren from his marriage to Palmer were excluded from inheriting any part of his estate. His eldest son, Gary, publicly called his father a "mean and evil person" and said that Lewis never showed him or his siblings any love or care.
Lewis's second wife was Sandra "SanDee" Pitnick, a University of North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...
professionally trained ballerina and stewardess
A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are primar ...
, who met Lewis after winning a bit part
In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...
in a dancing scene on his film ''Hardly Working''. They wed on February 13, 1983 in Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...
, Florida, adopted a daughter, Danielle (born 1992), and were married for 34 years until Lewis' death.
Stalking incident
In February 1994, a man named Gary Benson was revealed to have been stalking Lewis and his family. Benson subsequently served four years in prison.Sexual assault allegations
In February 2022, '' Vanity Fair'' reported that several of Lewis' co-stars from the 1960s had come forward to share experiences of sexual assault, harassment, and verbal abuse. Those whose accounts were made public includedKaren Sharpe
Karen Kay Sharpe (born September 20, 1934) is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Laura Thomas in the American western television series ''Johnny Ringo''.
Life and career
Sharpe was born in San Antonio, Texas, th ...
, Hope Holiday
Hope Holiday (born Hope Jane Zee) is an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. Margie MacDougall, Jack Lemmon's partner in self-pity on Christmas Eve night, in the Billy Wilder film ''The Apartment'' (1960).
Early years
Hol ...
, Anna Maria Alberghetti
Anna Maria Alberghetti (; born May 15, 1936) is an Italian-American actress and soprano.
Biography
Born May 15, 1936, in Pesaro, Marche, in central Italy, she starred on Broadway and won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress (Musical) for ' ...
, and Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
.
Illness and death
Lewis suffered from a number of chronic health problems, illnesses and addictions related both to aging and a back injury sustained in a comedicpratfall
Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, Clown, clowning, Mime artist, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces.
Physical comedy originated as part of the Commed ...
. The fall has been stated as being either from a piano while performing at the Sands Hotel and Casino
The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic American hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent high sign, the Sands was the sevent ...
on the Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
on March 20, 1965, or during an appearance on ''The Andy Williams Show
''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...
''. In its aftermath, Lewis became addicted to the painkiller Percodan
Oxycodone/aspirin (trade name Percodan) is a combination drug marketed by Endo Pharmaceuticals. It is a tablet containing a mixture of 325 mg (5 grains) of aspirin and 4.8355 mg of oxycodone HCl (equivalent to 4.3346 mg of oxycod ...
for thirteen years. He said he had been off the drug since 1978. In April 2002, Lewis had a Medtronic
Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...
"Synergy" neurostimulator
Neurostimulation is the purposeful modulation of the nervous system's activity using invasive (e.g. microelectrodes) or non-invasive means (e.g. transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial electric stimulation, tES, such as tDCS or transcr ...
implanted in his back, which helped reduce the discomfort. He was one of the company's leading spokesmen.
Lewis suffered numerous heart problems throughout his life; he revealed in the 2011 documentary ''Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis
''Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis'' is a 2011 American documentary of actor Jerry Lewis. It was released on Starz Encore, Encore on December 17, 2011.
Plot
A chronological view of Jerry Lewis' career beginning with his 10-year partnership wi ...
'' that he suffered his first heart attack at age 34 while filming ''Cinderfella'' in 1960. In December 1982, at age 56, he suffered his second heart attack. Two months later, in February 1983, Lewis underwent open-heart double-bypass surgery. En route to San Diego from New York City on a cross-country commercial airline flight on June 11, 2006, Lewis suffered his third heart attack at age 80. It was discovered that he had pneumonia, as well as a severely damaged heart. He underwent a cardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization (heart cath) is the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart. This is done both for diagnostic and interventional purposes.
A common example of cardiac catheterization is coronary catheterization that ...
days after the heart attack, and two stent
In medicine, a stent is a metal or plastic tube inserted into the lumen of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open, and stenting is the placement of a stent. A wide variety of stents are used for different purposes, from expandab ...
s were inserted into one of his coronary arteries, which was 90 percent blocked. The surgery resulted in increased blood flow to his heart and allowed him to continue his rebound from earlier lung problems. Having the cardiac catheterization required him to cancel several major events from his schedule, but Lewis fully recuperated in a matter of weeks.
In 1999, Lewis's Australian tour was cut short when he had to be hospitalized in Darwin with viral meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
. He was ill for more than five months. It was reported in the Australian press that he had failed to pay his medical bills. However, Lewis maintained that the payment confusion was the fault of his health insurer. The resulting negative publicity caused him to sue his insurer for US$100 million.
In addition to his decades-long heart problems, Lewis had prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
, type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...
, and pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...
. In the late 1990s, Lewis was treated with prednisone
Prednisone is a glucocorticoid medication mostly used to immunosuppressive drug, suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation in conditions such as asthma, COPD, and rheumatologic diseases. It is also used to treat high blood calcium ...
for pulmonary fibrosis, which caused considerable weight gain and a startling change in his appearance. In September 2001, Lewis was unable to perform at a planned London charity event at the London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...
. He was the headlining act, and was introduced, but did not appear onstage. He had suddenly become unwell, apparently with cardiac problems.
He was subsequently taken to hospital. Some months thereafter, Lewis began an arduous, months-long therapy that weaned him off prednisone, and he lost much of the weight gained while on the drug. The treatment enabled him to return to work. On June 12, 2012, he was treated and released from a hospital after collapsing from hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia, also called low blood sugar, is a fall in blood sugar to levels below normal, typically below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Whipple's triad is used to properly identify hypoglycemic episodes. It is defined as blood glucose belo ...
at a New York Friars Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madi ...
event. This forced him to cancel a show in Sydney. In an October 2016 interview with ''Inside Edition'', Lewis acknowledged that he might not star in any more films, given his advanced age, while admitting, through tears, that he was afraid of dying, as it would leave his wife and daughter alone. In June 2017, Lewis was hospitalized at a Las Vegas hospital for a urinary tract infection
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney ...
.
Lewis died at his home in Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada, on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91. The cause was end-stage cardiac disease and peripheral artery disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an abnormal narrowing of arteries other than those that supply the heart or brain. When narrowing occurs in the heart, it is called coronary artery disease, and in the brain, it is called cerebrovascular diseas ...
. Lewis was cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
. In his will, Lewis left his estate to his second wife of 34 years, SanDee Pitnick, and their daughter, and explicitly disinherited his children from his first marriage and their children.
Comedic style
Lewis "single-handedly created a style of humor that was half anarchy, half excruciation. Even comics who never took a pratfall in their careers owe something to the self-deprecation Jerry introduced into American show business." Lewis's comedy style was physically uninhibited, expressive, and potentially volatile. He was known especially for his distinctive voice, facial expressions, pratfalls, and physical stunts. Hisimprovisation
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
s and ad-libbing, especially in nightclubs and early television were revolutionary among performers. It was "marked by a raw, edgy energy that would distinguish him within the comedy landscape". Will Sloan, of ''Flavorwire
''Flavorwire'' is a New York City-based online culture magazine. The site includes original feature articles, interviews, reviews, as well as content recycled from other sources. ''Flavorwire'' describes themselves as "a network of culturally con ...
'' wrote, "In the late '40s and early '50s, nobody had ever seen a comedian as wild as Jerry Lewis." Placed in the context of the conservative era, his antics were radical and liberating, paving the way for future comedians Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...
, Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
, Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...
, Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...
, and Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
. Carrey wrote: "Through his comedy, Jerry would stretch the boundaries of reality so far that it was an act of anarchy ... I learned from Jerry", and "I am because he was".
Acting the bumbling 'everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin
The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
', Lewis used tightly choreographed, sophisticated sight gags, physical routines, verbal double-talk
Double-talk is a form of speech in which inappropriate, invented, or nonsense words are interpolated into normal speech to give the appearance of knowledge, and thus confuse or amuse the audience. Vaudevillian Cliff Nazarro, for instance, would s ...
and malapropism
A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...
s. "You cannot help but notice Lewis's incredible sense of control in regards to performing—they may have looked at times like the ravings of a madman but his best work had a genuine grace and finesse behind it that would put most comedic performers of any era to shame." They are "choreographed as exactly as any ballet, each movement and gesture coming on natural beats and conforming to the overall rhythmic form which is headed to a spectacular finale: absolute catastrophe."
Although Lewis made it no secret that he was Jewish, he was criticized for hiding his Jewish heritage. In several of his films — both with Martin and solo — Lewis's Jewish identity
Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of Identity (social science), perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jews, Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as ...
is hinted at in passing, and was never made a defining characteristic of his onscreen persona. Aside from the 1959 television movie ''The Jazz Singer'' and the unreleased 1972 film ''The Day the Clown Cried'', Lewis never appeared in a film or film role that had any ties to his Jewish heritage. When asked about this lack of Jewish portrayal in a 1984 interview, Lewis stated, "I never hid it, but I wouldn't announce it and I wouldn't exploit it. Plus the fact it had no room in the visual direction I was taking in my work."
Lewis's physical movements in films received some criticism because he was perceived as imitating or mocking those with a physical disability. Through the years, the disability that has been attached to his comedic persona has not been physical, but mental. Neuroticism and schizophrenia have been a part of Lewis's persona since his partnership with Dean Martin; however, it was in his solo career that these disabilities became important to the plots of his films and the characters. In films such as ''The Ladies Man'' (1961), ''The Disorderly Orderly'' (1964), ''The Patsy'' (1964) and ''Cracking Up'' (1983), there is either neuroticism, schizophrenia, or both that drive the plot. Lewis was able to explore and dissect the psychological side of his persona, which provided a depth to the character and the films that was not present in his previous efforts.
Tributes and legacy
From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, "Lewis was a major force in American popular culture." Widely acknowledged as a comic genius, Lewis influenced generations of comedians, comedy writers, performers and film makers. As Lewis was often referred to as the bridge fromVaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
to modern comedy, Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
wrote after Lewis's death, "All comedians watch other comedians, and every generation of comedians going back to those who watched Jerry on the ''Colgate Comedy Hour'' were influenced by Jerry. They say that mankind goes back to the first guy ... which everyone tries to copy. In comedy that guy was Jerry Lewis."
Lewis's films, especially his self-directed films, have warranted steady reappraisal. Richard Brody
Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999.
Education
Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He first ...
of ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' said Lewis was "one of the most original, inventive, ... profound directors of the time" and "one of the most skilled and original comic performers, verbal and physical, ever to appear on screen". Dave Kehr
David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a c ...
, a film critic and film curator for the Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, wrote in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' of Lewis's "fierce creativity" and "the extreme formal sophistication of his direction". Kehr wrote that Lewis was "one of the great American filmmakers".
"Lewis was an explosive experimenter with a dazzling skill, and an audacious, innovatory flair for the technique of the cinema. He knew how to frame and present his own adrenaline-fuelled, instinctive physical comedy for the camera."
Lewis was at the forefront in the transition to independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
making, which came to be known as New Hollywood
The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence.
They influenced the types o ...
in the late 1960s. Writing for the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' in 2005, screenwriter David Weddle
David Weddle is an American television writer and producer known for episodes of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1996–1999), ''The Twilight Zone'' (2002–2003), '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (200 ...
lauded Lewis's audacity in 1959 "daring to declare his independence from the studio system
A studio system is a method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios. It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the Golden Age of Hol ...
". Lewis came along to a studio system in which the industry was regularly stratified between players and coaches. The studios tightly controlled the process and they wanted their people directing. Yet Lewis regularly led, often flouting the power structure to do so.
Steven Zeitchik of the LA Times wrote of Lewis, "Control over material was smart business, and it was also good art. Neither the entrepreneur nor the auteur were common types among actors in mid-20th century Hollywood. But there Lewis was, at a time of strict studio control, doing both."
No other comedic star, with the exceptions of Chaplin Chaplin may refer to:
People
* Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director
* Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin
Films
* '' Unknown Chaplin'' (1983)
* ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992)
* ''Chaplin'' (2011 film), Ben ...
and Buster Keaton, Keaton in the silent film, silent era, dared to direct himself. "Not only would Lewis's efforts as a director pave the way for the likes of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen, but it would reveal him to be uncommonly skilled in that area as well." "Most screen comedies until that time were not especially cinematic—they tended to plop down the camera where it could best capture the action and that was it. Lewis, on the other hand, was interested in exploring the possibilities of the medium by utilizing the tools he had at his disposal in formally innovative and oftentimes hilarious ways." "In Lewis's work the way the scene is photographed is an integral part of the joke. His purposeful selection of lenses, for example, expands and contracts space to generate laughs that aren't necessarily inherent in the material, and he often achieves his biggest effects via what he leaves off screen, not just visually but structurally."
As a director, Lewis advanced the genre of film comedy with innovations in the areas of fragmented narrative, experimental use of music and sound technology, and near surrealism, surrealist use of color and art direction. This prompted his peer, filmmaker Jean Luc Godard to proclaim, "Jerry Lewis ... is the only one in Hollywood doing something different, the only one who isn't falling in with the established categories, the norms, the principles. ... Lewis is the only one today who's making courageous films. He's been able to do it because of his personal genius". Jim Hemphill for ''American Cinematheque'' wrote, "They are films of ambitious visual and narrative experimentation, provocative and sometimes conflicted commentaries on masculinity in post-war America, and unsettling self-critiques and analyses of the performer's neuroses."
Intensely personal and original, Lewis's films were groundbreaking in their use of dark humor for psychological exploration. Justin Chang of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said, "The idea of comedians getting under the skin and tapping into their deepest, darkest selves is no longer especially novel, but it was far from a universally accepted notion when Lewis first took the spotlight. Few comedians before him had so brazenly turned arrested development into art, or held up such a warped fun house mirror to American identity in its loudest, ugliest, vulgarest excesses. Fewer still had advanced the still-radical notion that comedy doesn't always have to be funny, just fearless, in order to strike a nerve".
Before 1960, Hollywood comedies were screwball comedy film, screwball or farce. Lewis, from his earliest 'home movies, such as ''How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border'', made in his playhouse in the early 1950s, was one of the first to introduce satire as a full-length film. This "sharp-eyed" satire continued in his mature work, commenting on the cult of celebrity, the machinery of 'fame', and "the dilemma of being true to oneself while also fitting into polite society". Stephen Dalton in ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote, Lewis had "an agreeably bitter streak, offering self-lacerating insights into celebrity culture which now look strikingly modernism, modern. Even postmodernity, post-modern in places." Speaking of ''The King of Comedy'', "More contemporary satirists like Garry Shandling, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais owe at least some of their self-deconstructing chops to Lewis's generously unappetizing turn in Scorsese's cult classic."
Lewis was an early master of deconstruction to enhance comedy. From the first ''Comedy Hour''s he exposed the artifice of on-stage performance by acknowledging the lens, sets, malfunctioning props, failed jokes, and tricks of production. As Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote: Lewis had "the impulse to deconstruct and even demolish the fictional "givens" of any particular sketch, including those that he might have dreamed up himself, a kind of perpetual auto-destruction that becomes an essential part of his filmmaking as he steadily gains more control over the writing and direction of his features." His self directed films abound in behind-the-scene reveals, demystifying movie-making. Daniel Fairfax writes in ''Deconstructing Jerry: Lewis as a Director'', "Lewis deconstructs the very functioning of the joke itself". ... quoting Chris Fujiwara, "'' The Patsy'' is a film so radical that it makes comedy out of the situation of a comedian who isn't funny." The final scene of ''The Patsy'' is famous for revealing to the audience the movie as a movie, and Lewis as actor/director. Lewis wrote in ''The Total Filmmaker'', his belief in breaking the fourth wall, actors looking directly into the camera, despite industry norms.
Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard, both of whom starred with Lewis in ''The King of Comedy'', reflected on his death. Bernhard said: "It was one of the great experiences of my career, he was tough but one of a kind". De Niro said: "Jerry was a pioneer in comedy and film. And he was a friend. I was fortunate to have seen him a few times over the past couple of years. Even at 91, he didn't miss a beat ... or a punchline. You'll be missed." There was also a New York Friars Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madi ...
roast in honor of Lewis with Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer. Martin Scorsese recalls working with him on ''The King of Comedy'', "It was like watching a virtuoso pianist at the keyboard". Lewis was the subject of a documentary ''Jerry Lewis: Method to the Madness''.
Peter Chelsom, director of ''Funny Bones'' wrote, "Working with him was a masterclass in comic acting – and in charm. From the outset he was generous." "There's a very thin line between a talent for being funny and being a great actor. Jerry Lewis epitomized that. Jerry embodied the term "funny bones": a way of differentiating between comedians who ''tell'' funny and those who ''are'' funny." Director Daniel Noah recalling his relationship with Lewis during production of ''Max Rose'' wrote, "He was kind and loving and patient and limitlessly generous with his genius. He was unbelievably complicated and shockingly self-aware."
Actor and comedian Jeffrey Tambor wrote after Lewis's death, "You invented the whole thing. Thank you doesn't even get close."
There have been numerous retrospectives of Lewis's films in the U.S. and abroad, most notably ''Jerry Lewis: A Film and Television Retrospective'' at Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...
, the 2013 Vienna International Film Festival, Viennale, the 2016 Melbourne International Film Festival, ''The Innovator: Jerry Lewis at Paramount'', at American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and ''Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90'', at MOMA.
In 2017, Lewis with others inaugurated and founded Legionnaires of Laughter and Legacy Awards, and the first Legacy Award held in Downtown, New York. On August 21, 2017, multiple hotel marquees on the Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...
honored Lewis with a coordinated video display of images of his career as a Las Vegas performer and resident. From 1949, as part of Martin and Lewis, and from 1956 as a solo, Lewis was a casino showroom headliner (performances), headliner, playing numerous dates over the decades. Las Vegas was also the home of his annual Labor Day MDA telethon.
Lewis was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
In popular culture
Between 1952 and 1971,DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
published a 124-issue comic book series with Lewis as one (later, the only) main protagonist, titled ''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' is the title of a celebrity comic book published by DC Comics and featuring the popular team of comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The series ran for forty issues from 1952 through 1957, at w ...
''. In ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', the character of Professor Frink is based on Lewis's Julius Kelp from ''The Nutty Professor.'' Lewis himself would later voice the character's father in the episode "Treehouse of Horror XIV". In ''Family Guy,'' Peter recreates Lewis's 'chairman of the board' scene from ''The Errand Boy''. Comedian, actor and friend of Lewis, Martin Short, satirized him on the series ''Second City Television, SCTV'' in the sketches "The Nutty Lab Assistant", "Martin Scorsese presents Jerry Lewis Live on the Champs Elysees!", "The Tender Fella", and "Scenes From an Idiots Marriage", as well as on ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''s "Celebrity Jeopardy!".
Also on ''SNL'', the Martin and Lewis reunion on the 1976 MDA Telethon is reported by Chevy Chase on ''Weekend Update''. Comedians Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo both parodied Lewis when he hosted SNL in 1983. Piscopo also channeled Jerry Lewis while performing as a 20th-century stand-up comedian in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''; in the second-season episode "The Outrageous Okona", Piscopo's Holodeck character, The Comic, tutors android Lieutenant Commander Data (Star Trek), Data on humor and comedy. Comedian and actor Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
satirized Lewis on ''In Living Color'' in the sketch "Jheri's Kids Telethon". Carrey had an uncredited cameo playing Lewis in the series ''Buffalo Bill (TV series), Buffalo Bill'' on the episode "Jerry Lewis Week". He also played Lewis, with impersonator Rich Little as Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
, on stage. Actor Sean Hayes (actor), Sean Hayes portrayed Lewis in the made-for-TV movie ''Martin and Lewis (film), Martin and Lewis'', with Jeremy Northam as Dean Martin. Actor Kevin Bacon plays the Lewis character in the 2005 film ''Where The Truth Lies,'' based on a fictionalized version of Martin and Lewis. In the satiric novel, ''Funny Men'', about singer/wild comic double act, the character Sigmund "Ziggy" Blissman, is based on Lewis.
John Saleeby, writer for ''National Lampoon (magazine), National Lampoon'' has a humor piece "Ten Things You Should Know About Jerry Lewis". In the animated cartoon ''Popeye's 20th Anniversary'', Martin and Lewis are portrayed on the dais. The animated series ''Animaniacs'' satirized Lewis in several episodes. The voice and boyish, naive cartoon character ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is partially based on Lewis, with particular inspiration from his film ''The Bellboy''. In 1998, The MTV animated show ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' had a clay-animated fight to the death between Dean Martin and Lewis. In a 1975 re-issue of ''MAD Magazine'' the contents of Lewis's wallet is satirized in their on-going feature "Celebrities' Wallets".
Lewis, and Martin & Lewis, as himself or his films, have been referenced by directors and performers of differing genres spanning decades, including Andy Warhol's ''Soap Opera (1964 film), Soap Opera'' (1964), John Frankenheimer's ''I Walk the Line (film), I Walk the Line'' (1970), Francis Ford Coppola's ''The Godfather (film), The Godfather'' (1972), Randal Kleiser's ''Grease (film), Grease'' (1978), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's ''In a Year of 13 Moons'' (1978), Robert Zemeckis's ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Quentin Tarantino's ''Four Rooms'' (1995), Martin Scorsese's ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), ''Hitchcock (film), Hitchcock'' (2012), Ben Stiller's ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013 film), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' (2013), Jay Roach's ''Trumbo (2015 film), Trumbo'' (2015), ''The Comedians (2015 TV series), The Comedians'' (2015), ''Baskets (TV series), Baskets'' (2016) and ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017, 2018).
Similarly, varied musicians have mentioned Lewis in song lyrics including, Ice Cube, The Dead Milkmen, Queen Latifah, and Frank Zappa. The hip hop music band Beastie Boys have an unreleased single "The Jerry Lewis", which they mention, and danced to, on stage in Asheville, North Carolina in 2009. In their film ''Paul's Boutique — A Visual Companion'', clips from ''The Nutty Professor'' play to Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science, "The Sounds of Science". In 1986, the comedy radio show ''Dr. Demento'' aired a parody of "Rock Me Amadeus", "Rock Me Jerry Lewis".
Apple Inc., Apple iOS 10 includes an auto-text emoji for 'professor' with a Lewis lookalike portrayal from ''The Nutty Professor''.
The word "flaaaven!", with its many variations and rhymes, is a Lewis-ism often used as a misspoken word or a person's mis-pronounced name. In a 2016 episode of the podcast ''West Wing Weekly'', Joshua Malina is heard saying "flaven" when trying to remember a character's correct last name. Lewis's signature catchphrase "Hey, Laaady!" is ubiquitously used by comedians and laypersons alike.
Sammy Petrillo bore a coincidental resemblance to Lewis,Abramson, Dave, a.k.a. "Dave the Spazz" (professional pseudonym)"Sammy Petrillo Speaks Out"
(1992 interview with Petrillo), WFMU.org, posted 1998 so much so that Lewis at first tried to catch and kill Petrillo's career by signing him to a talent contract and then not giving him any work. When that failed (as Petrillo was under 18 at the time), Lewis tried to blackballing, blackball Petrillo by pressuring television outlets and then nightclubs,Rutt, Todd. "Duke Mitchell & Sammy Petrillo: Those Two Fireballs of Fun", ''Psychotronic Video'' No. 11, Fall 1991, pp. 23–32 also threatening legal action after Petrillo used his Lewis impersonation in the film ''Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla''.Havesi, Dennis. "Sammy Petrillo, an Actor and Nightclub Comedian, Dies at 74"
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 24, 2009, p. D8
Awards, nominations, and other honors
* 1952 – Photoplay Award
* 1952 – Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Best Comedian or Comedienne
* 1954 – Most Cooperative Actor, Golden Apple Award
* 1958 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1959 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1960 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1960 – Two stars (one for film and one for television) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* 1961 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Comedy Performance for ''Cinderfella''
* 1961 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1962 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1963 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1963 – Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists, Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Film Award Nomination for Best Film for ''The Nutty Professor''
* 1964 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Top Male Star
* 1965 – Golden Laurel, Special Award – Family Comedy King
* 1965 – Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Film Award Nomination for Best Film for ''The Family Jewels''
* 1966 – Golden Laurel Nomination for Comedy Performance (Male) for ''Boeing Boeing''
* 1966 – Golden Light Technical Achievement Award for his 'video assist'
* 1966 – Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
Nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical
* 1966 – Fotogramas de Plata Best Foreign Performer
* 1967 – Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Film Award Nomination for Best Film for ''The Big Mouth''
* 1970 – Jerry Lewis Award for Outstanding achievement in being a "Person" and "Performer" for ''Which Way to the Front''
* 1970 – The Michael S. McLean Happy Birthday and Thank You Award for ''Which Way to the Front''
* 1977 – Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
, for his work on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association
* 1978 – Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, a Jefferson Awards for Public Service, Jefferson Awards annual award.
* 1981 – Stinker Award Nomination for Worst Actor for ''Hardly Working''
* 1981 – Stinker Award Nomination for Worst Sense of Direction for ''Hardly Working''
* 1983 – British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nomination for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''The King of Comedy''
* 1983 – Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Film Award Nomination for Best Film for ''Cracking Up''
* 1984 – Chevalier, Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, France
* 1985 – Razzie Award Nomination for Worst Actor for ''Slapstick (Of Another Kind)''
* 1991 – Comic Life Achievement Award
* 1991 – Induction into the Broadcast Hall of Fame
* 1991 – Lifetime Achievement Award, The Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Festival
* 1992 – Induction into the International Humor Hall of Fame
* 1995 – Theatre World Award, for Outstanding Broadway Debut for ''Damn Yankees''
* 1997 – American Comedy Awards
The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually in the United States recognizing performances and performers in the field of comedy, with an emphasis on television comedy and comedy films. They began in 1987, billed as the "f ...
Lifetime Achievement Award
* 1999 – Golden Lion Honorary Award
* 2002 – Rotary International Award of Honour
* 2004 – Los Angeles Film Critics Association's Career Achievement Award
* 2005 – Primetime Emmy Governor's Award
* 2005 – Goldene Kamera Honorary Award
* 2006 – Medal of the City of Paris, France
* 2006 – Satellite Award for Outstanding Guest Star on ''Law and Order SVU''
* 2006 – Commandeur, Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, France
* 2009 – Induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame
* 2009 – Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Governors Awards ceremonies for an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes". Prior to 2009 and i ...
at the 81st Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
* 2009 – International Press Academy's Nikola Tesla Award in recognition of visionary achievements in filmmaking technology for his "video assist".
* 2010 – Chapman University Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters during the 2010 MDA Telethon
* 2011 – Ellis Island Medal of Honor
* 2013 – Homage from the Cannes Film Festival, with the screening of Lewis's latest film ''Max Rose''
* 2013 – Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM), for service to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of Australia and those affected by the disorder
* 2014 – "Forecourt to the Stars" imprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood
* 2014 – New York Friars Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madi ...
renames clubhouse building The Jerry Lewis Monastery
* 2014 – Publicists Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award
*2015 – National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award
* 2015 – Casino Entertainment Legend Award
Filmography
Bibliography
* (ISBN is for the 2004 Mass Market Edition) * * *Documentaries
* Annett Wolf (Director) (1972) ''The World of Jerry Lewis'' (unreleased) * Robert Benayoun (Director) (1982) ''Bonjour Monsieur Lewis'' (Hello Mr. Lewis) * Burt Kearns (Director) (1989) ''Telethon'' (Released in US, 2014) * Carole Langer (Director) (1996) ''Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown'' * Eckhart Schmidt (Director) (2006) ''König der Komödianten'' (King of Comedy)* * Gregg Barson (Director) (2011). ''Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis
''Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis'' is a 2011 American documentary of actor Jerry Lewis. It was released on Starz Encore, Encore on December 17, 2011.
Plot
A chronological view of Jerry Lewis' career beginning with his 10-year partnership wi ...
''
*
Notes
References
Further reading
* * * * * * Also, Film Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 12–26 University of California Press * * Vol.23 Issue 1 * * * * * * * Lamarca, Manuel (2017). ''Jerry Lewis. El día en el que el cómico filmó''. Barcelona, Spain. Ediciones Carena.Film criticism links
Bright Lights Film Online Journal
Film School Rejects
la furia umana (Multilingual Film Quarterly)
at MUBI
Museum of the Moving Image
An American Original: The RogerEbert.com Staff Remembers Jerry Lewis
Senses of Cinema
External links
* * * * *at Directors Guild of America
Lewis interview video
with Peter Bogdanovich
Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...
Pinewood Dialogues
Jerry Lewis Interview Podcast WTF with Marc Maron
with Buddy Rich a
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