Jerry Lewis (born on March 16, 1926, according to most sources, as Joseph Levitch, though Shawn Levy's biography, "King of Comedy", claims this is untrue and that Lewis' name at birth was Jerome Levitch), is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer and director known for his slapstick humor and his charity fund-raising telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Jerry Lewis | |
|---|---|
| File:Jerry Lewis MDA 2005.jpg Jerry Lewis opens the 2005 MDA telethon. | |
| Born | Joseph (or Jerome) Levitch |
| Other names | Jerry Lewis |
| Website | www.jerrylewiscomedy.com |
Lewis was originally paired up in 1946 with Dean Martin, and formed the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. Aside from popular nightclub work, they starred in an extremely successful series of comedy films for Paramount Pictures. The team broke up ten years later (to the day) on reportedly bad terms.
Career
Lewis was born in Newark, New Jersey to a Jewish American family. His father was a vaudeville performer. He began in burlesque in 1942 at age 16 (if the birth year of 1926 is correct) and married two years later in 1944 at age 18. He gained initial fame with singer Dean Martin, who served as a straight man to Lewis's manic, zany antics as the Martin and Lewis comedy team. They distinguished themselves from the majority of comedy acts of the 1940s by relying on the interaction of the two comics instead of pre-planned skits. In the late 1940s, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act and then as film stars. Critics often found it difficult to describe their chaotic act beyond the laconic "Martin sings and Lewis clowns". They continued to perform in film and on television until their partnership ended in 1956. Following their split, the two became involved in a well-publicized and long-running feud that never truly ended; the next time they were seen together in public would be a surprise appearance by Martin on Lewis's telethon in 1976, arranged by Frank Sinatra. Lewis wrote of his kinship with Martin in the 2005 book Dean and Me (A Love Story). When Sinatra tried to bring Lewis back to Martin, Lewis was quoted as saying, "I'll never work with that drunk ever again". Although the pair eventually reconciled in the late-1980s after Martin's son died, there was never any reunion.
Lewis returned as a solo act with his debut film The Delicate Delinquent in 1957. Teaming with director Frank Tashlin, whose background as a Looney Tunes director suited Lewis's brand of humor, he starred in five more films, and even appeared uncredited as Itchy McRabbitt in Li'l Abner (1959) before he produced, directed, co-wrote with Bill Richmond, and starred in his own movie entitled The Bellboy in 1960. Using the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami as his setting, on a small budget, a very tight shooting schedule and no script, Lewis shot the film by day and performed at the hotel in the evenings. During production, Lewis developed the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors to allow him to view scenes at the same time as he was filming them. This allowed him to review his performance instantly. Later, he incorporated videotape, and as more portable and affordable equipment became available, this technique would become an industry standard known as video assist.
Lewis directed several more films which he co-wrote with Richmond including The Ladies Man, The Errand Boy, and the iconic film, The Nutty Professor. During this period he was consistently praised by some highbrow French critics in the influential Cahiers du Cinéma for his absurd comedy, in part because he had gained respect as an auteur who had total control over all aspects of his films, comparable to Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock. In March 2006 the French Minister of Culture awarded Lewis the 'Legion of Honor' calling him the 'French people's favorite clown.' [1] Liking Jerry Lewis has long been a common stereotype about the French in the minds of many Americans, and is often the object of jokes in U.S. pop culture.
Lewis's box office appeal waned by the mid-1960s. In 1966, he began hosting an annual Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a charity with which he had been publicly associated since 1950. He remained popular in Europe until the 1980s. Later, Lewis starred in and directed the unreleased The Day The Clown Cried in 1972. The film was a drama set in a Nazi concentration camp. Lewis has explained why the film has not been released by suggesting litigation over post-production financial difficulties. More importantly, however, he recently admitted during his book tour for Dean and Me that a major factor for the film's burial is that he is not proud of the effort. Very few select individuals have seen it, but those who have reportedly seen it (all unconfirmed), decry it as the utmost in bad taste (as Spy Magazine did in 1992). [see "Jerry Goes To Death Camp" http://www.subcin.com/clownspy.html]
After an eight-year absence from movies, Lewis returned in the early 1980s with Hardly Working, a film he both directed and starred in. Despite being panned by the critics, the film did eventually earn $50 million. He followed this up with a critically acclaimed performance in Martin Scorsese's 1983 film The King of Comedy in which Lewis plays a late night TV host plagued by obsessive fans (played by Robert de Niro and Sandra Bernhard). Ironically, the role had been offered to, and turned down by, Dean Martin. Lewis continued doing interesting work in small films in the 1990s, most notably his supporting role in the dark comedy Funny Bones (1995), and also in Arizona Dream (1992).
Jerry and his popular movie characters were animated in the cartoon series Will The Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down? which premiered on ABC in 1970 and then ended in 1972. The show was produced at Filmation Studios, and starred David Lander (later of Laverne and Shirley fame) as the voice of the animated Jerry Lewis character. Lewis was the show's partner.
Lewis suffered a minor heart attack on June 11, 2006 at the end of a cross-country commercial airline flight en route home from New York City. [2] It was later found that he also had pneumonia. While it meant canceling several major events for Lewis, he recuperated in a matter of weeks. Lewis currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Charitable work
Lewis has organized a Labor Day telethon to help raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) since 1966. His efforts have helped raise approximately US$2 billion. [3] Lewis is one of few fundraisers who brings in more than is actually pledged. This is because many donors as they write a check add extra money to help "Jerry's Kids" given his generosity and no-pressure appeal. In 1977, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and in 1985, he received a US Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. In September 2005 Lewis was slated to receive the Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, honoring his long-running telethons.
The telethons are typically star-studded: among Lewis's co-hosts through the years were Ed McMahon and Casey Kasem. A frequent performer in the 1970s and 1980s was the late Frank Sinatra, who famously surprised Lewis by reuniting him with Dean Martin on the telethon in 1976.
On his 40th Labor Day telethon in 2005, Lewis added Salvation Army fundraising (for Hurricane Katrina) to his usual MDA fundraising, though he also encouraged viewers to give to the American Red Cross. He has also hosted the 1987 and 1991 editions of the French Muscular Dystrophy Téléthon, where he is known for his work against this disease.
Criticisms
The MDA and Jerry Lewis have been criticized by some disability rights activists for portraying disabled people as "pitiable victims who want and need nothing more than a big charity to take care of or cure them." [4] Critics argue that focusing the public's attention on medical cures to "normalize" disabled people fails to address issues like providing accessible buildings, transportation, employment opportunities and other civil rights.[5] Lewis has also made some remarks that have been regarded as insensitive towards the disabled:
- In 1990, he wrote a first-person essay entitled "If I Had Muscular Dystrophy" for Parade, in which he characterized those with muscular dystrophy as "being half a person." [6] Many in the disabled community viewed his remarks as prejudicial, contributing to the idea that disabled people are "childlike, helpless, hopeless, non-functioning and noncontributing members of society." [7]
- On May 20 2001, he responded to his critics in an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning: "If you don't want to be pitied for being a cripple in a wheelchair, don't come out of the house." Again, disability rights activists criticized his remarks. [8][9] Ten days later, on June 1 2001, Lewis issued an apology in conjunction with a statement from the MDA.[10][11]
Trivia
- Jerry Lewis has won many prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards from The American Comedy Awards, The Golden Camera, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, The Venice Film Festival and he has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Lewis has battled prostate cancer, diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis. Medical treatment for the fibrosis in the early 2000s caused the comedian to experience weight gain and bloating that noticeably changed his appearance.
- Lewis has suffered years of back pain due to a failed slapstick stunt that almost left him paralyzed. An electronic device developed by Medtronic recently implanted in his back has helped reduce the discomfort. He is now one of Medtronic's leading spokesmen.
- Lewis tried his hand at singing in the 1950s, having a chart hit with the song "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" (a song originated by Al Jolson and popularized by Judy Garland) as well as the song, "It All Depends On You" in 1958.
- The Simpsons' voice actor Hank Azaria based the voice of Professor Frink on Lewis' Nutty Professor character Julius Kelp. Lewis was eventually invited to guest as Frink's father.
- The Animaniacs character of "Mr. Director" is inspired by Lewis
- In 1984, he was nominated for the Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor for his role in Slapstick of Another Kind.
- Lewis is the father of 1960s pop musician Gary Lewis, who had several hits during the mid-1960's with his group Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
- He has been roasted by The Friars Club on three separate occasions, and now holds the position of abbot.
- In a radio interview associated with his 2005 book, he said that his IQ has been measured at 169.[citation needed]
- Had a very public extramarital affair with actress Gloria DeHaven in the late 1940s, as described in Dean and Me: A Love Story. DeHaven was also married at the time.
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role | With Dean Martin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | My Friend Irma | Seymour | Yes | Film Debut |
| 1950 | My Friend Irma Goes West | Seymour | Yes | |
| 1950 | At War With The Army | PFC Alvin Korwin | Yes | |
| 1951 | That's My Boy | 'Junior' Jackson | Yes | |
| 1952 | Sailor Beware | Melvin Jones | Yes | |
| 1952 | Jumping Jacks | Hap Smith | Yes | |
| 1952 | Road to Bali | 'Woman' in Lala's Dream | Yes | Cameo |
| 1953 | The Stooge | Theodore Rogers | Yes | |
| 1953 | Scared Stiff | Myron Mertz | Yes | |
| 1953 | The Caddy | Harvey Miller, Jr. | Yes | |
| 1953 | Money From Home | Virgil Yokum | Yes | Filmed in 3-D |
| 1954 | Living It Up | Homer Flagg | Yes | |
| 1954 | 3 Ring Circus | Jerome F. Hotchkiss | Yes | Re-released in 1978 as 'Jerrico The Wonder Clown' |
| 1955 | You're Never Too Young | Wilbur Hoolick | Yes | |
| 1955 | Artists and Models | Eugene Fullstack | Yes | |
| 1956 | Pardners | Wade Kingsley Sr/Wade Kingsley Jr. | Yes | |
| 1956 | Hollywood Or Bust | Malcolm Smith | Yes | |
| 1957 | The Delicate Delinquent | Sidney L. Pythias | No | |
| 1957 | The Sad Sack | Private Meredith Bixby | No | |
| 1958 | Rock-A-Bye Baby | Clayton Poole | No | |
| 1958 | The Geisha Boy | Gilbert Wooley | No | |
| 1959 | Don't Give Up The Ship | John Paul Steckler I, IV, and VII | No | |
| 1959 | Li'l Abner | Itchy McRabbit | No | Cameo |
| 1960 | Visit to a Small Planet | Kreton | No | |
| 1960 | The Bellboy | Stanley/Himself | No | Also directed |
| 1960 | Cinderfella | Cinderfella | No | |
| 1961 | The Ladies Man | Herbert H. Heebert/Mama Heebert | No | Also directed |
| 1961 | The Errand Boy | Morty S. Tashman | No | Also directed |
| 1962 | It's Only Money | Lester Marsh | No | |
| 1963 | The Nutty Professor | Professor Julius Kelp/Buddy Love/Baby Kelp | No | Also directed |
| 1963 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Man Who Runs Over Hat | No | Cameo |
| 1963 | Who's Minding the Store? | Norman Phiffier | No | |
| 1964 | The Patsy | Stanley Belt/Singers of the Trio | No | Also directed |
| 1964 | The Disorderly Orderly | Jerome Littlefield | No | |
| 1965 | The Family Jewels | Willard Woodward/James Peyton/Everett Peyton/Julius Peyton/Capt. Eddie Peyton/Skylock Peyton/'Bugs' Peyton | No | Also directed |
| 1965 | Boeing Boeing | Robert Reed | No | |
| 1966 | Three On A Couch | Christopher Pride/Warren/Raintree Ringo/Rutherford/Heather | No | Also directed |
| 1966 | Way...Way Out | Pete Mattermore | No | |
| 1967 | The Big Mouth | Gerald Clamson/Syd Valentine | No | Also directed |
| 1968 | Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River | George Lester | No | |
| 1969 | Hook, Line & Sinker | Peter Ingersoll/Fred Dobbs | No | |
| 1970 | One More Time | Offscreen voice of the bandleader | No | Also directed |
| 1970 | Which Way to the Front? | Brendon Byers III | No | Also directed |
| 1981 | Hardly Working | Bo Hooper | No | Also directed. Released in Europe in 1980 |
| 1983 | The King of Comedy | Jerry Langford | No | Filmed in 1981 |
| 1983 | Cracking Up | Warren Nefron/Dr. Perks | No | Also directed. Released direct to cable/video. Theatrical release in 1985 as 'Smorgasbord' |
| 1984 | Slapstick (Of Another Kind) | Wilbur Swain/Caleb Swain | No | Released in Europe in 1982 |
| 1984 | Retenez Moi...Ou Je Fais Un Malheur | Jerry Logan | No | French Release. Never Released in the US. Tentetive US Titles were To Catch a Cop and The Defective Detective |
| 1984 | Par Où T'es Rentré? On T'a Pas Vu Sortir | Clovis Blaireau | No | French Release. Never Released in the US. Tentetive US Title was How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave |
| 1987 | Fight For Life | Dr. Bernard Abrams | No | ABC Television Movie |
| 1989 | Cookie | Arnold Ross | No | |
| 1992 | Mr. Saturday Night | Guest | No | Cameo |
| 1994 | Arizona Dream | Leo Sweetie | No | Filmed in 1991. Released in Europe in 1993. |
| 1995 | Funny Bones | George Fawkes | No | |
| Unreleased | The Day the Clown Cried | Helmut Doork | No | Filmed in 1971/1972 |
Miscellaneous filmography
- Screen Snapshots: Thirtieth Anniversary Special (1950) (short subject)
- My Friend Irma Goes West Trailer (1950) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- Sailor Beware Trailer (1951) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- Scared Stiff Trailer (1953) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- Living It Up Trailer (1954) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- The Bellboy Trailer (1960) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- Raymie (1960) (Sings the Title Song Only)
- The Nutty Professor Trailer (1964) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- The Disorderly Orderly Trailer (1964) (special scences filmed for the promotional trailer)
- Man in Motion (1966) (Production Trailer for Three On A Couch)
- Boy (an 8 minute short from the compilation film How Are the Kids?) (1990) (Writer & Director only)
- The Making of Mr. Saturday Night (1992) (Documentary for Mr. Saturday Night)
Miscellaneous Television Appearances
- The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950's) Martin and Lewis hosted on numerous occasions
- The Jerry Lewis Show (1957)
- The Jazz Singer (October 13, 1959)
- The Jerry Lewis Show (1963) (13 episodes aired)
- Ben Casey (1964) (TV Episode, "A Little Fun to Match the Sorrow" as 'Doctor Greene')
- Batman (April 1966) (TV episode, "The Bookworm Turns")
- Sheriff Who, (1966) (NBC TV Pilot)
- Jerry Lewis Show (1967-1969)
- Run for Your Life (TV episode, "Down with Willie Hatch")
- Rascal Dazzle (1980) (HBO documentary on the Little Rascals; narrator only)
- The Jerry Lewis Show (1984) (5 episodes aired)
- Wiseguy (1988) (TV series, four episodes 'Garment Trade Arc')
- Mad About You (1993) (TV episode, "The Billionaire")
- The Simpsons (2003) (TV episode, "Treehouse of Horror XIV" as Professor John Frink Sr.)
- Law & Order: SVU (2006) (TV episode, "Uncle")
Books
- The Total Film-Maker. New York: Random House, 1971, ISBN 0-394-46757-4
- Jerry Lewis: In Person with Herb Gluck. New York: Atheneum, 1982, ISBN 0-689-11290-4
- Dean & Me (A Love Story) with James Kaplan. New York: Doubleday, 2005, ISBN 0-7679-2086-4