Jerry Lewis
Encyclopedia : J : JE : JER : Jerry Lewis
- This article is about the comedian and telethon host. For the California Congressman, see Jerry Lewis (politician); for other uses see Jerry Lewis (disambiguation).
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926), is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer and film director known for his slapstick humor and his charity fund-raising telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
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 cartoonist 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 video tape, 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.' [link]
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 hasn't been released by suggesting litigation over post-production financial difficulties. It has been seen by very few select individuals, but most who see it decry it as the utmost in bad taste (as Spy Magazine did in 1992).
After an eight-year absence from movies, Lewis returned in the early 1980s with Hardly Working, a film he both directed and starred in. 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 and lasted two seasons from 1970 to 1972. The show was produced at Filmation Studios, and starred David Lander (later of Laverne and Shirley fame) as the voice of Jerry Lewis. 17 episodes were created. Lewis was the show's partner.
Lewis currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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. [link]
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. [link] Lewis is one of few fund raisers 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 reunited Lewis 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.
Criticisms
The MDA and Jerry Lewis have been criticized by some disability rights activists for their tendency to paint disabled people as "pitiable victims who want and need nothing more than a big charity to take care of or cure them."[link] 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 for the disabled.Jerry 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 magazine magazine, in which he characterized those with muscular dystrophy as "being half a person."[link] 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."[link]
- 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 blasted him for characterizing disabled people as helpless and home-bound.
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
- He is a supporter of the Brisbane Lions Football Club in the Australian Football League.
- In 1984, he was nominated for the Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor for his role in Slapstick of Another Kind.
- Lewis changes white sweatsocks several times a day, always putting on a brand-new pair, and he gives the used ones to charity.
- 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.
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 | The Milkman | Unamed Milkman | Cameo (Unconfirmed) | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | aka '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 | ||
| 1957 | The Sad Sack | Private Meredith Bixby | ||
| 1958 | Rock-A-Bye Baby | Clayton Poole | ||
| 1958 | The Geisha Boy | Gilbert Wooley | ||
| 1959 | Don't Give Up the Ship | John Paul Steckler I, IV, and VII | ||
| 1959 | Li'l Abner | Itchy McRabbit | Cameo | |
| 1960 | Visit to a Small Planet | Kreton | ||
| 1960 | The Bellboy | Stanley/Himself | ||
| 1960 | Cinderfella | Cinderfella | ||
| 1961 | The Ladies Man | Herbert H. Heebert/Mama Heebert | ||
| 1961 | The Errand Boy | Morty S. Tashman | ||
| 1962 | It'$ Only Money | Lester Marsh | ||
| 1963 | The Nutty Professor | Professor Julius Kelp/Buddy Love/Baby Kelp | ||
| 1963 | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Man Who Runs Over Hat | Cameo | |
| 1963 | Who's Minding the Store? | Norman Phiffier | ||
| 1964 | The Patsy | Stanley Belt/Singers of the Trio | ||
| 1964 | The Disorderely Orderly | Jerome Littlefield | ||
| 1965 | The Family Jewels | Willard Woodward/James Peyton/Everett Peyton/Julius Peyton/Capt. Eddie Peyton/Skylock Peyton/'Bugs' Peyton | ||
| 1965 | Boeing Boeing | Robert Reed | ||
| 1966 | Three On A Couch | Christopher Pride/Warren/Ringo/Rutherford/Heather | ||
| 1966 | Way...Way Out | Pete Mattermore | ||
| 1967 | The Big Mouth | Gerald Clamson/Syd Valentine | ||
| 1968 | Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River | George Lester | ||
| 1969 | Hook, Line & Sinker | Peter Ingersoll/Fred Dobbs | ||
| 1970 | Which Way to the Front? | Brendon Byers III | ||
| 1981 | Hardly Working | Bo Hooper | Released in Europe in 1980 | |
| 1983 | The King of Comedy | Jerry Langford | Filmed in 1981 | |
| 1983 | Cracking Up | Warren Nefron/Dr. Perks | aka 'Smorgasbord' | |
| 1984 | Slapstick (Of Another Kind) | Wilbur Swain/Caleb Swain | Released in Europe in 1982 | |
| 1984 | Retenez Moi...Où Je Fais Un Malheur | Jerry Logan | French Release. Never Released in the US. Tentetive US Titles were To Catch a Cop and The Defective Detective | |
| 1984 | Par Où Rentré? On T'a Pas Vue Sortir | Clovis Blaireau | 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 | ABC Television Movie | |
| 1989 | Cookie | Arnold Ross | ||
| 1992 | Mr. Saturday Night | Guest | Cameo | |
| 1993 | Arizona Dream | Leo Sweetie | ||
| 1995 | Funny Bones | George Fawkes |
Miscellaneous filmography
- (1950) (short subject)
- The Jazz Singer (1958) TV Appearance
- Raymine (1960) (Sings the Title Song Only)
- Ben Casey (1964) (TV Episode)
- Batman (1966) (TV episode)
- Silent Treatment (1968) (unfinished)
- One More Time (1970) (director only & voice of the bandleader)
- The Day the Clown Cried (1972) (unfinished)
- Rascal Dazzle (1980) (documentary on the Little Rascals; narrator only)
- Wiseguy (1988) (TV series, four episodes 'Garment Trade Arc')
- Mad About You (1993) (TV episode)
Books
- The Total Film-Maker. New York: Random House, 1971, ISBN 0394467574
- Jerry Lewis: In Person with Herb Gluck. New York: Atheneum, 1982, ISBN 0689112904
- Dean & Me (A Love Story) with James Kaplan. New York: Doubleday, 2005, ISBN 0767920864
External links
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