Best Known As: Host of the annual Jerry Lewis telethon
Name at birth: Joseph Levitch
Slapstick and funny-face specialist Jerry Lewis was one of the top movie comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. Lewis and Dean Martin were a hugely successful comedy team of stage, screen and radio. They made a string of popular movies from 1949 to 1956, with Martin as the straight man and Lewis as the zany cut-up. After they ended their partnership, Lewis went on to produce, direct and star in comedies such as The Bellboy and The Nutty Professor. Lewis is widely known for his annual Labor Day telethon, a charitable event raising money to fight muscular dystrophy. Lewis was given the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award at the 2009 Academy Awards, honoring him as "an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry."
Prednisone treatments for a lung ailment caused Lewis to gain a great deal of weight in 2002. For more details, see this 2002 BBC report... In the 1990s Lewis was a hit playing the Devil in the revival of the stage play Damn Yankees... Lewis received the French Legion of Honor in 1984; his extreme popularity in France has become a running gag with some American comedians... Lewis's longtime co-host on his annual telethon is Ed McMahon... Lewis was never nominated for an Oscar in his acting or directing career. However, he did co-host the Oscar ceremonies in 1956, 1957 and 1959.
(born March 16, 1926, Newark, N.J., U.S.) U.S. actor, director, and producer. In 1946 he developed a nightclub comedy routine with Dean Martin (1917 – 95), who played the suave crooner to Lewis's zany clown, and they appeared together in 16 movies, including My Friend Irma (1949) and Pardners (1956), before ending their partnership in 1956. Lewis then directed, produced, and acted in movies such as The Bellboy (1960) and The Nutty Professor (1963). These films, along with his collaborations with director Frank Tashlin, led many critics (especially in Europe) to regard Lewis as the comic heir to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Since 1966 Lewis has hosted the U.S. annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
Lewis, Jerry, 1926-, American comedian, b. Newark, N.J. as Joseph Levitch. The son of vaudevillians, he entered show business early and entertained in the "borscht belt" as a teenager. Known for his slapstick portrayals replete with facial mugging and sight gags, Lewis teamed (1946-56) with singer Dean Martin for a series of nightclub appearances and films. Among the movies Lewis starred in and directed are The Bellboy (1960), The Ladies' Man (1961), and The Nutty Professor (1963). Enormously popular in France where he has been viewed as a major auteur, he left film work in 1970 and concentrated his energies on his activities as chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy foundation. He made an unsuccessful comeback as director in the early 1980s, but won acclaim for his dramatic performance in Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1983).
Bibliography
See his memoir Dean and Me (with J. Kaplan, 2005); biography by S. Levy (1996); studies by F. Krutnik (2000), R. B. Gordon (2001), and M. Pomerance, ed. (2002); filmography by J. L. Neibaur and T. Okuda (1995).
Representative Songs: "That Certain Party" "Rock-A-Bye False Starts"
Biography
Born Joseph Levitch in Newark, NJ, Lewis was best known as a movie comedian/writer/director/producer; he did try his hand at serious singing, however, recording several singles and one charted album in the late '50s. His other charted single was "It All Depends on You" (#68, 1957), originally a Paul Whiteman #2 hit in 1927. ~ Larry Lapka, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Nutty Professor, Living It Up, The Patsy
First Major Screen Credit: At War With the Army (1950)
Biography
Perhaps no popular film artist in history inspired quite so many conflicting opinions and emotions as actor/comedian Jerry Lewis. Often reviled in his native United States but worshipped as a genius throughout much of Europe and especially France, Lewis took slapstick comedy to new realms of absurdity and outrageousness, his anarchic vision dividing audiences who found him infantile and witless from those who applauded the ambitions of his sight gags, his subversions of standard comedic patterns, and his films' acute criticisms of American values. Regardless of opinion, he was not only one of the biggest stars of the postwar era but also one of the most powerful, and as the writer, director, and producer of many of his features, he qualified as a comic auteur firmly in the tradition of Chaplin and Keaton.
Born Joseph Levitch in Newark, NJ, on March 16, 1926, he was the son of borscht-belt comics, spending the majority of his childhood living with relatives but joining his parents each summer as they performed in the Catskills. From the age of five on, Lewis occasionally performed in his parents' act, and later quit high school in order to travel with his own comedy routine, which consisted primarily of mocking famous entertainers while their records were played off-stage. His early years as a performer were lean, and he often resorted to work as a soda jerk, a theater usher, an office clerk, or any one of a number of short-lived jobs. During the summers, he too made the rounds of the Catskills' borscht circuit, but otherwise enjoyed little success.
In 1946, Lewis met another struggling performer, a handsome singer named Dean Martin. Later that year, while playing Atlantic City's 500 Club, another act abruptly quit the show, and Lewis suggested Martin to fill the void. Initially the two performed separately, but one night they threw out their routines and teamed on-stage, a Mutt-and-Jeff combo whose wildly improvisational comedy quickly made them a star attraction along the Boardwalk. Within months, Martin and Lewis' salaries rocketed from 350 to 5,000 dollars a week, and by the end of the 1940s, they were the most popular comedy duo in the nation. In 1949, they made their film debut in George Marshall's My Friend Irma, and their supporting work proved so popular with audiences that their roles were significantly expanded for the sequel, the following year's My Friend Irma Goes West. With 1951's At War With the Army, Martin and Lewis earned their first star billing. The picture established the basic formula of all of their subsequent movie work, with Martin the suave straight man forced to suffer the bizarre antics of the manic fool Lewis. Critics often loathed the duo, but audiences couldn't get enough. In all, they made 13 comedies for Paramount, among them 1952's Jumping Jacks, 1953's Scared Stiff, and 1955's Artists and Models, a superior effort directed by Frank Tashlin. For 1956's Hollywood or Bust, Tashlin was again in the director's seat, but the movie was the team's last; after Martin and Lewis' relationship soured to the point where they were no longer even speaking to one another, they announced their breakup following the conclusion of their July 25, 1956, performance at the Copacabana, which celebrated to the day the tenth anniversary of their first show.
Working again as a solo performer, Lewis also served as producer on his first post-Martin star vehicle, 1957's The Delicate Delinquent. Reviews were good, and later that same year he starred in The Sad Sack. With 1958's Rock-a-Bye Baby, he teamed again with Tashlin, the first of six Lewis comedies the director helmed; they next united for The Geisha Boy. Under Norman Taurog, Lewis returned in 1959 with Don't Give up the Ship. At the time of its release, he signed an exclusive contract with Paramount for ten million dollars and 60 percent of his box-office profits, the biggest payday of its kind in Hollywood history; at its peak, his popularity was so great that he even starred in a DC Comics book. Lewis celebrated his success by making another feature for Taurog, 1960's Visit to a Small Planet, before returning to work under Tashlin for Cinderfella.
With 1960's The Bellboy, Lewis made his directorial debut. Here his comic vision began to truly take flight, with only a bare-bones plot and virtually no dialogue to best serve his ambitious gags. He also directed and produced 1961's The Ladies' Man, a lavishly filmed, vicious satire on American femininity, followed by The Errand Boy, another collection of sight gags which earned favorable comparison to the work of Jacques Tati. Under Tashlin, Lewis next starred in 1962's It's Only Money. Returning to the director's chair, he filmed his masterpiece, The Nutty Professor, a comic retelling of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale which, while dismissed by American critics, solidified his following among European filmgoers, especially the staff of the influential Cahiers du Cinema.
In between 1963's Who's Minding the Store? and 1964's The Disorderly Orderly, both written and directed by Tashlin, Lewis also helmed The Patsy, his most ambitious work to date. In 1965's The Family Jewels, he not only wrote and directed, but also played seven different roles. The picture was among his first not to become a major box-office success. He subsequently traveled to France to star in John Rich's Boeing Boeing. There "Le Roi du Crazy" (as he was dubbed) was met by adoring fans and critics with a three-week film festival, as well as a complete retrospective at the Cinematheque Francais. However, the feature was Lewis' last for Paramount, who found his insistence upon complete artistic control to be at odds with the increasingly disappointing box-office showings of his films.
In 1966, after landing at Columbia to direct and star in Three on a Couch, Lewis hosted his first Labor Day telethon to raise funds in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The star-studded event quickly became an institution, annually bringing in millions upon millions in charitable contributions. Lewis next starred in the Gordon Douglas space comedy Way, Way Out, followed by 1967's The Big Mouth, which he directed and co-wrote. He next appeared in Jerry Paris' Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River and George Marshall's Hook, Line and Sinker, subsequently directing (but, for the first and only time, not starring) in 1969's One More Time. None of the movies found favor with audiences or critics, however, and after the failure of 1970's Which Way to the Front?, Lewis' career in Hollywood was in grave condition. While seeking funding for his next project, in 1971 he wrote a book, The Total Filmmaker. With financing from the Swedish-based Cinema and Film Enterprises, in 1972 Lewis mounted The Day the Clown Cried, a disturbing tale focusing on a famous clown forced by the Nazis to lead children to their deaths in the gas chambers. Widely speculated to be either a transcendent masterpiece or an obscene failure, the radical feature was never released, remaining trapped in legal limbo. Lewis spent the remainder of the decade out of film, appearing instead in the disastrous Broadway production Helzapoppin' as well as in concert and on the lecture circuit. Finally, in 1979 he wrote, directed, and starred in Hardly Working; though not released until two years later because of financial entanglements, the movie proved to be a major success, grossing over 50 million dollars in North America alone.
In late 1982, Lewis was declared clinically dead after suffering a massive heart attack. He was miraculously revived, and the excessive lifestyle that led to his near-death experience became the subject of his 1983 feature Smorgasbord, which later premiered on HBO as Cracking Up before finally bowing in theaters in 1985. In the meantime, Lewis garnered some of the best reviews of his career for his work in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy, but his performance did not lead to work in other major Hollywood productions. As a result, he traveled to France, appearing in the 1984 comedies To Catch a Cop and Par Ou T'es Rentre? on T'a Pas Vue Sortir. The dismal Slapstick of Another Kind also arrived in 1984, with only small roles in the 1987 telefilm Fight for Life and Susan Seidelman's 1989 effort Cookie, as well as an extended supporting turn in the television series Wiseguy. By the 1990s, Lewis experienced something of a resurgence. Although he remained unable to secure directorial work, he did appear in the major studio films Mr. Saturday Night and Funny Bones. Additionally, he starred on Broadway in a successful revival of Damn Yankees and in 1996, The Nutty Professor was remade by Eddie Murphy. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
On February 22, 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Lewis the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. As an innovative filmmaker, Lewis is credited with inventing the video assist system in cinematography (some doubt now exists about this, due to a patent predating Lewis' by more than a decade [2]). Lewis was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. In addition to the team's popular nightclub work, they starred in a successful series of comedy films for Paramount Pictures. The act broke up ten years later.
Jerry Lewis was born Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey, the son of parents of Russian Jewish ancestry.[3] His parents, married in January 1925,[4] were Daniel Levitch, a Master of Ceremonies and vaudeville entertainer[5][6][7] who used the professional name Danny Lewis,[8] and Rachel ("Rae") Levitch (née Brodsky),[9] a piano player for the radio station WOR and musical arrangement performer.
Lewis started performing at the age of five, and by the age of fifteen had developed his Record Act, in which he mimed lyrics of operatic and popular songs to a phonograph. He attended Irvington High School in Irvington, NJ. At about age sixteen, he began using the professional name Jerry Lewis instead of Joey Lewis to avoid confusion with comedian, Joe E. Lewis or heavyweight champion Joe Louis.[10]
Lewis initially gained fame with singer Dean Martin, who served as straight man to Lewis's zany antics in 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 planned skits. In the late 1940s, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, next as stars of their own radio program, then with appearances on early live television (most notably in 1950 as the first of a series of hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour), and finally as film stars in a string of successes for Paramount Pictures.
However, as Martin's roles in their films became less important, the partnership became strained. Martin's diminished participation became an embarrassment in 1954, when Look magazine used a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover, but cropped Martin out of the photo. The partnership finally ended on July 25, 1956. Attesting the team's popularity, DC Comics published the best-selling The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comic books from 1952 to 1957. The series continued a year after the team broke up as DC Comics then featured Lewis solo, until 1971, in The Adventures of Jerry Lewis comic books. In this latter series, Lewis was sometimes featured with Superman, Batman, and various other DC Comics heroes and villains.
Both Martin and Lewis went on to successful solo careers, but for years neither would comment on the split, nor consider a reunion. The next time they were seen together in public was a surprise appearance by Martin on Lewis's Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon in 1976, arranged by Frank Sinatra. As well, in Lewis's 2005 book Dean and Me (A Love Story), Lewis wrote of his kinship with Martin, who had died in 1995. The pair eventually reconciled in the late 1980s after the death of Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin. The two men were seen together on stage in Las Vegas when Lewis pushed out Dean's birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to him.[11]
After the split from Martin, Lewis remained at Paramount and became a major comedy star with his first film as a solo comic, The Delicate Delinquent (1957). Teaming with director Frank Tashlin, whose background as a Warner Bros.Looney Tunes cartoon 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). 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 largely associated with Al Jolson and later re-popularized by Judy Garland) as well as the song, "It All Depends on You" in 1958. He eventually released his own album titled, Jerry Lewis Just Sings.
By the end of his contract with producer Hal B. Wallis, Lewis had several productions of his own under his belt. His first three efforts, The Delicate Delinquent (1957), Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958) and The Geisha Boy (1958), were all efforts to move away from Wallis, who Lewis felt was hindering his comedy.[citation needed] In 1960, Lewis finished his contract with Wallis with Visit to a Small Planet (1960), and wrapped up work on his own production, Cinderfella.
Cinderfella was postponed for a Christmas 1960 release, and Paramount, needing a quickie feature film for its summer 1960 schedule, held Lewis to his contract to produce one. Lewis came up with The Bellboy. Using the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami as his setting—and on a small budget, with a very tight shooting schedule, and no script—Lewis shot the film by day and performed at the hotel in the evenings. Bill Richmond collaborated with him on the many sight gags. During production Lewis developed the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors, which allowed him to review his performance instantly.
Lewis occasionally handed directing reins to Frank Tashlin, who directed several of his productions, including It's Only Money (1962) and Who's Minding the Store? (1963). In 1965, Lewis directed and (along with Bill Richmond) wrote the comedy film The Family Jewels about a young heiress who must choose between six uncles, one of which is up to no good and out to harm the girl's beloved bodyguard who practically raised her. Lewis played all six uncles and the bodyguard.
By 1966, Lewis, now 40, was no longer an angular juvenile and his routines seemed more labored. His box office appeal waned to the point where Paramount Pictures new executives felt no further need for the Lewis comedies. Undaunted, Lewis packed up and went to Columbia Pictures, where he made several more comedies. Lewis taught a film directing class at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for a number of years, mentoring such students as George Lucas.[citation needed] In 1968, he screened Steven Spielberg's early film, Amblin' and told his students, "That's what filmmaking is all about."[12]
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 rarely discusses the experience, but once explained why the film has not been released, by suggesting litigation over post-production financial difficulties. 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.
Lewis also appeared in stage musicals. In 1976, he appeared in a revival of Hellzapoppin' with Lynn Redgrave, but it closed on the road before reaching Broadway.[13] In 1994, he made his Broadway debut, as a replacement cast member playing the Devil in a revival of the baseball musical, Damn Yankees, choreographed by future film director Rob Marshall (Chicago).[14]
Lewis returned to the screen in 1981 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). The role had been based on and originally offered to Johnny Carson.[citation needed]
Lewis continued doing work in small films in the 1990s, most notably his supporting roles in Arizona Dream (1994) and Funny Bones (1995). He appeared on television on one episode of Mad About You's first season in 1992, playing an eccentric billionaire. In 2008, Lewis reprised his role as Prof. Kelp in The Nutty Professor, his first CGI animated film and follow-up to his original 1963 film with Drake Bell as his nephew, Harold Kelp.
Lewis has long remained popular in Europe: he was consistently praised by some French critics in the influential magazine 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 Légion d'honneur, calling him the "French people's favorite clown".[15] Liking Lewis has long been a common stereotype about the French in the minds of many English-speakers, and is often the object of jokes in Anglosphere pop culture.[citation needed]
In 1994, the Columbia Pictures film, North featured footage of Lewis's classic movies. In June 2006, Lewis first announced plans to write and direct a stage musical adaptation of his 1963 film, The Nutty Professor.[16] In October 2008, in an interview on Melbourne radio, Lewis said he had signed composers Marvin Hamlisch[17] and Rupert Holmes to write the show for a Broadway opening in November 2010.[citation needed][18] In 2009, Lewis traveled to the Cannes Film Festival to announce his return to the silver screen after a 13 year absence for the film Max Rose[19][20], his first leading role since Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy.
Controversies
Lewis has been criticized by members of the disability rights community. In 1990, he wrote a first-person essay entitled "If I Had Muscular Dystrophy" for Parade magazine, in which he characterized those with muscular dystrophy as "being half a person".[21] Many in the disabled community viewed his remarks as prejudicial, contributing to the idea that people with disabilities are "childlike, helpless, hopeless, non functioning and noncontributing members of society".[22] Members of the disability rights community object to Lewis receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.[23]
In February 2000, Lewis stunned an audience gathered to honor his work at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival by saying he doesn't like female comics. Lewis said, "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."[24] He later defended the remark, saying it was taken wildly out of context, and added that he made 11 movies with comic character actress Kathleen Freeman.[24]
During the 2007 Labor Day Telethon, Lewis almost let slip the word "faggot" while live on air. While talking to a cameraman, he joked: "Oh, your family has come to see you. You remember Bart, your oldest son, Jesse, the illiterate fag--no...", at which point he turned away from the camera.[25][26] He later apologized.[27] On July 25, 2008, Lewis was cited for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit at McCarran International Airport.[28] Lewis's manager told the Associated Press that the gun was a hollowed-out prop gun that couldn't fire which the authorities disputed, stating that the gun was a functioning weapon.[29] Lewis later stated that the unloaded handgun was a specially engraved gift from a professional engraver during his 2007 telethon. He also stated that he had packed it in a carrying case after the '07 telethon ended and that he had forgotten about it and had not used that case until it was found by authorities,[30] and the case was dismissed without prejudice (meaning that the court would allow charges to be reinstituted at a later date) on September 19. In October 2008, Lewis again offended some in the gay community with a remark he made on Australian television, calling cricket, "... a fag game."[31]
Personal life
Family
Lewis has been married twice:
First Wife: Patti Palmer (née Esther Calonico),[32] a former singer with the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra;[33] married October 3, 1944, divorced September 1980.[34]
Second Wife: SanDee Pitnick; married February 13, 1983. Lewis was 56, They were married in Key Biscayne, Florida; at the time she was 32-year old Las Vegas dancer.[35]
He has a total of six sons and one adopted daughter.
Gary Harold Lee Levitch was born on July 31, 1945[36] to Lewis and Patti Palmer. Gary Levitch's name was subsequently legally changed to Gary Lewis. As a 1960s pop musician, Gary Lewis had a string of hits with his group Gary Lewis & the Playboys.[37]
Ronald Lewis; adopted July 1950 with Patti Palmer
Scott Lewis; born February 1956 to Patti Palmer
Christopher Joseph Lewis; born October 1957 to Patti Palmer
Anthony Lewis; born October 1959 to Patti Palmer
Joseph Lewis; born January 1964 to Patti Palmer
Danielle Sarah Lewis (daughter); adopted March 1992 with SanDee Pitnick.[34]
Lewis currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Health concerns
Lewis has suffered years of back pain after a fall that almost left him paralyzed when he flipped off a piano on March 20, 1965 while performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.[24][38] He became addicted to the pain killer Percodan,[24] but says he has been off the drug since 1978 and has not taken one since.[38] In April 2002, Lewis had a "Synergy" neurostimulator, developed by Medtronic,[39] implanted in his back, which has helped reduce the discomfort. He is now one of Medtronic's leading spokespeople.[38][39]
Lewis has battled prostate cancer,[40]diabetes I,[38] and pulmonary fibrosis,[24] and has had two heart attacks. Prednisone[24] treatment in the early 2000s for pulmonary fibrosis resulted in weight gain and a noticeable change in his appearance. In September 2001, he was unable to perform at a planned charity event produced by comedian Steven Alan Green at the London Palladium. (Green's take on the event was turned into a one-person show, I Eat People Like You For Breakfast, which Green performed at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival.) Some months thereafter, Lewis began an arduous, months-long drug rehabilitation which weaned him off prednisone and enabled him to return to work.
In December 1982, Lewis suffered a serious heart attack and then a second minor heart attack on June 11, 2006, at the end of a cross-country commercial airline flight en route home from New York City.[41] It was discovered that he had pneumonia as well as a severely damaged heart. Two stents were surgically inserted into his heart valve which had become 90% blocked. The surgery resulted in a return to full blood flow and has allowed him to continue his rebound from earlier lung problems. Having the surgery also meant canceling several major events from his schedule, but Lewis fully recuperated in a matter of weeks.
In 1999, his Australian tour was cut short when he had to be hospitalized in Darwin with viral meningitis. 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.[42]
I've had great success being a total idiot.
