The King Of Comedy (Life Of Jerry Lewis) Essay, Research Paper

“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 differ nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again”(TOJLCMS, 5). For Jerry Lewis, this was a common outlook he had. Jerry has devoted his life to entertaining others and putting a smile on their faces. Although he did suffer numerous struggles, Jerry Lewis has still successfully made it to the top (Lewis, 3).

Joseph Levitch was born March 16, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey. He was born to Danny and Rae Levitch (Levy, 1). “Jerry’s folks were part time entertainers and because of this, he was left home a lot” (Lewis, 15). The only person in his life he felt belongingness with was with his grandmother. His grandmother was a person whom he felt secure and through her he received the love he longed for (Lewis, 15). “Jerry Lewis has always depicted his childhood as a desperate, neurotic struggle with abandonment, friendlessness, deprivation, and Nazis, turning his early life into a kind of explanation of the strange course of his career” (Levy, 1).

Lewis first performed at the age of five. “As a kid, he dreamed of growing up and become a clown” (Lewis, 15). At the age of 17 he quit school to enter into show business (Levy, 1). He chose the last name Lewis from his biological fathers stage name. He then changed his first name from Joseph to Jerry so he would not be confused with Joe E. Lewis (Levy, 1). “Jerry went around to different agents exploiting them with his fathers familiarity to get a foot in the door” (Levy, 34).

“The career of Jerry Lewis did not really begin until July 25,1946, when the 20-year old teamed up for the first time with a singer by the name of Dean Martin” (Shaviro, 1). “By 1949, Jerry and Dean were among the biggest stars in Hollywood” (Shaviro, 1). “In less then eighteen weeks, the salaries of Martin and Lewis soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00 a week” (Shaviro, 1). Together they made a total of 16 films over a 10-year span (Shaviro, 1). “On July 25th of the year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly 10 years to the day since they became a team” (Shaviro, 1).

Jerry then met a female by the name of Patti. “Jerry and Patti were married by a justice of peace in Greenwich Connecticut” (Levy, 50). Patti was a Catholic but did not wanted to convert to Judaism because she felt secure in her faith since childhood (Levy, 50). “In April of 1943, before the authority of a rabbi and the watchful eye of Rae, Danny, and a small brood of aunts and uncles, and cousins, Jerry and his six month pregnant wife stood under a Chuppah to be married once again” (Levy, 50).

Lewis had a love for baseball. “During the 50’s and 60’s, Jerry played 1st base with numerous Professional baseball teams and trained every year with the LA Dodgers” (TOJLCMS, 2). Through this experience, He has become close friends with Gil Hodges (TOJLCMS, 2).

Lewis acted, wrote, produced, and directed many movies. His movies consist of My friend Irma, My Friend Irma Goes West, At War With The Army, That’s My Boy, Sailor Beware, Jumping Jacks, The Stooge, Scared Stiff, The Caddy, Money From Home, Living It Up, Three Ring Circus, Your Never Too Young, Artist And Models, Pardners, Hollywood Or Bust, The Delicate Delinquent, The Sad Sock, Rockabye Baby, The Geisha Boy, Don’t Give Up The Ship, Visit To A Small Planet, The Bellboy, Cinderfella, The Ladies’ Man, It’s Only Money, The Errand Boy, The Nutty Professor, Who’s Winding The Store?, The Patsy, The Disorderly Orderly, The Family Jewels, Boeing Boeing, Three On A Couch, Way Way Out, The Big Mouth, Don’t Raise The Bridge Lower The River, Hook Line And Sinker, One More Time, Which Way To The Front?, The Day The Clown Cried, Hardly Working, The King Of Comedy, Slapstick, Cracking Up (Lewis, 151-157).

In 1965, Lewis moved to Columbia Pictures (TOJLCMS, 2). “He produced, directed and stared in Three On A Couch” (TOJLCMS, 2). “He also wrote produced, directed, and stared in The Big Mouth” (TOJLCMS, 2). Lewis then worked on a project where he directed a movie staring Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. titled One More Time (TOJLCMS, 2). “After One More Time he moved to Warner Brothers to start, produce, and direct Which Way To The Front” (TOJLCMS, 2).

“His films were rifed with inventive visual gags” (Shaviro, 2). “Lewis is also said to be the biggest mainstream filmmaker since Charley Chaplin” (Shaviro, 2). “The form of the movies are often as elegant as the content is crude” (Shaviro, 2). “He was fond of self reflexive gestures and was the first director to use video on the set” (Shaviro, 2).

Jerry also had a love for theater. “In 1995 Lewis stared in Damn Yankees at the Marquis Theater on Broadway” (TOJLCMS, 4). After this Damn Yankees went international. Jerry worked on the European tour and also worked with the USA Broadway Show (Norky, 1). “He also was in an off Broadway production called Hellzapoppin” (Norky, 1).

Throughout his life, Jerry Lewis suffered many problems, which included alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and attempted suicide. (Levy, 169 and 385). Among his struggles, he endured many accidents while performing. One of his major accidents was when he slipped in a puddle of water on stage. Lewis landed and hit the base of his skull (Levy, 320). The people in the audience thought that this was all part of his show. Jerry didn’t want to scare his audience, so he finished his show in an unconscious state (Levy, 320). As it turned out, Lewis suffered a fine linear skull fracture. After a week, he was too ill to return back to work. On March 24th, Lewis was cleared by a physician to go back to work (Levy, 320).

Lewis was always there to help others in more need then him. In November of 1961 he hosted the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in New York (Levy, 273). “He did telethons and short broadcasts for the organization; he made public service films that were shown in theaters and on TV; he lent his name to fundraising activities” (Levy, 273). MDA’s Jerry Lewis telethon represents a valid premise, and it raises millions of dollars (Levy, 273). In 1974 $16.2 million was raised. Then in 1999 a record $53 million was raised (Norky, 1).

Among his struggles, he has also received many awards. “Lewis won best director of the year 8 times in Europe since 1960” (TOJLCMS, 2). “In 1971 the AFL-CIO presented him with the Murray-Green Award for community service” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1976, the US Senate unanimously adapted a resolution of appreciation for his contribution to MDA” (TOJLCMS, 3). Lewis was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 (TOJLCMS, 2). “In 1978, NATPE awarded him with Award of the year for his humanitarian efforts in raising funds to combat MDA” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1978, Lewis received the Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantage” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1980, the Touchdown Club of Washington DC honored him with its prestigious Hubert H. Humphrey Humanitarian Award” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1984, He received the Boston University School of Law’s prestigious Neal Pike Prize for service to the handicapped” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1985 he was inducted into the French Legion of Honor” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1985, the department of Defense presented with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1986, he received a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Mercy College” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1988 he received the Award of Professionalism and Achievement from the Eterna Watch Corporation” (TOJLCMS, 3). “In 1991, he received the Comic Life Achievement Award” (TOJLCMS, 4). “In 1998, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards” (TOJLCMS, 4). “And in 1999, Jerry was awarded the Golden Lion by the Venice International Film Festival (TOJLCMS, 4).

Along with acting, Lewis had many occupations outside of acting. “In 1967 he was a professor at USC” (TOJLCMS, 2). “Lewis taught graduate students a course in film direction” (TOJLCMS, 2). Today the USC library houses and extensive collection of original documents that relate to the production of motion pictures (TOJLCMS, 2).

Along with acting, he also recorded albums. One of his albums was Rock-a-bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody (Shaviro, 2). “In 1959, a contract between Paramount Pictures and Jerry Lewis Productions was signed specifying a payment of $20 million plus 60% of the profits for 14 films over a seven year period” (Shaviro, 2).

Throughout his life, Lewis has contributed to making the good of him come out and show it through his actions. This ranges from his work for MDA to his simple movie acting. Les Aspin (a congressman from Wisconsin) once said “Jerry Lewis is a man for all seasons, all people, all times. His name has, in the hearts of millions, become synonymous with peace, love, and brotherhood” (TOJLCMS, 2).

Levy, Shawn. King of Comedy: The life and Art of Jerry Lewis. New York: St Martins

Press, 1996.

Lewis, Patti. I Laffed Till I Cried. Texas: WRS publishing, 1993.

Norky. The Jerry Lewis website. 1995 http://users.aol.com/norky1995/index.html.

Shaviro, Steven. The Jerry Lewis Page. 1999

http://dhalgren.english.washington.edu/~steve/Jerry/.

The Official Jerry Lewis Comedy Museum and Store. Jerry Lewis Comedy Classics

Online. Feb 1999 http://www.jerrylewiscomedy.com/bbiography.htm.