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| All About Jerry Lewis |
| Jerry Lewis was born on March 16 in 1926. He was Born Joseph Levitch. His Parents were entertainers. Their names are Danny and Rachel When his father was on the Jerry Lewis and Dean martin show called "the colgate comedy hour, he said that when Jerry was little, he broke all the dishes and ran around a lot. When only five years old Jerry made his debut in New York's Borscht Circuit singing "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" By the time he was fifteen, he had perfected a comic routine, miming and silently mouthing lyrics of operatic and popular songs to a phonograph located off-stage. This was known as his "Record Act". On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team. One of Jerry's lifetime loves is the game of baseball. During the 1950's and 60's Jerry played first base with numerous professional baseball teams and trained every year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gil Hodges especially became one of his very close friends. In 1967 Jerry became a professor at the University of Southern California, where he taught graduate students a course in film direction. "The Total Film-Maker", based on recordings of 480 hours of his classroom lectures, was edited by Jerry and published by Random House in 1971. The USC library also houses an extensive collection of Jerry's original documents relating to motion picture production. The Times of London stated: "Quite apart from his gifts as a performer, Mr. Lewis is one of the best directors working in America today." Although Lewis is gratified by such esteem, he values the words engraved on a plaque given to him by his friend, President John F. Kennedy, and reads: "There are three things that are real... God, human folly and laughter. Since the first two are beyond our comprehension, we must do the best we can with the third." 1977 marked the year that the highest honor ever bestowed upon an entertainer, would recognize the tireless efforts Jerry Lewis has displayed since 1949, in his fight against Muscular Dystrophy. "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." With those words, Congressman Les Aspin of Wisconsin concluded his nomination of Jerry Lewis for the Nobel Peace Prize. Jerry Lewis has a motto that reflects more than anything else his ongoing love affair with humanity: "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!" |
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| Jerry with his parents |
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| Jerry's highschool picture |