Lewis, Jerry (1926-2017), was an American comic actor. Some people consider Lewis a comic genius and one of the greatest clowns of his time. Moviegoers in Europe, especially in France, flock to his films, and critics praise his work. Opinions about Lewis differ, however. Many American critics object to what they think is a self-indulgent, slapstick style and exaggerated sentimentality.
Lewis was born on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. His real name was Joseph Levitch. He worked as a comedian in small clubs and in resorts as a teen-ager. He met Dean Martin, then a struggling young singer, and they formed a comedy team in 1946. Martin sang in a romantic baritone voice, and Lewis interrupted with wisecracks and clowning. The act caught on, and Martin and Lewis soon became nationally popular on the stage, on television, and in nightclubs. They began a movie career with My Friend Irma, Lewis’s first film, in 1949. The team made 16 more films, all variations of the Martin and Lewis act.
After the partners split up in 1956, Lewis began a solo career as a movie comedian. He retained his style of zany behavior and frantic mugging in such films as The Sad Sack (1957), The Geisha Boy (1958), The Bellboy and Cinderfella (both 1960), and The Nutty Professor (1963). Lewis also directed and produced several of his films. In 1995, Lewis starred on Broadway in a revival of the musical comedy Damn Yankees and then toured with the show in the United States before taking the production to London.
Lewis was active in several charitable causes, notably raising money to fight muscular dystrophy. From 1966 to 2010, he hosted the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Labor Day Telethon. Lewis served as MDA’s chairman from the early 1950’s until 2011, when he retired. For his charitable work, Lewis received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award during Academy Award ceremonies in 2009. He wrote two autobiographies, Jerry Lewis, in Person (1982) and Dean & Me (A Love Story) (2005). Lewis died on Aug. 20, 2017. Gary Lewis, his oldest son, led a popular rock band in the 1960’s called Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
