Jerry Lewis | |
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.jpg) Lewis in 1957 | |
| Born | Joseph Levitch[a] March 16, 1926 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 20, 2017 (aged 91) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1931–2017[1] |
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| Children | 8, including Gary |
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| Notable works and roles | Prof. Julius F. Kelp and Buddy Love in The Nutty Professor |
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Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch;[a] March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, filmmaker, actor, humanitarian and singer, who was famously nicknamed "The King of Comedy" and appeared in more than 59 motion pictures. These included a series of sixteen Martin and Lewis films with Dean Martin as his partner during their 10-year act in radio, stage, television and film.
He then acted without Martin in Visit to a Small Planet (1960), Cinderfella (1960), The Bellboy (1960), The Errand Boy (1961), The Ladies Man (1961), It's Only Money (1962), The Nutty Professor (1963), Who's Minding the Store? (1963), The Patsy (1964), The Disorderly Orderly (1964), The Family Jewels (1965) and Three on a Couch (1966), and portrayed Jerry Langford in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1982) earning a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. He was an early and prominent user of video assist.[3]
From star of The Colgate Comedy Hour to host of The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon (benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association), Lewis performed in concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings and appeared in at least 117 film and television productions. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and France awarded him the Legion of Honor in 2006.
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- ^ Hirschberg, Lynn (October 28, 1982). "What's So Funny About Jerry Lewis?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (August 20, 2017). "Jerry Lewis, mercurial comedian and filmmaker, dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
Most sources, including his 1982 autobiography, Jerry Lewis: In Person, give his birth name as Joseph Levitch. But Shawn Levy, author of the exhaustive 1996 biography King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis, unearthed a birth record that gave his first name as Jerome.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (August 30, 2017). "Jerry Lewis, a Jester Both Silly and Stormy, Dies at 91 (correction)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2022.