the Life of Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1926. He spent his childhood in a vaudeville family. In 1945, he met Dean Martin and they began performing a comedy act in numerous nightclubs. When they became popular with their audiences their income soared. He transitioned into acting in 1945 when he played a part in My Friend Irma.
Jerry Lewis was born as Joseph Levitch to Daniel Levitch who used the stage name of Danny Lewis. Rae Lewis was his mother and she was a successful piano player. He entered show business at five years old when he sang Brother, Can You Spare a Dime.
Lewis dropped out of high school when he was 15 to become a full-time performer. He had a comedy routine he performed and was eventually hired at a burlesque house in New York. Unfortunately, he did not do well and began working as a soda jerk and an usher at a theatre to make an income.
Jerry Lewis became depressed and was considering giving up on show business. This was when his father’s friend Max Coleman gave him another chance and got him a job at a hotel in New York. This time his comedy routine was incredibly successful.
When Lewis was 19 he met Dean Martin. They became partners at the 500 club in 1946 and began one of the greatest partnerships America had ever seen. Their routine included bantering with the audience, food fights and ad-libbed insults. Within months they were earning more than $5,000 every week.
The pair started a comedy show on the radio in 1949 called The Martin and Lewis Show. This led to a film contract and their acting debut in MY Friend Irma. The film was given incredible reviews by numerous newspapers including the New York Times.
During the following ten years Lewis and Martin made 16 films. They also appeared on the Colgate Comedy Hour and the Ed Sullivan Show. Their partnership began to suffer in the 1950’s when Lewis received more attention on a national level. They finally split personally and professionally on 1956.
Once Lewis had split away from Dean Martin he established a successful career in acting and directing. He was paid $10 million in 1959 by Paramount which was a new record for lucrative film contracts. The first movie he directed was Bellboy in 1960.
Lewis became even more well known for his starring roles in films like The Day the Clown Cried, Three on a Couch and The Nutty Professor. His dream of being a Broadway actor came true in 1955 when Damn Yankees came out.
Lewis put on a one man show in 2014 in California and one month later his footprints and handprints went into the cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre. This was an honor that had become long overdue. Lewis is known for his passion, his comedy performances, his zest for life and his screen roles. He believes he will only go through the world once so he is going to do everything he can to make his journey count.
