Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (2024)

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Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (1)

By Brian Lowry, CNN

3 minute read

Updated 4:12 PM EDT, Mon August 21, 2017

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (2)

Jerry Lewis, the slapstick-loving comedian, innovative filmmaker and generous fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, died August 20 after a brief illness, said his publicist, Candi Cazau. He was 91.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (3)

Lewis monkeys around with Pierre, a 5-year-old chimpanzee, in 1950, during Lewis' early Hollywood days.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (4)

Lewis joined forces with singer Dean Martin in 1946 and they became a hugely popular duo. Martin and Lewis were comedy partners for 10 years.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (5)

Martin, center, kisses actress Denise Darcel, as Lewis feigns irritation. The pair were at a golf event in 1953 in Eastchester, New York.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (6)

Lewis and Martin parted less than amicably in 1956. Both had long and successful careers after their breakup.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (8)

Lewis' film heyday was the '60s. Here, he stars with Susan Oliver in 1964's "The Disorderly Orderly."

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (9)

Lewis and his wife, Patti, sing in an impromptu New York performance in 1955. They divorced in 1982.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (10)

Lewis and his family in 1967. He also had a daughter with his second wife.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (11)

Lewis stars in "The Nutty Professor" in 1963. Lewis also directed the film.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (12)

Lewis was the longtime spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Here, Lewis visits President John Kennedy at the White House with Bobbie and Kerrie Whittaker, the 1963 national poster children for the association. Also shown, from left, are actress Patty Duke and the children's parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. Leigh Whittaker.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (13)

Lewis tries out a Jerry Lewis special in 1971. The ice cream special was offered by a Troy, New York, pharmacy where Lewis worked as a young man. Lewis' former boss, Ben Silberg, helps eat the giant sundae.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (14)

Lewis arrives at Nice Airport on his way to the Cannes Film Festival in 1979. Lewis was hugely popular in France, where in 1984 he was awarded the Legion of Honor, the country's highest tribute.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (15)

Lewis with Robert De Niro in a scene from "The King of Comedy" in 1982. Lewis' part in the film was a rare serious role.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (16)

Lewis married Sandra Pitnick in 1983.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (17)

Lewis performs with the United States Army Reserve Band before receiving the the military's highest civilian award in 1985. The Medal for Distinguished Service was awarded to Lewis for his role in fighting muscular dystrophy.

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Lewis brings former CNN host Larry King to tears with a joke in 1999.

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Lewis wipes away tears at the 39th Annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon in 2004. In 2011, Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced they were parting ways.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (20)

Lewis arrives for the Emmy Awards in 2015.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (21)

In 2013, Lewis starred in the drama "Max Rose." He's shown here at the photo call for the movie at the Cannes Film Festival.

Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (22)

Lewis holds up his cement covered hands during a 2014 ceremony to add his hand prints and footprints to the sidewalk at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

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Lewis and director Martin Scorsese attend a Friars Club event honoring Scorsese in New York in 2016.

The life and career of Jerry Lewis

CNN

Jerry Lewis was indisputably an entertainment legend and comedy giant, yet also a complex and polarizing figure – one whose often-contradictory career went through various stages, and whose appreciation waxed and waned across the times and even geographic locales.

Like Dick Gregory, the civil-rights pioneer and stand-up comedian who also died over the weekend, Lewis will be remembered for much more than just comedy. While performing wasn’t merely the tip of the iceberg, in both cases their show-business careers were wrapped up in personalities that cast a shadow, and leave behind a legacy, which spilled well beyond the stage and screen.

Lewis enjoyed vast popularity during his 10-year partnership with Dean Martin beginning after World War II – first as a live act, then in such movies as “You’re Never Too Young” and “Scared Stiff.”

After their much-publicized split in 1956, Lewis made a name for himself as a director and star of broad slapstick comedies – movies like “The Nutty Professor” (remade starring Eddie Murphy in the 1990s) and “The Bellboy.”

Because of his box-office success, Lewis wielded enormous clout at Paramount Pictures, although the auteur label that such a multifaceted star would have worn was largely limited to Europe, especially France, because of the farcical nature of his work.

circa 1955: Studio headshot portrait of American comedian and actor Jerry Lewis smiling in a sweater and collared shirt. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Hulton Archive/Getty Images video Related video Jerry Lewis dies at 91

Lewis tried to broaden his appeal, but was frequently met by resistance and setbacks. His 1972 movie “The Day the Clown Cried,” a drama he wrote and directed set in a concentration camp, was never released, and became an ongoing source of fascination. (A portion of the movie surfaced a few years ago.)

Off screen, Lewis’ charitable endeavors and especially his championing of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Assn. telethon further shaped his image, raising billions for research but also enhancing his reputation as a kitsch figure.

Through the years, however, the comedy community admiringly embraced Lewis as an enduring link to another era, recognizing his success and longevity, as well as the creativity and innovations he brought to the comedies of his heyday. In addition, he demonstrated impressive chops as a dramatic actor – most notably in director Martin Scorsese’s 1982 movie “The King of Comedy,” in which Lewis played a Johnny Carson-like TV personality not so far from his own persona; and later, an arc of the TV drama “Wiseguy.”

Lewis could be gruff, outspoken, prickly. He derided female comedians and bristled at criticism of his approach to the MDA telethon. His break with Martin was acrimonious, although the two were reunited decades later by Frank Sinatra, and Lewis eventually wrote a book reminiscing about their partnership, titled “Dean & Me (A Love Story).”

The New York Times’ obituary nicely captured the dichotomies that surrounded Lewis. Calling him “mercurial,” the piece noted that he was “adored by many, disdained by others,” and that in a career filled with ups and downs, “at its zenith there were few stars any bigger.”

Memories of Lewis defy simple categorization. But he’ll endure as a symbol of his time – one whose artistic merits can (and surely will) be debated, but whose bigness and significance can’t be ignored.

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Jerry Lewis: A legacy bigger than comedy | CNN (2024)
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