Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis Facts
| Sign | Pisces |
| Born |
Mar 16, 1926 Newark, NJ |
| Died |
Aug 20, 2017 Las Vegas, NV |
| Age | Died at 91 |
| Total Facts | 69 |
Sammy Davis Jr. called him the "greatest white faker" as a dancer.
Norman Lear (creator of "All in the Family" (1968)) co-wrote many of Martin & Lewis' "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950) shows.
Patti Lewis (aka Patti Palmer) was his first wife's stage name. Her birth name was Esther Calonico. When Jerry Lewis first met her in Detroit in August 1944, she was a singer with Ted Fio Rito and his Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, she joined Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra.
13 October 2003 - Entered a Las Vegas hospital to kick steroids used in the treatment of his pulmonary fibrosis.
145 IQ.
Although critics usually referred to him as "the little guy" throughout his career, Lewis was about the same height or slightly shorter than Dean Martin (both were a little under 6 feet tall). To try to make himself look more diminutive next to his partner, Lewis frequently hunched and also shaved a few inches off the heels of his shoes and added them to Martin's.
Appointed Honorary Ambassador of Peace for the Harvey Ball Foundation along with Brooke Shields, Jackie Chan, A.V.T. Shankardass, Prince Albert of Monaco, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Phil Collins, Jimmy Buffett, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, Heather Mills, Yoko Ono, Patch Adams, Sergei Khrushchev and Winnie Mandela.
As a young Catskill comic recorded "I Love A Murder Mystery", a speaking novelty record, in the early 1940s.
Besides Dean Martin, Lewis says the closest friend he ever had was Sammy Davis Jr. Davis would call Lewis in tears at times because of the racial slurs people would say to him about his relationship with Swedish actress May Britt.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 586-593. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Born at 12:15 pm EST.
Came upon his long-time theme song, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody)," by accident. In 1956 he had to cover for an indisposed Judy Garland at a performance in Las Vegas, which included singing several of her songs. His performance of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby," using Garland's arrangement, went over so well with the audience that Lewis has used it as his theme song ever since.He had a #10 hit recording with the song in 1957 and launched a recording career.
Children with Patti Palmer : Gary (b. 1945), Ronald (b. 1949), Scott (b. 1956), Christopher (b. 1957), Anthony (b. 1959)and Joseph (b. 1964). With SanDee Pitrick a daughter Danielle (b. 1992).
Claims he was thrown out of high school for punching out his principal who had offended him with an anti-Semitic remark, and then went directly into vaudeville. An episode of "Seinfeld" (1990) makes use of plot point based on Lewis' (alleged) real-life stratagem of secretly leaving an audiotape recorder running in a briefcase he intentionally leaves behind him in meetings to see what some people may be saying about him.
Claims to have never seen Hollywood or Bust (1956), the last film he made with his partner, Dean Martin, saying it's much too painful for him to watch.
Collapsed at a London show in September 2002.
Contrary to belief, the 1976 MDA telethon was not the first reconciliation of the legendary comedy team. In 1958,they appeared spontaneously on ABC TVs "Joey Bishop Show" and then ran off through the audience. In 1960, four years after they split, Martin & Lewis briefly reunited. Both were performing their own separate acts at the Sands hotel in Las Vegas, a club they frequently played while they were together. Lewis caught Martin's closing act and Martin introduced his former partner to the audience, bringing him on stage. For about fifteen minutes, they joked a bit and sang a duet of "Come Back to Me". Unfortunately, the reunion was only a one time thing. Later when Lewis was too exhausted to perform his act, Martin generously replaced him.
Diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2001.
Encouraged Christopher Walken to act. Walken met Lewis while he was on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950) and Lewis suggested to the young boy that he pursue a career in show business.
Father of six sons with his first marriage and a daughter with his second.
First filmmaker to develop and use video-assist device on location.
For his 80th birthday in 2006, he was given a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor by France, given the honorary title of "Legion Commander." He apologized for not speaking French at the ceremony but said that "even if the French people cannot hear my language, they have always heard my heart."
Had open heart surgery in 1983.
Has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star for movies is at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. His star for television is at 6150 Hollywood Blvd.
He and Dean Martin recorded a radio spot endorsing a product,"Tuck Tape" , and noticing the tape was still rolling, decided to improvise additional radio spots, with Jerry slipping profanities into his dialog. The unedited master recording was surreptitiously taken from the studio and made into a "bootleg" record that sold briskly among collectors.
He and Dean Martin were the world's top box-office earners from 1950-56. Lewis, on his own, also ruled as #1 movie draw in 1957, 1959, and 1961 to 1964!
He is known as a clothes horse. He gives away suits rather than having them cleaned and refuses to wear a pair of socks more than once.
He once played first base in an exhibition game for 5 innings for the Houston Astros .
He taught a class in film at the University of California.
He was a big fan of The Catcher in the Rye and strongly identified with the main character Holden Caulfield. He planned to direct a movie version but failed to aquire the rights from the book's reclusive author J.D. Salinger.
He was elected into the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to Arts and Entertainment and charity.
He was nominated in the inaugural 2007 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to entertainment and to charity.
He was presented the French Legion of Honor in 1984 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.
His classic character "Julius Kelp" from The Nutty Professor (1963) was cleverly parodied by Joe Piscopo in 1984, on Joe's self-titled HBO TV Special.
His film class students included Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
His idol is Al Jolson.
His recording "Jerry Lewis Just Sings" (American Decca: 1956) was a best-seller, securing a place in the Top 20 on the Billboard Album Charts, launching a Top 10 single and a recording career. Biographer Arthur Marx once likened his singing to "the croaking of a parched parrot"; however, it is believed that this referred only to the singing voice of his many comic characters.
In 1956, in an attempt to dispel rumors of their impending breakup, Dean Martin and Jerry performed "Side by Side" (We Ain't Got A Barrel of Money) on one of the last of their many appearances on their variety show, NBC-TVs "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950).
In 1969, Lewis announced an ambitious project of franchising a chain of Jerry Lewis Cinemas. A firm believer in family entertainment, he said that the one inviolate rule of the chain would be that nothing other than family-oriented films would be shown. The theaters were to be state-of-the-art, easy to operate, and franchised to individuals who could meet the chain's investment requirements. However, changing taste in popular entertainment and management problems caused the project to collapse within just a few years. Several lawsuits between Lewis and his associates were settled out of court.
In 1995, he became the highest paid performer in Broadway history for his role as the Devil in "Damn Yankees".
In Italy, Lewis has been given the nickname 'Picchiatello' (which means something like "nut" or "crazy"). At least three of his movies use the word in their Italian title: You're Never Too Young (1955) which became "Il Nipote Picchiatello" ("The Crazy Nephew"), Hardly Working (1980) ("Bentornato Picchiatello", or "Welcome Back Crazy") and Cracking Up (1983)("Qua La Mano Picchiatello". pr "Shake My Hand, Crazy").
Is portrayed by Sean Hayes in Martin and Lewis (2002) (TV)
Jerry suffered a minor heart attack on June 11, 2006 which caused him to postpone his comeback in Las Vegas
Jerry took his last name from his actor-father's stage name.
Lewis always wore tiny lady's sized wristwatches, usually made by Cartier. They are easy to spot in all of his films.
Lewis changes white sweatsocks several times a day, always putting on a brand-new pair, and he gives the used ones to charity.
Nominated for Nobel Prize for his 50 years raising money to fight muscular dystrophy.
Oldest son Gary Lewis and his soft-rock group The Playboys had several pop hits in the 1960s, including "This Diamond Ring".At the height of his recording career Gary Lewis and Jerry appeared together on NBC TV's Hullabaloo".
On March 20, 1965, suffered a serious back injury while performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, resulting in chronic pain. He became addicted to the prescription painkiller Percodan, but says he has been off the medication since 1978. He now uses an implant device that dulls nerve impulses and can be controlled by a hand-held remote control.
Pronounced clinically dead from a massive heart attack in December 1982, after completing The King of Comedy (1983) with Robert De Niro.