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Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926), is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer and film director known for his slapstick humor and his charity fund-raising telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Career
Lewis was born in Newark, New Jersey to a Jewish American family. His father was a vaudeville performer. He began in burlesque in 1942 at age 16 (if the birth year of 1926 is correct) and married two years later in 1944 at age 18. He gained initial fame with singer Dean Martin, who served as a straight man to Lewis's manic, zany antics as the Martin and Lewis comedy team. They distinguished themselves from the majority of comedy acts of the 1940s by relying on the interaction of the two comics instead of pre-planned skits. In the late 1940s, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act and then as film stars. Critics often found it difficult to describe their chaotic act beyond the laconic "Martin sings and Lewis clowns". They continued to perform in film and on television until their partnership ended in 1956. Following their split, the two became involved in a well-publicized and long-running feud that never truly ended; the next time they were seen together in public would be a surprise appearance by Martin on Lewis's telethon in 1976, arranged by Frank Sinatra. Lewis wrote of his kinship with Martin in the 2005 book Dean and Me (A Love Story). When Sinatra tried to bring Lewis back to Martin, Lewis was quoted as saying, "I'll never work with that drunk ever again". Although the pair eventually reconciled in the late-1980s after Martin's son died, there was never any reunion.
Lewis returned as a solo act with his debut film The Delicate Delinquent in 1957. Teaming with director Frank Tashlin, whose background as a cartoonist suited Lewis's brand of humor, he starred in five more films, and even appeared uncredited as Itchy McRabbitt in Li'l Abner (1959) before he produced, directed, co-wrote with Bill Richmond, and starred in his own movie entitled The Bellboy in 1960. Using the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami as his setting, on a small budget, a very tight shooting schedule and no script, Lewis shot the film by day and performed at the hotel in the evenings. During production, Lewis developed the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors to allow him to view scenes at the same time as he was filming them. This allowed him to review his performance instantly. Later, he incorporated video tape, and as more portable and affordable equipment became available, this technique would become an industry standard known as video assist.
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The Jerry Lee Lewis Web Portal - Fan reports and messages, news, biography, discography, concert list and reviews, audio and video clips, weekly show, cartoons, and links.
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis - Inductee profile and timeline.
Rockabilly Hall of Fame: The Killer - The singer's visit to the Hall of Fame in 1999 reported by Larry Holden, with a biography and tributes by other musicians.
Meta Description: [ Jerry Lee Lewis, Rockabilly history, tour trip through early American music history ]
The Jerry Lee Lewis Start Page - Features a link archive, news section, show dates, fanclub information, picture gallery, and mail list.
Meta Description: [ The Jerry Lee Lewis Start Page - Link archive, Latest news, Concert schedule, Pictures, Fanclub Information ]
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