Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis, born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker, and humanitarian whose career spanned seven decades. His parents were Daniel "Danny" Levitch, a vaudevillian and master of ceremonies who performed under the stage name Danny Lewis, and Rachael "Rae" Levitch, a pianist and music director for WOR radio. Reports conflict over whether his birth name was Joseph or Jerome, with his 1982 autobiography claiming the former while his birth certificate and census records from 1930 and 1940 list the latter. Lewis was expelled from Weequahic High School in the ninth grade and later dropped out of Irvington High School in the tenth grade. During World War II, he was rejected from military service due to a heart murmur.

By age fifteen, Lewis had developed what he called his "Record Act," miming song lyrics while a phonograph played offstage. A burlesque comedian named Max Coleman, who had previously worked with Lewis's father, encouraged him to continue performing after an early failed engagement at a burlesque house in Buffalo. Irving Kaye, a Borscht Belt comedian, subsequently witnessed Lewis's mime act at Brown's Hotel in Loch Sheldrake, New York, and became his manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances. To support himself during this period, Lewis worked as a soda jerk and as a theater usher for Gene Pleshette at the Paramount Theatre and Loew's Capitol Theatre in New York City.

In 1945, Lewis met singer Dean Martin at the Glass Hat Club in New York City. The two debuted as Martin and Lewis at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946, with Martin serving as the straight man to Lewis's comedic antics. Their act incorporated ad-libbed improvisational segments that distinguished them from earlier comedy duos. The partnership grew rapidly, moving from nightclubs to a radio program called The Martin and Lewis Show, and then to television, where they made their debut on CBS's Toast of the Town on June 20, 1948. In 1950, they signed with NBC as rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour, a live Sunday evening broadcast, for which Lewis hired Norman Lear and Ed Simmons as writers. Their film careers began at Paramount Pictures with ensemble roles in My Friend Irma in 1949 and its sequel My Friend Irma Goes West in 1950, followed by a series of fourteen additional films together. DC Comics published The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis from 1952 to 1957. The duo performed their final live nightclub act together at the Copacabana on July 24, 1956.

Following the split with Martin, Lewis filled in for an ailing Judy Garland at a Las Vegas engagement at the request of her husband and manager, Sid Luft. The performance marked the first time Lewis had sung alone onstage since childhood. He performed "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" and "Come Rain or Come Shine," and the audience response convinced him he could sustain a solo career. Decca Records signed him after hearing a recording he had self-financed, and the single of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby" reached number ten on the Billboard charts while the album Jerry Lewis Just Sings reached number three, remaining near the top for four months and selling approximately one and a half million copies. A subsequent single, "It All Depends On You," charted in April and May 1957, peaking at number sixty-eight.

Lewis went on to appear in thirty-five motion pictures as a solo performer between 1957 and 1984 and guest hosted The Tonight Show a record fifty-two times. He also helmed his own nightly television series and maintained a close professional association with Sammy Davis Jr. from 1950 to 1989. His Broadway appearances spanned from 1957 to 1995 and included Jerry Lewis at the Palace and Damn Yankees. Lewis appeared in at least 117 film and television productions across his career and received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. France awarded him the Legion of Honor.

As honorary national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lewis hosted the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon each Labor Day. From the telethon's inception in 1966 through 2009, the event raised $2.45 billion for the MDA. Lewis died on August 20, 2017.