Joe E. Lewis

Joe E. Lewis, born Joseph Klewan on January 12, 1902, in New York City, was an American comedian, actor, and singer who performed on Broadway between 1938 and 1942. He added the middle initial E. to his stage name to distinguish himself from the boxer. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants.

Lewis left De Witt Clinton High School after two years, and at fifteen attempted to enlist in the Marine Corps, but was discovered and discharged. By 1923 he had entered third-rate burlesque and vaudeville, eventually establishing himself as a nightclub performer in Chicago during Prohibition, a period he referred to as "the Great Drought."

His Chicago career was interrupted by a violent episode in November 1927. Lewis had been performing at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, a venue partly owned by Al Capone, earning $600 a week. When a rival gang offered him $1,000 a week to appear at The New Rendezvous, Lewis declined to renew his contract at the Green Mill. Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, a lieutenant of Capone, threatened to "take him for a ride" if he moved to the competing club. On November 8, 1927, three assailants — among them Sam Giancana and Leonard "Needles" Gianola — attacked Lewis in his room at the Commonwealth Hotel, stabbing him repeatedly about the face and head, cutting his throat and tongue, and leaving him for dead. He sustained twelve cuts and spent six weeks hospitalized, with physicians initially doubting he would survive. Capone, who held Lewis in personal regard, was displeased by the assault but took no action against McGurn. He instead gave Lewis $10,000 to support his recovery and eventual return to performing.

Lewis's Broadway appearances included the musicals Right This Way and The Lady Comes Across, both staged during his active Broadway period. His film work spanned several decades, with roles in the short comedy Too Many Husbands (1931), Private Number (1936), The Holy Terror (1937), and Private Buckaroo (1942). He also appeared as himself in Lady in Cement (1968). During World War II, Lewis toured USO shows in the Pacific Theater alongside Ray Bolger.

His television appearances included frequent spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, three appearances as the "Mystery Guest" on What's My Line?, and a 1956 interview on Person to Person. In 1946 he married actress Martha Stewart; the couple divorced in 1948. Art Cohn's biography of Lewis, The Joker Is Wild, was published by Random House in 1955, and a film adaptation followed in 1957.

Lewis maintained a long friendship with Frank Sinatra that predated Sinatra's portrayal of him in The Joker Is Wild. In 1961, Sinatra signed Lewis to Reprise Records, and the resulting album, It Is Now Post Time, stands among the label's earliest releases and one of the few recorded documents of Lewis performing stand-up comedy. The album's title references a signature moment in his act in which he raised a drink and announced "Post time," a horse racing term signaling the start of a race, used here to suggest the beginning of a drinking session. On his 1966 live album Sinatra at the Sands, Sinatra referenced their years of drinking together in a well-known aside.

Lewis died of a heart attack on June 4, 1971, at the age of 69, reportedly while in a diabetic coma. He was buried at Cedar Park Cemetery in Emerson, New Jersey.