View source for Jerry Lewis

{{short description|American comedian, actor and filmmaker (1926–2017)}}
{{About|the comedian|the musician|Jerry Lee Lewis|other people named Jerry Lewis|Jerry Lewis (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
|  name               = Jerry Lewis
|  image              = Jerry Lewis (Paramount photo by Bud Fraker).jpg
|  alt                = Black-and-white portrait photograph of a smiling man with short hair
|  caption            = Lewis in 1957
|  birth_name         = Joseph Levitch{{efn|name=birth}}
|  birth_date         = {{Birth date|1926|3|16}}
|  birth_place        = [[Newark, New Jersey]], U.S.
|  death_date         = {{Death date and age|2017|8|20|1926|3|16}}
|  death_place        = [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], U.S.
|  resting_place      =
|  occupation         = {{flatlist|
* Comedian
* actor
* singer
* film director
* film producer
* screenwriter
* humanitarian
* [[vaudevillian]]
* [[Headliner (performances)|headliner]]
}}
|  alias              = {{flatlist|
* "The King of Comedy"
* "Le Roi du Crazy" 
* "The Total Filmmaker"
}}
|  module             = {{Infobox comedian|embed=yes
|  medium             = {{hlist|Film|television|stage|theatre}}
|  genre              = {{hlist|Parody|satire||[[slapstick]]}}
|  subject            = 
|  website            =
|  notable_work       = The Typewritter<br>''[[The Bellboy]]'' (1960)<br>The Opera singer<br>''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'' (1963)<br>Chairman of the Board
}}
|  years_active       = 1945–2017
|  party              = 
|  spouse             = {{ubl|{{marriage|Patti Palmer|1944|1980|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|SanDee Pitnick|1983|<!--As marriage ended with his death, year is omitted per Template:Marriage instructions--->}}}}
|  children           = 8, including [[Gary Lewis (musician)|Gary]]
|  signature          = Jerry Lewis signature.svg
}}
'''Jerry Lewis''' (born '''Joseph Levitch''';{{efn|name=birth|While the majority of sources state "Joseph" as Levitch's given name, one birth record lists it as "Jerome".<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Dave Kehr |last1=Kehr |first1=Dave |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/movies/jerry-lewis-dead-celebrated-comedian-and-filmmaker.html |title=Jerry Lewis, mercurial comedian and filmmaker, dies at 91 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 20, 2017 |access-date=August 20, 2017 |quote=Most sources, including his 1982 autobiography, ''Jerry Lewis: In Person,'' give his birth name as Joseph Levitch. But Shawn Levy, author of the exhaustive 1996 biography ''King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis,'' unearthed a birth record that gave his first name as Jerome. |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627232519/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/movies/jerry-lewis-dead-celebrated-comedian-and-filmmaker.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}} March 16, 1926&nbsp;– August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed "The King of Comedy", he is regarded as one of the greatest comedians of the 20th century.

Rising to prominence together with singer [[Dean Martin]], billed as [[Martin and Lewis]], in 1946, the two did a series of sixteen buddy-comedy films, along with [[The Colgate Comedy Hour|their televised run on ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'']], live stage performances, guest spots on other shows and a [[The Martin and Lewis Show|radio series]] until their split in 1956, after ten years.

Lewis continued on his own in thirty-five motion pictures from 1957 to 1984, including the critically acclaimed ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'' (1963) and [[Martin Scorsese]]'s ''[[The King of Comedy (film)|The King of Comedy]]'' (1982), earning a nomination for a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor]]<ref name="Kehr">{{cite news |last1=Kehr |first1=Dave |title=Jerry Lewis, a Jester Both Silly and Stormy, Dies at 91 (correction) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/movies/jerry-lewis-dead-celebrated-comedian-and-filmmaker.html |access-date=October 11, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 30, 2017 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627232519/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/movies/jerry-lewis-dead-celebrated-comedian-and-filmmaker.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and performed closely with [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] from 1950 to 1989.

While as its honorary national chairman, Lewis raised funds for the [[Muscular Dystrophy Association]] (MDA) through his annual [[Labor Day]] telecast ''[[The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon]]'', a live event which raised over $2.6 billion.

Lewis performed in concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings and appeared in at least 117 film and television productions. He was honored with two stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] and France awarded him the [[Legion of Honor]] in 2006.

==Early life and education==
Lewis was born as Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in [[Newark, New Jersey]], to a [[Jews|Jewish]] family.<ref name="heritage1"/><ref name="heritage2"/> His parents were Daniel "Danny" Levitch (1902–1980), a [[master of ceremonies]] and [[vaudevillian]] who performed under the stage name Danny Lewis, whose parents immigrated to the United States from the [[Russian Empire]] to New York, and Rachael "Rae" Levitch (née Brodsky; 1904–1982), a [[WOR (AM)|WOR]] radio pianist and Danny's music director, from [[Warsaw]].<ref name="JLIP">Sources:
*{{cite book|title=Jerry Lewis: In Person|first1=Jerry|last1=Lewis|first2=Herb|last2=Gluck|location=New York|publisher=[[Atheneum Books|Atheneum]]|year=1982|isbn=978-0-689-11290-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/jerrylewisinpers00lewi}}
*{{cite AV media|title=Jerry Lewis ... The Last American Clown|quote=90-minute documentary, 1996, narrated by Alan King}}</ref><ref name="A Love Story">{{cite web|title=Jerry Lewis on Dean Martin: 'A Love Story'|url=https://www.npr.org/2005/10/25/4973590/jerry-lewis-on-dean-martin-a-love-story|date=October 25, 2005|work=[[National Public Radio|NPR]]|access-date=June 16, 2009|archive-date=June 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630205702/https://www.npr.org/2005/10/25/4973590/jerry-lewis-on-dean-martin-a-love-story|url-status=live}} (online excerpt from book, with link to {{cite interview|title=Interview|work=[[Fresh Air]]|subject=Jerry Lewis |interviewer=[[Terry Gross]]}}</ref><ref>Sources:
*{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/714683/Jerry-Lewis |title= Jerry Lewis |encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date= June 26, 2010 |archive-date= February 13, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100213101229/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/714683/Jerry-Lewis |url-status= live }}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jerry-Lewis|title=Jerry Lewis Biography|publisher=Future now films|access-date=January 2, 2017|archive-date=June 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619140124/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jerry-Lewis|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/6/Jerry-Lewis.html|title=Jerry Lewis Film Reference bio|publisher=Filmreference.com|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-date=June 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616192929/http://www.filmreference.com/film/6/Jerry-Lewis.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= "auto">[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K45B-Q2Y United States Census, 1940", database with images, ''FamilySearch'' (March 15, 2018)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085229/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K45B-Q2Y |date=April 4, 2023 }}, Rae Lewis in household of Daniel Lewis, Ward 2, Irvington, Irvington Town, Essex, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 7-174B, sheet 4B, line 49, family 95, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2334.</ref> Reports about his birth name are conflicting; in Lewis' 1982 autobiography, he claimed his birth name was Joseph, after his maternal grandfather, but his [[birth certificate]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/09/books/funny-bones.html|title=Funny Bones|last=Sragow|first=Michael|date=June 9, 1996|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 8, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708194013/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/09/books/funny-bones.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis|last=Levy|first=Shawn |publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0312168780}}{{page needed|date=February 2023}}</ref> the [[1930 United States census|1930 U. S. Census]], and the [[1940 United States Census|1940 U. S. Census]] all named him as Jerome.<ref name="Kehr"/><ref name="auto"/><ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4DR-VZL "United States Census, 1930", database with images, ''FamilySearch'' (accessed July 3, 2019)]{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Daniel Lewis, Newark (Districts 1–250), Essex, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 149, sheet 13A, line 16, family 321, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1337; FHL microfilm 2,341,072.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/lifestyle/obituaries/223511/obituary-jerry-lewis-comedian-filmmaker-dies-91/|title=Obituary: Jerry Lewis, comedian and filmmaker, dies at 91|last=Tugend|first=Tom|date=August 23, 2017|website=Jewish Journal|access-date=February 4, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015632/https://jewishjournal.com/culture/lifestyle/obituaries/223511/obituary-jerry-lewis-comedian-filmmaker-dies-91/|url-status=live}}</ref> Reports about the hospital where he was born conflict as well; biographer [[Shawn Levy (writer)|Shawn Levy]] claims Lewis was born at Clinton Private Hospital and others report it as [[Newark Beth Israel Medical Center|Newark Beth Israel Hospital]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jerry Lewis' Early Years|date=August 30, 2017|website=Neatorama|url=https://www.neatorama.com/2017/08/30/Jerry-Lewis-Early-Years/|access-date=July 5, 2019|archive-date=July 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133119/https://www.neatorama.com/2017/08/30/Jerry-Lewis-Early-Years/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art Of Jerry Lewis |last=Levy|first=Shawn|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0312168780}}{{page needed|date=February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wiener|first=Robert|title=Newark natives recall antics of Jerry Lewis|url=http://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/newark-natives-recall-antics-of-jerry-lewis/|website=njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com|access-date=July 5, 2019|archive-date=July 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133126/https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/newark-natives-recall-antics-of-jerry-lewis/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wiener|first=Robert|url=http://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/the-beth-marks-110-years-as-newark-landmark/|title='The Beth' marks 110 years as Newark landmark|website=njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com|access-date=July 5, 2019|archive-date=July 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133127/https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/the-beth-marks-110-years-as-newark-landmark/|url-status=live}}</ref> Other aspects of his early life conflict with accounts made by family members, burial records, and [[vital record]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kehr |first=Dave |date=2017-08-20 |title=Jerry Lewis, a Jester Both Silly and Stormy, Dies at 91 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/movies/jerry-lewis-dead-celebrated-comedian-and-filmmaker.html |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In his teenage years, Lewis was known for pulling pranks in his neighborhood, including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies. He was expelled from [[Weequahic High School]] in the ninth grade and dropped out of [[Irvington High School (New Jersey)|Irvington High School]] in the tenth grade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiener |first=Robert |title=Newark natives recall antics of Jerry Lewis |url=http://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/newark-natives-recall-antics-of-jerry-lewis/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US |archive-date=July 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133126/https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/newark-natives-recall-antics-of-jerry-lewis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Lewis said that he ceased using the names Joseph and Joey as an adult to avoid being confused with [[Joe E. Lewis]] and [[Joe Louis]].<ref name="JLIP"/> By age 15, Lewis had developed his "Record Act", miming lyrics to songs while a phonograph played offstage.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/jerry-lewis?clip=36607#interview-clips |last=Denoff |first=Sam |date=October 27, 2000 |title=Jerry Lewis Interview Part 1 of 5 – TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews |medium=Interview |time=13:28 |work=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |accessdate=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624064746/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/jerry-lewis?clip=36607#interview-clips |url-status=live }}</ref> He landed a gig at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but his performance fell flat and he was unable to book any more shows.

To make ends meet, Lewis worked as a [[soda jerk]] and a theater usher for [[Suzanne Pleshette]]'s father, Gene Pleshette, at the [[Paramount Theatre (New York City)|Paramount Theatre]]<ref>Sources:
*{{cite AV media |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter1#about |last=Abramson |first=Stephen J. |date=February 9, 2006 |title=Suzanne Pleshette Interview Part 1 of 5 – TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews |medium=Interview |work=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |accessdate=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624055347/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter1#about |url-status=live }}
*{{cite AV media |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter2#interview-clips |last=Abramson |first=Stephen J. |date=February 9, 2006 |title=Suzanne Pleshette Interview Part 2 of 5 – TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews |medium=Interview |work=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |accessdate=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624071048/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter2#interview-clips |url-status=live }}
*{{cite AV media |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter3#interview-clips |last=Abramson |first=Stephen J. |date=February 9, 2006 |title=Suzanne Pleshette Interview Part 3 of 5 – TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews |medium=Interview |work=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |accessdate=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624062928/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter3#interview-clips |url-status=live }}
*{{cite AV media |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter4#interview-clips |last=Abramson |first=Stephen J. |date=February 9, 2006 |title=Suzanne Pleshette Interview Part 4 of 5 – TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews |medium=Interview |work=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |accessdate=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624054845/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter4#interview-clips |url-status=live }}
*{{cite AV media |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter5#interview-clips |last=Abramson |first=Stephen J. |date=February 9, 2006 |title=Suzanne Pleshette Interview Part 5 of 5 – TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews |medium=Interview |work=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation]] |accessdate=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624070734/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/suzanne-pleshette?clip=chapter5#interview-clips |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as at [[Capitol Theatre (New York City)|Loew's Capitol Theatre]], both in New York City.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=April 24, 1968|title=A 'Gala Closing' For Loew's Capitol|page=5}}</ref> A veteran burlesque comedian, Max Coleman, who had worked with Lewis' father years before, persuaded him to try again. Irving Kaye,<ref>Sources:
*{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/jerry-lewis|title=Jerry Lewis facts, information, pictures&nbsp;– Encyclopedia.com articles about Jerry Lewis|website=Encyclopedia|access-date=December 17, 2017|archive-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229112616/http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/jerry-lewis|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|url= http://aln2.albumlinernotes.com/Just_Sings.html|title= Just Sings|work= aln2.albumlinernotes|publisher= Album liner notes}}{{Dead link|date=March 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vsTVCwAAQBAJ&q=Kaye&pg=PT263|title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art Of Jerry Lewis|first=Shawn|last=Levy|date=May 10, 2016|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=9781250122605|via=Google Books}}
*{{cite web |url= http://shutan.com/didyouknow.html |title= Did you know |website= Shutan |access-date= December 17, 2017 |archive-date= October 24, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171024005944/http://shutan.com/didyouknow.html |url-status= live }}</ref> a [[Borscht Belt]] comedian, saw Lewis' mime act at [[Brown's Hotel (Catskills)|Brown's Hotel]] in Loch Sheldrake, New York, the following summer, and the audience was so enthusiastic that Kaye became Lewis' manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.pattersonandassociates.com/bios/Jerry_Lewis/ |title=Jerry Lewis|website= Patterson & associates |access-date= December 17, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171229112827/http://www.pattersonandassociates.com/bios/Jerry_Lewis/|archive-date=December 29, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> During [[World War II]], Lewis was rejected from military service because of a [[heart murmur]].<ref name="Lewis">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Jerry |title=Dean and Me |page=173 |publisher=Three Rivers Press|year= 2006 |isbn= 978-0-76792087-2|url= https://archive.org/details/deanme00jerr}}</ref>

==Career==
===Teaming with Dean Martin===
{{Main|Martin and Lewis}}
[[File:Lewis and Martin.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Lewis with [[Dean Martin]] in 1950]]
In 1945, Lewis was 19 when he met singer [[Dean Martin]], then 27 at the time, at the Glass Hat Club in New York City, where the two performed until they debuted at [[Atlantic City]]'s [[500 Club]] as [[Martin and Lewis]] on July 25, 1946. The duo gained attention as a double act with Martin serving as the [[straight man]] to Lewis's zany antics. The inclusion of ad-libbed improvisational segments in their planned routines added a unique quality to their act and separated them from previous comedy duos.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin: Inside the Beloved Comedy Duo's Bitter Split and Long-Awaited Reunion|url=https://people.com/movies/jerry-lewis-dean-martin-inside-bitter-split-and-reunion/|access-date=September 2, 2020|website=PEOPLE.com|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319014559/https://people.com/movies/jerry-lewis-dean-martin-inside-bitter-split-and-reunion/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lewis and Martin quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, then as stars of their radio program ''[[The Martin and Lewis Show]].''<ref name="varietyobit" /> The two made their television debut on CBS' ''Toast of the Town'' (later renamed as ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'') June 20, 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/comedy-icon-jerry-lewis-dies-91/story?id=49323636|title=Comedy icon Jerry Lewis dies at 91|last=McKenzie|first=Joi-Marie|date=August 20, 2017|website=ABC News|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820214528/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/comedy-icon-jerry-lewis-dies-91/story?id=49323636|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1950, they signed with NBC to be one of a series of weekly rotating hosts of ''[[The Colgate Comedy Hour]],'' a live Sunday evening broadcast. Lewis, writer for the team's nightclub act, hired [[Norman Lear]] and Ed Simmons as regular writers for their ''Comedy Hour'' material.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/features/norman-lear-recalls-early-days-as-tv-comedy-writer-1201629371/|title=Norman Lear Looks Back on Early Days as TV Comedy Writer|first=Tim|last=Gray|date=October 30, 2015|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206002704/https://variety.com/2015/tv/features/norman-lear-recalls-early-days-as-tv-comedy-writer-1201629371/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12-IA1|magazine=Billboard|title=52G to Simmons, Lear to do five Martin-Lewis TV shows|date=October 31, 1953|via=Google Books}}</ref> By 1951, with an appearance at the [[Paramount Theatre (New York City)|Paramount Theatre]] in New York, they were a hit. The duo began their film careers at [[Paramount Pictures]] as ensemble players, in ''[[My Friend Irma (film)|My Friend Irma]]'' (1949) and its sequel ''[[My Friend Irma Goes West]]'' (1950). Followed by their own series of 14 new movies, ''[[At War with the Army]]'' (1950), ''[[That's My Boy (1951 film)|That's My Boy]]'' (1951), ''[[Sailor Beware (1952 film)|Sailor Beware]]'' (1952), ''[[Jumping Jacks]]'' (1952), ''[[The Stooge]]'' (1952), ''[[Scared Stiff (1953 film)|Scared Stiff]]'' (1953), ''[[The Caddy]]'' (1953), ''[[Money from Home]]'' (1953), ''[[Living It Up]]'' (1954), ''[[3 Ring Circus]]'' (1954), ''[[You're Never Too Young]]'' (1955), ''[[Artists and Models]]'' (1955), ''[[Pardners]]'' (1956) and ''[[Hollywood or Bust]]'' (1956). The two appeared on the ''Olympic Fund Telethon'' and cameoed in ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952).

[[Bing Crosby|Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope|Hope]] would do the same in ''Scared Stiff'' a year later. Attesting to the duo's popularity, [[DC Comics]] published ''[[The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis]]'' from 1952 to 1957. The team appeared on ''[[What's My Line?]]'' in 1954, the 27th annual [[Academy Awards]] in 1955, ''[[The Steve Allen Show]]'' and ''[[The Today Show]]'' in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CTVA US Music Variety - "The Steve Allen Show" (NBC) Season 1 (1956-57) |url=https://ctva.biz/US/MusicVariety/SteveAllenShow_01_(1956-57).htm |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=ctva.biz}}</ref> Martin's participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]'' magazine published a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Mike|title='Dean & Me' really is a love story|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2005-10-25-dean-and-me_x.htm|access-date=January 15, 2013|newspaper=usatoday.com|date=October 25, 2005|archive-date=August 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802131250/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2005-10-25-dean-and-me_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The duo did their final live nightclub act together at the [[Copacabana (nightclub)|Copacabana]] on July 24, 1956. Both Lewis and Martin went on to have successful solo careers, but neither would comment on the split nor consider a reunion. Martin surprised Lewis on his appearance on ''[[The Eddie Fisher Show]]'' on September 30, 1958, appeared together at the 1959 Academy Awards closing, reunited several times publicly and sometimes privately according to interviews they gave to magazines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pfeiffer |first=Jeff |date=2024-08-14 |title=Inside Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis' 20-Year Rift Following Bitter Professional Breakup |url=https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/18092/dean-martin-jerry-lewis-breakup-reunion-movies-tcm-summer-under-the-stars/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Remind Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Solo performances and live shows ===
After ending his partnership with Martin in 1956, Lewis and his wife Patty took a vacation in Las Vegas to consider the direction of his career. He felt his life was in a crisis state: "I was unable to put one foot in front of the other with any confidence. I was completely unnerved to be alone."<ref name=Lewis /> While there, he received an urgent request from his friend [[Sidney Luft|Sid Luft]], who was [[Judy Garland]]'s husband and manager, saying that she couldn't perform that night in Las Vegas because of [[Streptococcal pharyngitis|strep throat]],<ref name=Lewis /> and asking Lewis to fill in. Lewis had not sung alone on stage since he was five years old, twenty-five years before.

He delivered jokes and clowned with the audience while Garland sat off-stage, watching. He then sang a rendition of a song he had learned as a child, "[[Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody]]" along with "[[Come Rain or Come Shine]]." Lewis recalled, "When I was done, the place exploded. I walked off the stage knowing I could make it on my own."<ref name=Lewis /> At his wife's urging, Lewis used his own money to record the songs on a single.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RfVeOpw-NPY/hqdefault.jpg|title=Image of record cover for Jerry Lewis single recording of "Rock-A-Bye Baby"|access-date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=August 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821191454/https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RfVeOpw-NPY/hqdefault.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Decca Records]] heard it, liked it and insisted he record an album for them.<ref name=Muncie>"Jerry Lewis 'Goes Over' in a Big Way", ''The Star Press'' (Muncie, Indiana), December 2, 1956, p. 23</ref> The single of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby" went to No. 10 and the album ''Jerry Lewis Just Sings'' went to No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' charts, staying near the top for four months and selling a million and a half copies.<ref name=Lewis /><ref name=Lewis2>Lewis, Jerry. [https://jolsonville.net/2011/03/24/rock-a-bye-helps-jerry-lewis-become-a-singer/ "''Rock-a-Bye'' helps Jerry Lewis become a singer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103165554/https://jolsonville.net/2011/03/24/rock-a-bye-helps-jerry-lewis-become-a-singer/ |date=January 3, 2017 }}</ref>
[[File:Jerry Lewis 1958.JPG|thumb|180px|right|Lewis in 1958]]
With the success of that album, he recorded additional albums ''More Jerry Lewis'' (an EP of songs from this release was released as ''Somebody Loves Me''), and ''Jerry Lewis Sings Big Songs for Little People'' (later reissued with fewer tracks as ''Jerry Lewis Sings for Children''). Non-album singles were released, and ''[[It All Depends On You]]'' hit the charts in April and May 1957, but peaked at only No. 68. Further singles were recorded and released by Lewis into the mid-1960s. But these were not Lewis's first forays into recording, nor his first appearance on the hit charts. During his partnership with Martin, they made several recordings together, charting at No. 22 in 1948 with the 1920s ''That Certain Party'' and later mostly re-recording songs highlighted in their films.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In late 1956, Lewis began performing regularly at the [[Sands Hotel and Casino]] in Las Vegas, which marked a turning point in his life and career. The Sands signed him for five years to perform six weeks each year and paid him the same amount they had paid Martin and Lewis as a team.<ref name=Muncie /> Live performances became a staple of Lewis's career and over the years he performed at casinos, theaters, and state fairs. In February 1957, Lewis followed Garland at the [[Palace Theatre (Albany, New York)|Palace Theater]] in New York and Martin called on the phone during this period to wish him the best of luck.<ref name=Muncie /> "I've never been happier", said Lewis. "I have peace of mind for the first time."<ref name=Muncie /> Lewis established himself as a solo act, starting with the first of six appearances on ''What's My Line?'' from 1956 to 1966, then guest starred on ''[[The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show]]'', ''[[Tonight Starring Jack Paar]]'' and ''The Ed Sullivan Show''.

In January 1957, Lewis did a number of solo specials for NBC and starred in his adaptation of "[[The Jazz Singer]]" for ''[[Startime (American TV series)|Startime]]'', then hosted the Academy Awards three times, in 1956, 1957 and 1959. The third telecast, which ran twenty minutes short, forced him to improvise to fill time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=2riKdGOdU3E| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/2riKdGOdU3E| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Jerry Lewis Ad Libs at the Oscars|last=1959 Academy Awards|date=1959|publisher=The Oscars|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Lewis remained at Paramount and started off with his first solo film ''[[The Delicate Delinquent]]'' (1957) then starred in ''[[The Sad Sack]]'' (1957). [[Frank Tashlin]], whose background as a ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon director (for [[Warner Bros.]]) suited Lewis's brand of humor and came on board. The pair did new films, first with ''[[Rock-A-Bye Baby (film)|Rock-A-Bye Baby]]'' (1958) and then ''[[The Geisha Boy]]'' (1958). [[Billy Wilder]] asked Lewis to play the lead role of an uptight jazz musician, who winds up on the run from a mob in ''[[Some Like It Hot]],'' but he turned it down.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} Lewis then appeared in ''[[Don't Give Up the Ship (film)|Don't Give Up The Ship]]'' (1959) and cameoed in ''[[Li'l Abner (1959 film)|Li'l Abner]]'' (1959).

A 1959 contract between Paramount and Jerry Lewis Productions specified a payment of $10&nbsp;million plus 60% of the profits for 14 films over seven years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Krutnik|first=Frank |title=Inventing Jerry Lewis |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |year=2000 |page=105 |isbn=978-1560983699}}</ref> This made Lewis the highest paid individual Hollywood talent to date and was unprecedented in that he had unlimited creative control, including final cut and the return of film rights after 30 years. Lewis's clout and box office were so strong<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety215-1959-06#page/n91/mode/1up|title=Jerry Lewis' Foreseeable $10-Mil From Paramount During Next 7 Years|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=June 10, 1959|page=28|access-date=June 15, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> that [[Barney Balaban]], head of production at Paramount, told the press, "If Jerry wants to burn down the studio I'll give him the match!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2014/01/method-madness-jerry-lewis-dvd-review/|title=Method to The Madness of Jerry Lewis the DVD Review|first=Sam|last=Moffitt|date=January 20, 2014|publisher=wearemoviegeeks.com|access-date=March 1, 2018|archive-date=March 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302050125/http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2014/01/method-madness-jerry-lewis-dvd-review/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Paramount films and filmmaking===
[[File:Jerry Lewis show.jpg|thumb|180px|left|Publicity photo of Lewis for ''The Jerry Lewis Show'']]
Lewis ended his association with Hal Wallis, their last joint venture being ''[[Visit to a Small Planet]]'' (1960). His next film was ''[[Cinderfella]]'' (1960), directed by Frank Tashlin; it was supposed to be Lewis's summer release, but Paramount withheld it in preparation for a Christmas 1960 release. Paramount, needing a quickie movie for its summer 1960 schedule, insisted that Lewis must produce one.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408|title=Jerry Lewis, Nonpareil Genius of Comedy, Dies at 91|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511190847/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408|url-status=live}}</ref>

This resulted in Lewis's sudden transformation from movie clown to all-around filmmaker. He produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in ''[[The Bellboy]]'' (1960). Using the [[Fontainebleau Miami Beach|Fontainebleau Hotel]] in Miami as his setting—on a small budget, with a very tight shooting schedule—Lewis shot the film during the day and performed at the hotel in the evenings.<ref name=":0" /> [[Bill Richmond (writer)|Bill Richmond]] collaborated with him on many of the episodic blackouts and sight gags. The film presented a new approach for the usually frenetic and highly vocal comedian: in ''The Bellboy'' Lewis doesn't speak at all—he only whistles—until a punchline at the very end of the film.

This was really a time-saving device; by concentrating on visual action, Lewis could film the scenes faster without bothering to remember written dialogue. Another time-saver was his innovative use of "[[video assist]]"—instant video playback, which allowed Lewis to review each scene on videotape immediately after filming it, thus eliminating film-laboratory delays and expenses. Trade reviewer Pete Harrison noted the sight gags but felt that Lewis was not a true pantomime artist: "As a mute, there are only brief moments of his work coming close to [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]], [[Jacques Tati]], or [[Harpo Marx]]. Lewis, always laughed at, fails to win the viewer's heart."<ref>Pete Harrison, ''Harrison's Reports'', July 20, 1960, p. 119.</ref>

Lewis later revealed that Paramount was not happy about financing a "silent movie" and withdrew backing. Lewis used his own funds to cover the movie's $950,000 budget. ''The Bellboy'' turned out to be a hit, ranking with his better successes. ''Variety'''s Gene Arneel reported independent producer [[Hall Bartlett]]'s observation, "Lewis is the only star whose pictures all turn out in the black."<ref>Gene Arneel, "Down to a Slapstick Single—And All Lewis Pix B.O. Clix", ''Variety'', Sept. 7, 1960, p. 3.</ref>

Lewis continued to direct more films that he co-wrote with Bill Richmond, including ''[[The Ladies Man]]'' (1961), where Lewis constructed a three-story dollhouse-like set spanning two sound stages, with the set equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and sound, eliminating the need for boom microphones in each room. His next movie ''[[The Errand Boy]]'' (1961), used the same formula as ''The Bellboy'', with Lewis turned loose in a movie studio for blackouts and sight gags.

Lewis was also somewhat active in television. [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] released him from a long-term contract in 1960; the official reason given was that Lewis was devoting more time to his motion pictures. A more probable reason was the difficulty in finding a weekly television vehicle for Lewis. (NBC did announce two series in development, "Permanent Waves" and "The Comedy Concert.")<ref>NBC press release, Aug. 25, 1960.</ref>

Lewis's TV appearances were usually guest shots. He appeared in ''The Wacky World of Jerry Lewis,'' ''Celebrity Golf,'' ''[[The Garry Moore Show]],'' ''The Soupy Sales Show,'' ''[[It's Only Money]]'' (1962) and guest hosted ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' during the transition from [[Jack Paar]] to [[Johnny Carson]] in 1962, and his appearance on the show scored the highest ratings thus far in late night, surpassing other guest hosts and Paar.

The three major networks began a bidding war, wooing Lewis for his own talk show.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} Lewis then directed, co-wrote and starred in ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'' (1963). A parody of ''[[The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]],'' it featured him as [[The Nutty Professor (character)|Professor Kelp]], a socially inept scientist who invents a serum that turns him into a handsome but obnoxious ladies' man. It is often considered to be Lewis's best film.<ref>Jones, Kenneth. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120819030200/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/169188-Producers-of-Nutty-Professor-Hope-to-Earn-Broadway-Tenure-for-New-Marvin-Hamlisch-Rupert-Holmes-Show "Producers of ''Nutty Professor'' Hope to Earn Broadway Tenure for New Marvin Hamlisch-Rupert Holmes Show"], ''Playbill'', August 17, 2012, accessed August 19, 2013</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertaiment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-nutty-professor-jerry-lewis-musical-nashville-20120801,0,4021683.story|title=Jerry Lewis' Nutty Professor' musical opens in Nashville|last=Ng|first=David|date=August 2, 2012|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 18, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:The Nutty Professor 1963 (publicity photo, Lewis and Stevens - cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Lewis as [[The Nutty Professor (character)|Professor Kelp]], with co-star [[Stella Stevens]], in ''[[The Nutty Professor (1963 film)|The Nutty Professor]]'' (1963)]]
In 1963, he had a cameo in ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'' (1963),<ref>{{Cite web |title=It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/its_a_mad_mad_mad_mad_world |website=Rotten Tomatoes |quote="Virtually every lead, supporting, and bit part in the picture is filled by a well-known comic actor: the laugh spinning lineup also includes Carl Reiner, Terry-Thomas, Arnold Stang, Buster Keaton, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, and The Three Stooges, who get one of the picture's biggest laughs by standing stock still and uttering not a word."}}</ref> fully starred in ''[[Who's Minding the Store?]]'' (1963) and hosted ''[[The Jerry Lewis Show]],'' a lavish 13-week, big-budget show which aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] from September to December in 1963.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2, 2008 |title=The Nostalgia Collection: Jerry Lewis - The Jerry Lewis Show |website=Amazon |url=https://www.amazon.com/The-Nostalgia-Collection-Jerry-Lewis/dp/B0011E9NTS#productDescription_secondary_view_pageState_1427615912201}}</ref> Lewis next starred in ''[[The Patsy (1964 film)|The Patsy]]'' (1964), his satire about the Hollywood star-making industry and ''[[The Disorderly Orderly]]'' (1964), the only film executive produced by Lewis and his final collaboration with Tashlin.

Following a cameo on ''[[The Joey Bishop Show (TV series)|The Joey Bishop Show]]'', he starred in ''[[The Family Jewels (film)|The Family Jewels]]'' (1965) about a young heiress who must choose among six uncles, one of whom is up to no good and out to harm the girl's beloved bodyguard who practically raised her. The six uncles and the bodyguard were all played by Lewis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sensesofcinema.com/2016/jerry-lewis/the-family-jewels/|title=The Family Jewels (1965) • Senses of Cinema|website=sensesofcinema.com|access-date=February 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227153422/http://sensesofcinema.com/2016/jerry-lewis/the-family-jewels/|archive-date=February 27, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1965, Lewis went on ''[[The David Susskind Show]],'' starred in his final Paramount-released film ''[[Boeing Boeing (1965 film)|Boeing Boeing]]'' (1965),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-News-Jerry-Lewis-Dies-at-91-20170820|title=Breaking News: Jerry Lewis Dies at 91|work=BroadwayWorld.com|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821043310/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-News-Jerry-Lewis-Dies-at-91-20170820|url-status=live}}</ref> in which he received a [[Golden Globe]] nomination, then guest appeared on ''[[Ben Casey]],'' ''[[The Andy Williams Show]]'' and ''[[Hullabaloo (TV series)|Hullabaloo]]'' with son [[Gary Lewis (musician)|Gary Lewis]]. Lewis left Paramount in 1966, after 17 years, as the studio was undergoing a corporate shakeup, with the industrial conglomerate [[Gulf + Western]] taking over the company. Gulf + Western, scrutinizing the balance sheets, noted the diminishing box office returns of Lewis's recent pictures and did not renew his contract.

=== Columbia and other projects ===
[[File:Jerry Lewis 1973.JPG|thumb|left|170px|Lewis in 1973]]
Undaunted, Lewis signed with [[Columbia Pictures]], where he tried to reinvent himself with more serious roles<ref name="Kehr"/> and starred in a string of new box-office successes: ''[[Three on a Couch]]'' (1966), also during this period, he appeared in ''[[Way...Way Out]]'' (1966) for [[20th Century-Fox]], then ''[[The Big Mouth]]'' (1967), ''[[Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River]]'' (1968) and ''[[Hook, Line & Sinker (1969 film)|Hook, Line & Sinker]]'' (1969).

Lewis continued to make television appearances: ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'', ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show,'' ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]],'' ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]],'' ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]],'' a pilot called ''Sheriff Who'', a second version of ''The Jerry Lewis Show'' (this time as a one-hour variety show for NBC, which ran from 1967 to 1969),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obit-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|title=Iconic comedian Jerry Lewis dies at 91|last=McLellan|first=Dennis|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820190218/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obit-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  and ''[[The Danny Thomas Hour]]''.

He also appeared on ''[[Playboy After Dark]],'' ''[[Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters|Jimmy Durante's The Lennon Sisters Hour]],'' ''[[The Red Skelton Show]],'' ''The Jack Benny Birthday Special,'' ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'', ''[[The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour]],'' ''[[The Hollywood Palace]],'' ''The Engelbert Humperdinck Show,'' ''The Irv Kupcinet Show'' and ''[[The Linkletter Show]]''. Behind the scenes, he directed an episode of ''[[The Bold Ones]]''<ref name=":2" /> and directed the [[Peter Lawford]] and [[Sammy Davis, Jr.]] comedy ''[[One More Time (1970 film)|One More Time]]'' (1970), a sequel to [[Richard Donner]]'s ''[[Salt and Pepper (film)|Salt and Pepper]]'' (1968).

Lewis would leave Columbia after his agreement with the studio lapsed, leaving him to produce his next movie independently. ''[[Which Way to the Front?]]'' (1970) was a [[World War II]] military comedy starring Lewis as a wealthy playboy who wants to enlist in the armed forces. Rejected, he forms his own volunteer army and infiltrates the enemy forces on the Italian front. The cast included many of Lewis's cronies, including [[Jan Murray]], [[Steve Franken]], [[Kathleen Freeman]], [[Kenneth MacDonald (American actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]], [[Joe Besser]], and (in a broad caricature of [[Adolf Hitler]]) [[Sidney Miller (actor)|Sidney Miller]]. The film received only a limited release by [[Warner Bros.]], and was not well received by the critics or the public. Lewis would later guest appeared on the NBC special ''The Klowns''.

''[[The Day the Clown Cried]]'' (1972), a drama directed by and starring Lewis and set in a [[Nazi concentration camp]], received only brief exposure. The film was rarely discussed by him, but he said that litigation over post-production finances and copyright prevented its completion and widespread theatrical release. He also said a factor for the film's burial was that he was not proud of the effort.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Handy |first=Bruce |date=August 21, 2017 |title=The French Film Critic Who Saw Jerry Lewis's Infamous Holocaust Movie—and Loved It |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/08/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried-holocaust-movie-review |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204184440/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/08/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried-holocaust-movie-review |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2CdfppsqKQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Y2CdfppsqKQ| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Clown: teaser for unfinished Jerry Lewis Documentary| date=September 6, 2016|publisher=tracesfilm|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It was the earliest attempt by an American film director to address the subject of [[The Holocaust]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-jerry-lewis|first=Richard|last=Brody|title=Postscript: Jerry Lewis|date=August 20, 2017|work=New Yorker|access-date=February 9, 2018|archive-date=February 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219144928/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-jerry-lewis|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2023}} Following this, Lewis took a break from the movie business for several years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Repelling Rejection, or: The Disappearance of Jerry Lewis, and Some Side-Effects |url=http://www.lolajournal.com/3/lewis.html |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=www.lolajournal.com |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607220410/http://lolajournal.com/3/lewis.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

His television appearances during this period included ''[[Good Morning America]],'' ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]],'' ''NBC Follies,'' ''Celebrity Sportsman,'' ''[[Cher (TV series)|Cher]],'' ''[[Dinah!]],'' ''[[Tony Orlando and Dawn (TV series)|Tony Orlando and Dawn]].'' As Lewis continued to annually emcee [[The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon|his telethons]], one of the most memorable was the 1976 show,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/dean-martin-jerry-lewis-reunion-anniversary|title=When Jerry Met Dean-Again, on Live Television|first=Donald|last=Liebenson|date=September 2016|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-date=June 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610071139/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/dean-martin-jerry-lewis-reunion-anniversary|url-status=live}}</ref> where on that broadcast, unrehearsed, Sinatra offered to bring an old friend on stage. From the wings came Dean Martin, as the audience cheered. Lewis was stunned by the surprise, but he embraced Martin and they exchanged jokes for several minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeNDDqbIZMw| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109014701/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeNDDqbIZMw&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=November 9, 2019 | url-status=dead|title=23 August 1977|publisher=drowsyvenus|via=YouTube}}</ref>

In 1976, producer [[Alexander H. Cohen]] signed Lewis to star in a revival of [[Olsen and Johnson]]'s musical-comedy revue ''[[Hellzapoppin (musical)|Hellzapoppin]]''. "I do think that to succeed today, a comedy revue requires a larger-than-life comic", Cohen told syndicated columnist [[Jack O'Brian]]. "That is why I have engaged Jerry Lewis to star in the new production of ''Hellzapoppin'', which I'm preparing for the coming season."<ref>Alexander H. Cohen to Jack O'Brian, ''Paterson News'', Paterson, NJ, Aug. 9, 1976, p. 19.</ref> Cohen had revived ''Hellzapoppin'' as a TV special in 1972, and was impressed by the contributions of [[Lynn Redgrave]]; he signed her to appear opposite Lewis. This was Lewis's first Broadway show, and was so eagerly awaited that [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC-TV]] promised Cohen $1,000,000 for the rights to broadcast the opening night live on national television.

Out-of-town tryouts were staged in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Baltimore]], and [[Boston]] to excellent business but mixed reviews. There was turmoil behind the scenes, as comedy star Lewis dominated the production and had serious arguments with producer Cohen, co-star Redgrave, and writer-adaptor [[Abe Burrows]]. "Lewis and Miss Redgrave had been having a much-publicized feud", according to an account in the ''Pittsburgh Press''. "He would neither rehearse nor perform any songs with her, reports said."<ref>''Pittsburgh Press'', Jan. 24, 1977, p. A-8.</ref> The backstage chaos extended to several sudden cast changes during the Boston run.

On January 18, 1977, NBC executives flew to Boston to see the show, and their reactions were so negative that Cohen closed the show immediately and canceled both the Broadway engagement and the TV spectacular, forfeiting the million-dollar payment from NBC. "It's not ready for Broadway and cannot be made so in three remaining weeks before the opening", Cohen said. Cohen's spokesman subsequently announced that the stars would be replaced: "Recasting means recasting, and that's it."<ref>Dan Lewis, "It's curtains for 'Hellzapoppin'", ''The Record'', Hackensack, NJ, Jan. 20, 1977, p. 28.</ref>

=== Later productions ===
In 1979, ''That's Life'', a senior citizen's take on ''[[Animal House]]'', was to be Lewis's next film and to star [[Ruth Gordon]], [[Danny Thomas]] and [[Al Lewis]]. Filming was set to begin, but stopped after a week, due to lack of funds. Then carried on with ''[[Circus of the Stars]]'', ''[[Pink Lady (TV series)|Pink Lady and Jeff]]'', ''[[Hardly Working]]'' (1981), ''[[The King of Comedy (film)|The King of Comedy]]'' (1982), ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'', ''[[Star Search]]'', ''[[Cracking Up (1983 film)|Cracking Up]]'' (1983), ''[[Slapstick of Another Kind|Slapstick (Of Another Kind)]]'' (1984) and the two France-released films ''[[Retenez Moi...Ou Je Fais Un Malheur|The Defective Detective]]'' (1984) and ''[[Par ou t'es rentre ? On t'a pas vu sortir|How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave]]'' (1984), both which had their distribution under Lewis's control.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Puchalski |first=Steven |date=1997 |title=How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave |url=https://www.shockcinemamagazine.com/how.html |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Shock Cinema Magazine}}</ref>

[[File:Jerry Lewis Cannes 2013 2.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Lewis at the Cannes Film Festival, 2013]] Following a syndicated talk show for Metromedia, Lewis directed an episode of ''[[Brothers (1984 TV series)|Brothers]]'', appeared at the very first [[Comic Relief USA|Comic Relief]] in 1986, where he was the only performer to receive a standing ovation, appeared for ''Classic Treasures'', ''[[Fight for Life (film)|Fight for Life]]'' (1987), an ABC televised movie,<ref>{{Citation |last=Silverstein |first=Elliot |title=Fight for Life |date=1987-03-23 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093021/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |others=Jerry Lewis, Morgan Freeman, Jaclyn Bernstein |publisher=Fries Entertainment}}</ref> appeared on ''Las Vegas at 75: All-Star Tribute'', hosted ''America's All-Time Favorite Movies'' and came on ''Speaking of Everything''. While guest starring in five episodes of ''[[Wiseguy (TV series)|Wiseguy]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-22 |title=Jerry Lewis |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/jerry-lewis |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Television Academy Interviews |language=en}}</ref> its filming schedule forced Lewis to miss the [[Museum of the Moving Image]]'s opening with a retrospective of his work.

Lewis then attended Martin's 72nd birthday at Bally's in Las Vegas, wheeling out a cake, sang "[[Happy Birthday to you|Happy Birthday]]" to him and joked, "Why we broke up, I'll never know."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_10-23-2005/featured_0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060322110107/http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_10-23-2005/featured_0|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 22, 2006|title='We Had That X Factor' (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis)|last1=Lewis|first1=Jerry|last2=Kaplan|first2= James|author-link2=James Kaplan|date=October 23, 2005|work=[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]|access-date=November 7, 2008}}</ref> Then starred in ''[[Cookie (film)|Cookie]]'' (1989),<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |last2=Byrge |first2=Duane |date=2017-08-20 |title=Jerry Lewis, Nonpareil Genius of Comedy, Dies at 91 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513043801/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408/ |archive-date=May 13, 2021 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}</ref> directed episodes of ''[[Super Force]]'' in 1990 and ''[[Good Grief (TV series)|Good Grief]]'' in 1991 and appeared in ''[[Mr. Saturday Night]]'' (1992), ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]]'', ''Inside The Comedy Mind'', ''[[Mad About You]]'', ''[[Arizona Dream]]'' (1993), ''[[Funny Bones]]'' (1995)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Dem Bones|first=Shawn|last=Levy|pages=2–3, 7|issue=May/June 1995|magazine=Film Comment}}</ref>, a stage revival run of ''[[Damn Yankees]]''<ref>{{cite news |title=Theater Review: Damn Yankees; Finally, Jerry Lewis Is on Broadway |first=Vincent |last=Canby |date=March 13, 1995 |newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/13/theater/theater-review-damn-yankees-finally-jerry-lewis-is-on-broadway.html?mcubz=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822102229/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/13/theater/theater-review-damn-yankees-finally-jerry-lewis-is-on-broadway.html?mcubz=3 |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408|first1=Duane|last1=Byrge|first2=Mike|last2=Barnes|title=Jerry Lewis Nonpareil Genius of Comedy Dead at 91|date=August 20, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=March 2, 2018|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511190847/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408|url-status=live}}</ref> and an interview on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]''.

More projects Lewis appeared in were ''[[The Simpsons]]'', ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'', ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'', ''[[The Nutty Professor (2008 film)|The Nutty Professor II]]'' (2008),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bibby |first=Daniel |date=2024-09-06 |title=This 1963 Jerry Lewis Movie Received A Bizarre Sequel After 45 Years And A Remake |url=https://screenrant.com/jerry-lewis-nutty-professor-animated-sequel-after-remake/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref> ''[[The Talk (talk show)|The Talk]]'', ''[[Max Rose (film)|Max Rose]]'' (2013), ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]]'', ''[[The Trust (2016 film)|The Trust]]'' (2016) and ''[[Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=McNary|first=Dave|title=Jerry Lewis To Star In 'Max Rose'|url=https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/jerry-lewis-to-star-in-max-rose-1118003719/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 15, 2009|access-date=June 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215193657/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003719.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1|archive-date=December 15, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hr">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-interview-painful-awkward-awful-7-minutes-watch-957115|title=Watch the Most Painfully Awkward Interview of 2016: 7 Minutes with Jerry Lewis|last=Lewis|first=Andy|date=December 19, 2016|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=December 16, 2017|archive-date=December 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014044/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-interview-painful-awkward-awful-7-minutes-watch-957115|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 22, 2017|title=Jerry Lewis To Honor Robin Williams At Legionnaires Of Laughter Awards|url=https://www.looktothestars.org/news/16673-jerry-lewis-to-honor-robin-williams-at-legionnaires-of-laughter-awards|access-date=August 25, 2020|website=Look to the Stars|archive-date=October 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004092707/https://www.looktothestars.org/news/16673-jerry-lewis-to-honor-robin-williams-at-legionnaires-of-laughter-awards|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Style and reception ==
=== Comedic style ===
Lewis "single-handedly created a style of humor that was half anarchy, half excruciation. Even comics who never took a pratfall in their careers owe something to the self-deprecation Jerry introduced into American show business."<ref name="Mclellen">{{cite news|last=Mclellen|first=Dennis|date=August 20, 2017|title=The Slapstick, The Telethons, The Laaady!|newspaper=LA Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=April 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417153318/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{quote box|
| align = right
| width = 25em
| quote = Jerry Lewis was the most profoundly creative comedian of his generation and arguably one of the two or three most influential comedians born anywhere in this century.
| source = ''The King of Comedy'', 1996
}} His comedy style was physically uninhibited, expressive, and potentially volatile. He was known especially for his distinctive voice, facial expressions, pratfalls, and physical stunts. His [[improvisation]]s and ad-libbing, especially in nightclubs and early television were revolutionary among performers. It was "marked by a raw, edgy energy that would distinguish him within the comedy landscape."<ref>{{cite web|last=Romano|first=Aja|date=August 20, 2017|title=Jerry Lewis, Legendary Standup, Actor-Director, and comedy Misanthrope, is Dead at 91|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/20/16176098/jerry-lewis-comedian-filmmaker-obituary|publisher=vox.com|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161446/https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/20/16176098/jerry-lewis-comedian-filmmaker-obituary|url-status=live}}</ref> Will Sloan, of ''[[Flavorwire]]'' wrote, "In the late '40s and early '50s, nobody had ever seen a comedian as wild as Jerry Lewis."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sloan|first=Will|date=March 1, 2016|title=Pure Unfiltered Id Reappraising Jerry Lewis|url=http://flavorwire.com/563565/pure-unfiltered-id-reappraising-jerry-lewis-brutally-unfunny-comedy|magazine=Flavorwire|access-date=February 6, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206190328/http://flavorwire.com/563565/pure-unfiltered-id-reappraising-jerry-lewis-brutally-unfunny-comedy|url-status=live}}</ref> Placed in the context of the conservative era, his antics were radical and liberating, paving the way for future comedians [[Steve Martin]], [[Richard Pryor]], [[Andy Kaufman]], [[Paul Reubens]], and [[Jim Carrey]]. Carrey wrote: "Through his comedy, Jerry would stretch the boundaries of reality so far that it was an act of anarchy ... I learned from Jerry",<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Carrey|first=Jim|date=August 23, 2017|title=He Is Part of My Makeup. Jim Carrey on What He Learned From Jerry Lewis|url=https://time.com/4912006/jim-carrey-jerry-lewis-comedy/|magazine=Time|access-date=February 5, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227070602/http://time.com/4912006/jim-carrey-jerry-lewis-comedy/|url-status=live}}</ref> and "I am because he was."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=August 20, 2017 |title=Jerry Lewis: Martin Scorsese, Jim Carrey, More Remember Comedy Legend |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/jerry-lewis-jim-carrey-deana-martin-more-remember-legend-w498595|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=February 5, 2018 |archive-date=February 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073505/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/jerry-lewis-jim-carrey-deana-martin-more-remember-legend-w498595|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Acting the bumbling [[everyman]], Lewis used tightly choreographed, sophisticated sight gags, physical routines, verbal [[double-talk]] and [[malapropism]]s. "You cannot help but notice Lewis's incredible sense of control in regards to performing—they may have looked at times like the ravings of a madman but his best work had a genuine grace and finesse behind it that would put most comedic performers of any era to shame."<ref>{{cite web|last=Sobczynski|first=Peter|date=August 22, 2017|title=An American Original The RogerEbert.com Staff Remembers Jerry Lewis|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/an-american-original-the-rogerebertcom-staff-remembers-jerry-lewis|publisher=rogerebert.com|access-date=February 10, 2018|archive-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211072201/https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/an-american-original-the-rogerebertcom-staff-remembers-jerry-lewis|url-status=live}}</ref> They are "choreographed as exactly as any ballet, each movement and gesture coming on natural beats and conforming to the overall rhythmic form which is headed to a spectacular finale: absolute catastrophe."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Finney|first=Alan|date=April 1070|title=Deconstruction Jerry: Lewis as Director: Some Basic Characteristics of the Fool |magazine=Melbourne Film Bulletin |number=12 |url=http://sensesofcinema.com/2016/jerry-lewis/jerry-lewis-the-fool/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221222444/http://sensesofcinema.com/2016/jerry-lewis/jerry-lewis-the-fool/|archive-date=February 21, 2018|access-date=February 21, 2018 |via=Senses of Cinema}}</ref>

Although Lewis made it no secret that he was Jewish, he was criticized for hiding his Jewish heritage. In several of his films—both with Martin and solo—Lewis's [[Jewish identity]] is hinted at in passing, and was never made a defining characteristic of his onscreen persona. Aside from the 1959 television movie ''The Jazz Singer'' and the unreleased 1972 film ''The Day the Clown Cried'', Lewis never appeared in a film or film role that had any ties to his Jewish heritage.<ref name="heritage1">{{Cite book|jstor=10.5749/j.cttts86x|title=Comedy is a Man in Trouble |last1=Dale |first1=Alan |year=2000 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=9780816636570 }}</ref> When asked about this lack of Jewish portrayal in a 1984 interview, Lewis stated, "I never hid it, but I wouldn't announce it and I wouldn't exploit it. Plus the fact it had no room in the visual direction I was taking in my work."<ref name="heritage2">{{Cite web|title=My 1984 interview with Jerry Lewis – The Bad and the Beautiful|url=http://www.lumenick.com/my-1984-interview-with-jerry-lewis/|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629140418/https://www.lumenick.com/my-1984-interview-with-jerry-lewis/|archive-date=June 29, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lewis's physical movements in films received some criticism because he was perceived as imitating or mocking those with a physical disability.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shearer|first=Harry|date=1979 |title=Midsection: Telethon |journal=Film Comment|volume=15|issue=3|pages=33–48|jstor=26747107 |issn=0015-119X}}</ref>&nbsp;Through the years, the disability that has been attached to his comedic persona has not been physical, but mental. Neuroticism and schizophrenia have been a part of Lewis's persona since his partnership with Dean Martin; however, it was in his solo career that these disabilities became important to the plots of his films and the characters. In films such as ''The Ladies Man'' (1961), ''The Disorderly Orderly'' (1964), ''The Patsy'' (1964) and ''Cracking Up'' (1983), there is either neuroticism, schizophrenia, or both that drive the plot. Lewis was able to explore and dissect the psychological side of his persona, which provided a depth to the character and the films that was not present in his previous efforts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pomerance|first=Murray|author-link=Murray Pomerance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKbrIsFaPvsC&q=jerry+lewis+neuroticism+comedy&pg=PA135 |title=Enfant Terrible!: Jerry Lewis in American Film|date=2002–2011|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-6706-1}}</ref>

=== Directorial technique ===
During the 1960 production of ''The Bellboy,'' Lewis pioneered the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/20/entertainment/jerry-lewis-dies/index.html|title=Comedian Jerry Lewis dies at 91, publicist says|last=Leopold|first=Todd|website=CNN|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820184350/http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/20/entertainment/jerry-lewis-dies/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which allowed him to review his performance instantly. This was necessary since he was acting as well as directing. His techniques and methods of filmmaking, documented in his book and his USC class, enabled him to complete most of his films on time and under budget since reshoots could take place immediately instead of waiting for the [[dailies]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

''Man in Motion,''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061947/|title=Man in Motion|access-date=July 31, 2018|via=imdb.com|archive-date=February 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209073432/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061947/|url-status=live}}</ref> a [[featurette]] for ''Three on a Couch'', features the video system, named "Jerry's Noisy Toy"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGyntfAGkME| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/eGyntfAGkME| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title="Man in Motion", behind-the-scenes featurette, 1966, Jerry Lewis, Janet Leigh |last=soapbxprod|date=October 19, 2011|access-date=July 31, 2018|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and shows Lewis receiving the Golden Light Technical Achievement award for its development. Lewis stated he worked with the head of [[Sony]] to produce the prototype. While he initiated its practice and use, and was instrumental in its development, he did not hold a patent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/20/jerry-lewis-dies-at-91/|title=Comedian Jerry Lewis dies at 91|date=August 20, 2017|website=Orange County Register|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820203304/http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/20/jerry-lewis-dies-at-91/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/video-assist-predates-jerry-lewis-patent/|title=Video assist predates Jerry Lewis 'patent'|work=CNET|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821004817/https://www.cnet.com/news/video-assist-predates-jerry-lewis-patent/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lewis screened Spielberg's early film ''[[Amblin']]'' and told his students, "That's what filmmaking is all about."<ref>{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=McBride|title=Steven Spielberg&nbsp;– A Biography|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1997|page=168|isbn=978-1604738360}}</ref> The class covered all topics related to filmmaking, including pre and post production, marketing and distribution and filming comedy with rhythm and timing.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Total Filmmaker|first=Jerry|last=Lewis|year=1971|publisher=Random House|isbn=9780446669269}}</ref> His 1971 book ''The Total Film Maker'', was based on 480 hours of his class lectures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mda.org/jerry-lewis/biography.html|title=Jerry Lewis Biography|publisher=MDA.org|access-date=February 6, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206190332/https://www.mda.org/jerry-lewis/biography.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Lewis also traveled to medical schools for seminars on laughter and healing with Clifford Kuhn and also did corporate and college lectures, motivational speaking and promoted the pain-treatment company [[Medtronic]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=October 2005 |title=Jerry Lewis Gets Serious on Capitol Hill, Promoting Pain Policy Act |url=https://journals.lww.com/topicsinpainmanagement/citation/2005/10000/jerry_lewis_gets_serious_on_capitol_hill,.2.aspx |journal=Topics in Pain Management |language=en-US |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=6–8 |doi=10.1097/00587875-200510000-00002 |issn=0882-5645|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Exposure in France ===
{{quote box|width=30em|fontsize=100%|salign=center|quote="Americans are the people who, when the French decided that Jerry Lewis was a genius, never stopped to ask why, but immediately branded France a nation of idiots." —Biographer [[Jeanine Basinger]] in ''Silent Stars'' (1999).<ref>[[Jeanine Basinger|Basinger, Jeanine]]. 1999. ''Silent Stars''. [[Alfred A. Knopf]], New York. {{ISBN | 0-679-43840-8}} p. 65: Opening sentence to chapter entitled “Mabel and the Kops.”</ref> }}
While Lewis was popular in France for his duo films with Dean Martin and his solo comedy films, his reputation and stature increased after the Paramount contract, when he began to exert total control over all aspects of his films. His involvement in directing, writing, editing and art direction coincided with the rise of [[auteur]] theory in French intellectual film criticism and the [[French New Wave]] movement. He earned consistent praise from French critics in the influential magazines ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'' and ''[[Positif (magazine)|Positif]],'' where he was hailed as an ingenious auteur.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Paris Journal, Fall 1971 (Cahiers du Cinéma, Positif, Jerry Lewis) {{!}} Jonathan Rosenbaum |url=https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2024/10/paris-journal-fall-1971-cahiers-du/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Jonathanrosen Baum}}</ref>

His singular ''[[mise-en-scène]],'' and skill behind the camera, were aligned with [[Howard Hawks]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]] and [[Satyajit Ray]]. Appreciated too, was the complexity of his also being in front of the camera. The new French criticism viewed [[Cinematography|cinema]] as an art form unto itself, and comedy as part of this art. Lewis is then fitted into a historical context and seen as not only worthy of critique, but as an innovator and satirist of his time.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Film|first=Hollis|last=Alpert|chapter=le roi du crazy|publisher=The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc.|location=New York|pages=23–25|year=1968}}</ref> [[Jean-Pierre Coursodon]] states in a 1975 ''[[Film Comment]]'' article, "The merit of the French critics, auteurist excesses notwithstanding, was their willingness to look at what Lewis was doing as a filmmaker for what it was, rather than with some preconception of what film comedy should be."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coursodon |first1=Jean-Pierre |title=Jerry Lewis's Films: No Laughing Matter? |journal=Film Comment |date=July–August 1975 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=9–15 |jstor=43754397 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43754397 |access-date=5 March 2024 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405105059/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43754397 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Curricula at universities or art schools, [[film studies]] and [[film theory]] were not yet [[avant-garde]] in early 1960s America. Mainstream movie reviewers such as [[Pauline Kael]], were dismissive of auteur theory, and others, seeing only absurdist comedy, criticized Lewis for his ambition and "castigated him for his self-indulgence" and egotism. Despite this criticism being often held by American film critics, admiration for Lewis and his comedy continued to grow in France.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 21, 2017|title=The slapstick, the telethons, 'L-a-a-a-dy!' – comic and philanthropist Jerry Lewis dies at 91|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|access-date=September 14, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=September 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912205811/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Appreciation of Lewis by "the French" became something of a stereotype and was often the object of jokes in American pop culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1349/do-the-french-really-love-jerry-lewis|title=Do the French really love Jerry Lewis?|date=October 1, 1999|publisher=The Straight Dope|first=Cecil|last=Adams|access-date=May 4, 2015|archive-date=May 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504175925/http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1349/do-the-french-really-love-jerry-lewis|url-status=live}}</ref> "That Americans can't see Jerry Lewis's genius is bewildering", says N. T. Binh, a French film magazine critic. Such bewilderment was the basis of the book ''Why the French Love Jerry Lewis.''<ref name=Poirier>{{cite news|last=Poirier|first=Agnes C.|title=Le Grand Jerry Lewis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/opinion/sunday/le-grand-jerry-lewis.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/opinion/sunday/le-grand-jerry-lewis.html |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=May 21, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 19, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Acting credits and accolades ==
{{Further|Jerry Lewis filmography|List of awards and nominations received by Jerry Lewis}}
[[File:jerrylewisstar.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Lewis's motion picture star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6821 Hollywood Blvd.]]
Lewis received numerous honorary awards including the [[Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences]]'s [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]] in 2008, the [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]]' Governor's Award in 2005, and the [[Venice International Film Festival]]'s [[Golden Lion|Career Golden Lion]] in 1999. He was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[4th Primetime Emmy Awards|Best Comedian or Comedienne]] in 1952 and the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film]] for his performance in ''Boeing, Boeing'' (1965). For his Broadway debut, he received a [[Theatre World Award]] nomination. Lewis was nominated for ten [[Golden Laurel Awards]] winning twice. Lewis also received a nomination for the [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor|Razzie Award for Worst Actor]] for his performance in ''Slapstick of Another Kind'' (1985), as well as two [[Stinker Award]] nominations for [[1981 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards|Worst Director and Worst Actor]] for ''Hardly Working'' (1981).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards (1981) |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0003171/1981/1/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Charity activism with MDA==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan and Nancy Reagan meeting with Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy poster child Christi Bartlett in the Oval Office.jpg|thumb|left|Lewis with President [[Ronald Reagan]] and First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]] meeting with MDA poster child Christi Bartlett in [[The Oval Office]], March 1981]]
After meeting with Paul Cohen, founder of the [[Muscular Dystrophy Association]] (MDA), Lewis and Martin made their first appeal in early December 1951 on the finale of ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'', followed by another in 1952. Lewis fought [[Rocky Marciano]] in a boxing bout for MDA's fund drive in 1954.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.wpafilmlibrary.com/videos/134926|title= Jerry Lewis Fights Rocky Marciano, Dean Martin Refs|website= WPA Film Library|accessdate= January 31, 2024|archive-date= January 31, 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240131172436/https://www.wpafilmlibrary.com/videos/134926|url-status= live}}</ref> In 1956, the duo hosted MDA's first telethon from June 29 to June 30, until the end of their comedy act on July 25<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Jerrylewis1967.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Lewis and MDA's [[The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon|annual telethon]] aired from 1966 to 2010, each Labor Day weekend and raised over $2.6&nbsp;billion.]] --> and Lewis becoming MDA's national chairman soon after. Two [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] specials were helmed in 1957 and 1959.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44013800|title=Jerry Lewis no longer MDA's national chairman|publisher=MSNBC|date=August 4, 2011}}</ref>

''[[The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon]]'' made its premiere in late 1966. Since its first broadcast on one station that year, the annual telethon aired live every [[Labor Day]] weekend for 44 years over five decades, originating from different locations including New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Chicago, becoming the most watched and most successful fundraising event in the history of television.<ref>{{Cite press release|publisher=Muscular Dystrophy Association|title=MDA Telethon Ends Historic Run, Urgent Fight for Families Continues|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mda-telethon-ends-historic-run-urgent-fight-for-families-continues-300076002.html|access-date=August 25, 2020|website=www.prnewswire.com|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205154352/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mda-telethon-ends-historic-run-urgent-fight-for-families-continues-300076002.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The telethon (a portmanteau of television and marathon) was the first to: raise over $1&nbsp;million, in 1966;<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Brief History of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon|url=https://www.ktre.com/story/1422451/a-brief-history-of-the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon|access-date=August 25, 2020|website=ktre|date=August 29, 2003|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617235339/https://www.ktre.com/story/1422451/a-brief-history-of-the-jerry-lewis-mda-labor-day-telethon/|url-status=live}}</ref> be shown entirely in color, in 1967; become a networked telethon, in 1968; go coast-to-coast, in 1970; be seen outside the continental U.S., in 1972. It raised the largest sum ever in a single event for humanitarian purposes, in 1974; had the greatest amount ever pledged to a televised charitable event, in 1980 (from the [[Guinness World Records|''Guinness Book of World Records'']]); was the first to be seen by 100 million people, in 1985; celebrated its 25th anniversary, in 1990; saw its highest pledge in history, in 1992; and was the first seen worldwide via internet simulcast, in 1998.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Romero |first=Frances |date=2009-09-07 |title=Telethons |url=https://time.com/archive/6915132/telethons/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref>

By 1990, societal views of disabled individuals and the telethon format had shifted. Lewis's and the telethon's methods were criticized by disability rights activists who believed the show was "designed to evoke pity rather than empower the disabled."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2006/09/03/telethon-raises-criticism/|first=E.A.|last=Torriero|title=Telethon Raises Criticism|date=September 3, 2006|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|access-date=July 6, 2018|archive-date=July 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706022858/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-09-03/news/0609030039_1_muscular-dystrophy-jerry-lewis-telethon|url-status=live}}</ref> The activists said the telethon perpetuated prejudices and stereotypes, that Lewis treated those he said he was helping with little respect, and that he used offensive language when describing them.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/21/jerry-lewis-telethons-raised-billions-for-muscular-dystrophy-many-cheered-when-he-went-off-the-air/|first=Travis|last=Andrews|title=Jerry Lewis Telethons Raised Billion For Muscular Dystrophy Many Cheered When He Went Off The Air|date=August 21, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 6, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806085243/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/21/jerry-lewis-telethons-raised-billions-for-muscular-dystrophy-many-cheered-when-he-went-off-the-air/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lewis rebutted the criticism and defended his methods saying, "If you don't tug at their heartstrings, then you're on the air for nothing."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhuber/readings/mda_telethon.html|title=The MDA Telethon Pity Or Compassion|first=Joseph|last=Hubber|publisher=bridgew.edu|access-date=July 6, 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802044932/http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhuber/readings/mda_telethon.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

During Lewis's lifetime, MDA-funded scientists discovered the causes of most of the diseases in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's program, developing treatments, therapies and standards of care that have allowed many people living with these diseases to live longer and grow stronger.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://strongly.mda.org/in-loving-memory-of-jerry-lewis/|title=In Loving Memory of Jerry Lewis-MDA|date=August 20, 2017|publisher=MDA.org|access-date=March 12, 2018|archive-date=March 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312083417/https://strongly.mda.org/in-loving-memory-of-jerry-lewis/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lewis received a [[Nobel Peace Prize]] nomination, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[American Medical Association]], a Governors Award and the [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.mda.org/jerry-lewis/biography.html|title= Jerry's Life and Legacy|website= Muscular Dystrophy Association|accessdate= January 31, 2024|archive-date= December 13, 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231213085209/https://www.mda.org/jerry-lewis/biography.html|url-status= live}}</ref>

On August 3, 2011, MDA announced that Lewis would no longer host its telethons<ref>{{cite news|title=Jerry Lewis Dropped from Labor Day Telethon|first=Brian|last=Stelter|date=August 4, 2011|url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/jerry-lewis-dropped-from-labor-day-telethon/|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=March 16, 2019|archive-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402182731/https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/jerry-lewis-dropped-from-labor-day-telethon/|url-status=live}}</ref> and that he was no longer associated with MDA. The 2011 telethon (which originally was to be Lewis's 46th and final show with MDA) featured a tribute to Lewis. In May 2015, MDA said it was discontinuing its telethon in view of "the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving."<ref>{{cite web|agency=Associated Press|magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/labor-day-telethon-jerry-lewis-792831|title=Labor Day Telethon That Jerry Lewis Memorably Ran Pulls Plug|date=May 1, 2015|issn=0018-3660|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802151512/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/labor-day-telethon-jerry-lewis-792831|url-status=live}}</ref>

In early 2016, at MDA's brand relaunch event at [[Carnegie Hall]] in New York City, Lewis broke a five-year silence during a special taped message, marking his first (and as it turned out, his final) appearance in support of MDA since his final telethon in 2010 and the end of his tenure as national chairman in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Katsilometes|first=John|date=January 28, 2016|title=Jerry Lewis returns—briefly—as MDA spokesman – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper|url=https://lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2016/jan/28/jerry-lewis-returns-briefly-as-mda-spokesman/|access-date=August 25, 2020|website=lasvegassun.com|archive-date=November 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110095843/http://lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2016/jan/28/jerry-lewis-returns-briefly-as-mda-spokesman//|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personal life==
===Relationships and children===
Lewis wed Patti Palmer (née Esther Grace Calonico; 1921–2021), a singer with [[Ted Fio Rito]], on October 3, 1944.<ref name="JLIP"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-56796-035-8|title=Nonfiction Book Review: I Laffed Till I Cried: Thirty-Six Years of Marriage to Jerry Lewis by Patti Lewis, Author, Sara Coleman, Author, Lorraine Hope Caldwell, Foreword by WRS Group $19.95 (167p) ISBN 978-1-56796-035-8|website=PublishersWeekly.com|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213210025/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-56796-035-8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Nate |url=https://www.stljewishlight.com/features/as-a-teen-jerry-lewis-fought-anti-semitism-with-his/article_5e54d80a-8dad-11e7-9301-fb4e40c9ee9b.html |title=As a teen, Jerry Lewis fought anti-Semitism with his fists|website=St. Louis Jewish Light|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703183645/https://www.stljewishlight.com/features/as-a-teen-jerry-lewis-fought-anti-semitism-with-his/article_5e54d80a-8dad-11e7-9301-fb4e40c9ee9b.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/las-vegas-nv/patti-lewis-10004942 |title=Patti Lewis Obituary |access-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227203310/https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/las-vegas-nv/patti-lewis-10004942 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHMC-WY9 "United States Census, 1940", database with images, ''FamilySearch''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913124440/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHMC-WY9 |date=September 13, 2021 }} March 15, 2018), Ester Calonico in household of John Farinno, Tract 911, Highland Park, Highland Park City, Wayne, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 82–155, sheet 15B, line 60, family 46, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1832.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis |first1=Patti|last2=Coleman|first2=Sarah Jepson|year=1993|title=I laffed till I cried: thirty-six years of marriage to Jerry Lewis|publisher=WRS|oclc=028417657}}</ref> They had six sons together; five biological: [[Gary Lewis (musician)|Gary]] (born 1945),<ref name="Kehr"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pleasekillme.com/gary-lewis|title=Gary Lewis, 'Jerry's Kid,' Runs for His Life|first=Michael|last=Shelley|work=PleaseKillMe.com|date=October 23, 2018|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=February 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227202809/https://pleasekillme.com/gary-lewis/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Joseph L.|last=Malamut|title=Southwest Jewry - Volume 3|year=1957|publisher=Sunland Publishing Company|page=80}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Leopold|last=Hoenig|title=Four Families|year=1999 |publisher=University of Wisconsin|page=20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Levy |first=Shawn |title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis |year=1996 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0312132484 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6XuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405034451/https://books.google.com/books?id=g6XuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 |url-status=live }}</ref> Scott (born 1956), Christopher (born 1957), Anthony (born 1959) and Joseph (1964–2009);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/lewis-son-i-blame-my-mean-evil-dad-for-brothers-death_1127899|title=Joseph Lewis|date=January 7, 2010|work=contactmusic.com|access-date=January 13, 2010|archive-date=February 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215204925/http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/lewis-son-i-blame-my-mean-evil-dad-for-brothers-death_1127899|url-status=live}}</ref> and one [[Adoption|adopted]]: Ronald (born 1949).<ref name="Eghrari">{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/markeghrari/2017/09/27/jerry-lewis-disinherited-5-of-his-kids-and-heres-why-we-know/|title=Jerry Lewis Disinherited 5 Of His Kids, And Here's Why We Know|last=Eghrari|first=Mark|website=Forbes|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703183647/https://www.forbes.com/sites/markeghrari/2017/09/27/jerry-lewis-disinherited-5-of-his-kids-and-heres-why-we-know/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was an [[interfaith marriage]]; Lewis was Jewish and Palmer was Catholic.

While married to Palmer, Lewis likely fathered a daughter, Suzan (born 1952) with Lynn Dixon Kleinman.<ref>Kennedy, Dana (August 26, 2017). "[https://www.thedailybeast.com/jerry-lewis-and-the-homeless-daughter-he-cruelly-ignored Jerry Lewis and the Homeless Daughter He Cruelly Ignored] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106233251/https://www.thedailybeast.com/jerry-lewis-and-the-homeless-daughter-he-cruelly-ignored |date=January 6, 2024 }}." ''The Daily Beast''.</ref><ref>"[https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/jerry-lewis-homeless-daughter Jerry Lewis' Alleged Illegitimate Daughter Homeless In Philadelphia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106233252/https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/jerry-lewis-homeless-daughter/ |date=January 6, 2024 }}." ''CBS News''. September 14, 2017.</ref> [[DNA]] testing indicated an 88.7 percent probability that Suzan is related to Lewis' acknowledged son Gary.<ref>"[https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/gary-lewis-says-he-has-no-regrets Gary Lewis says he has no regrets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106233252/https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/gary-lewis-says-he-has-no-regrets/ |date=January 6, 2024 }}." ''Las Vegas Review-Journal''. March 15, 2009.</ref> Lewis openly pursued relationships with other women and gave unapologetic interviews about his [[infidelity]], revealing his affairs with [[Marilyn Monroe]] and [[Marlene Dietrich]] to ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/movies/jerry-lewis-on-his-secret-love-affair-with-marilyn-monroe-i-was-crippled-for-a-week/|title=Jerry Lewis on His Secret Love Affair with Marilyn Monroe: 'I Was Crippled for a Week'|website=PEOPLE.com|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703183646/https://people.com/movies/jerry-lewis-on-his-secret-love-affair-with-marilyn-monroe-i-was-crippled-for-a-week/|url-status=live}}</ref> Palmer filed for divorce from Lewis in 1980, after 35 years of marriage, citing Lewis's extravagant spending and infidelity on his part, and it was finalized in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/after-35-years-of-marriage-patti-lewis-sues-jerry-for-separation-and-450000-a-year-vol-14-no-14/|title=After 35 Years of Marriage, Patti Lewis Sues Jerry for Separation and $450,000 a Year|website=PEOPLE.com|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703183644/https://people.com/archive/after-35-years-of-marriage-patti-lewis-sues-jerry-for-separation-and-450000-a-year-vol-14-no-14/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="who">{{cite web|url=http://digilander.libero.it/comedian/whois.htm|title=Who is Jerry Lewis|publisher=Digilander.libero.it|access-date=October 23, 2011|archive-date=January 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108010051/http://digilander.libero.it/comedian/whois.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="people.com">{{cite magazine|url=http://people.com/archive/after-35-years-of-marriage-patti-lewis-sues-jerry-for-separation-and-450000-a-year-vol-14-no-14|title=After 35 Years of Marriage, Patti Lewis Sues Jerry for Separation and $450,000 a Year|magazine=People|date=October 6, 1980|access-date=March 16, 2019|archive-date=April 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415045657/https://people.com/archive/after-35-years-of-marriage-patti-lewis-sues-jerry-for-separation-and-450000-a-year-vol-14-no-14/|url-status=live}}</ref> All of Lewis's children and grandchildren from his marriage to Palmer were excluded from inheriting any part of his estate.<ref name="mercurynews.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/21/jerry-lewis-left-his-five-sons-from-his-first-marriage-out-of-his-will/|title=Jerry Lewis left his five sons from his first marriage out of his will|date=September 21, 2017|website=The Mercury News|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703183644/https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/21/jerry-lewis-left-his-five-sons-from-his-first-marriage-out-of-his-will/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/news/a44958/jerry-lewis-reportedly-cut-six-of-his-children-out-of-his-will/|title=Apparently Jerry Lewis "Intentionally Excluded" Six of His Children From His Will|date=September 22, 2017|publisher=Country Living|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213205138/http://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/news/a44958/jerry-lewis-reportedly-cut-six-of-his-children-out-of-his-will/|url-status=live}}</ref> His eldest son, Gary, publicly called his father a "mean and evil person" and said that Lewis never showed him or his siblings any love or care.<ref name="mercurynews.com"/>

Lewis's second wife was Sandra "SanDee" Pitnick,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1817700/|access-date=June 14, 2018|title=SanDee Pitnick|website=[[IMDb]]|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828045455/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1817700/|url-status=live}}</ref> a [[University of North Carolina School of the Arts]] professionally trained ballerina and [[Flight attendant|stewardess]], who met Lewis after winning a [[bit part]] in a dancing scene on his film ''Hardly Working''. They wed on February 13, 1983, in [[Key Biscayne]], Florida,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/jerry-lewis-3-3-05/13/|title=Jerry Lewis|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=May 4, 2015|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823073812/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/jerry-lewis-3-3-05/13/|url-status=live}}</ref> adopted a daughter, Danielle (born 1992), and were married for 34 years until Lewis's death on August 20, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/jerry-lewis-opens-up-sons-709775|title=At Home With Jerry Lewis as He Opens Up About Son's Death, Skirmishes With Fans|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=June 6, 2014|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213210411/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/jerry-lewis-opens-up-sons-709775|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/comedian-jerry-lewis-celebrates-lavish-86th-birthday-in-nyc|title=Comedian Jerry Lewis celebrates lavish 86th birthday in NYC|website=[[Fox News]]|date=March 19, 2012|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213205158/http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/03/19/comedian-jerry-lewis-celebrates-lavish-86th-birthday-in-nyc.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://entertainment.inquirer.net/201244/jerry-lewis-still-quick-and-sharp-at-90|title=Jerry Lewis still quick and sharp at 90|first=Ruben V.|last=Nepales|date=September 11, 2016|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213210712/http://entertainment.inquirer.net/201244/jerry-lewis-still-quick-and-sharp-at-90|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Interests and habits ===
After opening a camera shop in 1950, Lewis agreed to lend his name to "Jerry Lewis Cinemas" in 1969, offered by National Cinema Corporation, as a franchise business opportunity for those interested in theatrical movie exhibition. Jerry Lewis Cinemas stated that their theaters could be operated by a staff of as few as two with the aid of automation and support provided by the franchiser in booking film and other aspects of film exhibition. A forerunner of the smaller rooms typical of later multi-screen complexes, a Jerry Lewis Cinema was billed in franchising ads as a "mini-theatre" with a seating capacity of between 200 and 350.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2017-03-05 |title=JERRY LEWIS |url=https://radiosatellite.co/2017/03/05/jerry-lewis/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=RADIO SATELLITE |language=en}}</ref>

In addition to Lewis's name, each Jerry Lewis Cinema bore a sign with a cartoon logo of Lewis in profile.<ref>{{cite news|last=Connelly|first=Sherilyn|title=Bad Ideas from the 1970s: Jerry Lewis Cinema Franchises Were a Nutty Disaster|newspaper=SF Weekly|url=http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/08/jerry_lewis_cinemas_the_nutty.php|access-date=October 19, 2011|archive-date=December 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228032345/http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/08/jerry_lewis_cinemas_the_nutty.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially 158 territories were franchised, with a buy-in fee of $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the territory, for what was called an "individual exhibitor." For $50,000, Jerry Lewis Cinemas offered an opportunity known as an "area directorship", in which investors controlled franchising opportunities in a territory as well as their own cinemas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id8z8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75-IA4|magazine=Life|title=Join Jerry Lewis (advt.)|page=75|date=December 31, 1971|access-date=October 23, 2011}}</ref> The success of the chain was hampered by a policy of only booking second-run, family-friendly films. Eventually the policy was changed, and the Jerry Lewis Cinemas were allowed to show more competitive movies. But after a decade the chain failed and both Lewis and National Cinema Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1980.<ref>{{cite news|last=ccrouch|title=Fantasy & Failure With Jerry Lewis Cinemas|url=http://cinelog.org/cinelog/2009/03/28/fantasy-failure-with-jerry-lewis-cinemas/|publisher=Cinelog.org|access-date=October 19, 2011|archive-date=January 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111124232/http://cinelog.org/cinelog/2009/03/28/fantasy-failure-with-jerry-lewis-cinemas/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, Lewis appeared on the 1st Annual 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation Telethon, then in 1990, wrote and directed ''Boy'', a short film for [[UNICEF]]'s ''How Are The Children?'' anthology,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6XuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA452 |title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis|last=Levy|first=Shawn|date=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0312132484|page=452}}</ref> meeting up with seven-year-old Lochie Graham in 2010, who shared his idea for "Jerry's House", a place for vulnerable and traumatized children<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/outer-east/ringwood-east-teen-lochie-graham-bands-with-comedian-jerry-lewis-to-create-a-house-full-of-laughter/news-story/c7c7ad1847d30dd2751d3fa90d956a51|title=Ringwood East teen Lochie Graham bands with comedian Jerry Lewis to create a house full of laughter|first1=Emma-Jayne|last1=Schenkless|date=April 18, 2016|website=heraldsun|access-date=September 13, 2021|archive-date=December 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217121509/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/outer-east/ringwood-east-teen-lochie-graham-bands-with-comedian-jerry-lewis-to-create-a-house-full-of-laughter/news-story/c7c7ad1847d30dd2751d3fa90d956a51|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hope2day.org/jerrys-house/|title=jerryshouse|website=jerryshouse|access-date=February 24, 2017|archive-date=February 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224212130/http://www.hope2day.org/jerrys-house/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and in 2016, would lend his name and star power to [[Criss Angel]]'s HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Ethan |title=Criss Angel's HELP Charity Event Benefiting Pediatric Cancer Research And Treatment |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/entertainer-jerry-lewis-speaks-during-criss-angels-help-news-photo/606522530 |website=Getty Images |date=September 16, 2016 |access-date=21 June 2023 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621183344/https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/entertainer-jerry-lewis-speaks-during-criss-angels-help-news-photo/606522530 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lewis had a [[Illeism|habit of referring to himself in the third person]].<ref>[https://forward.com/schmooze/349264/how-did-an-unknown-filmmaker-coax-jerry-lewis-out-of-retirement/ How Did an Unknown Filmmaker Coax Jerry Lewis Out of Retirement?]</ref><ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/02/07/jerry-lewis-profile-the-laughing-game Where Does Comedy End and Jerry Lewis Begin?]</ref><ref>[https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/apr/10/no-foolin-jerry-lewis-has-to-restrain-his-idiotic/ No Foolin’ Jerry Lewis Has To Restrain His Idiotic Ways In His First Broadway Role, ‘Damn Yankees’]</ref>

=== Political views ===
Lewis kept a low political profile for many years, having taken advice reportedly given to him by President [[John F. Kennedy]], who told him, "Don't get into anything political. Don't do that because they will usurp your energy."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/doug-elfman/how-jack-kennedy-talked-jerry-lewis-out-500-million-charity-loan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924005840/http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/doug-elfman/how-jack-kennedy-talked-jerry-lewis-out-500-million-charity-loan|archive-date=September 24, 2016|title=How Jack Kennedy Talked Jerry Lewis Out Of A $500 Million Charity Loan|first=Doug|last=Elfman|date=August 31, 2008|access-date=December 20, 2016}}</ref> Nevertheless, he campaigned and performed on behalf of both JFK and [[Robert F. Kennedy]], and was a supporter of the [[civil rights movement]]. For his 1957 NBC special, Lewis held his ground when southern affiliates objected to his friendship with Sammy Davis, Jr.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Diana |date=2023-12-07 |title=Jerry Lewis on comedy and his bond with Sammy Davis, Jr. {{!}} American Masters {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/jerry-lewis-on-comedy-and-his-friendship-with-sammy-davis-jr/30621/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=American Masters |language=en-US}}</ref> In a 1971 ''Movie Mirror'' magazine article, Lewis spoke out against the [[Vietnam War]]. He vowed to leave the country rather than send another of his sons.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

Lewis observed that political speeches should not be at the [[Academy Awards|Oscars]]. He stated, "I think we are the most dedicated industry in the world. And I think that we have to present ourselves that night as hard-working, caring and important people to the industry. We need to get more self-respect as an industry."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-talks-hollywood-argo-424974|title=Jerry Lewis on 'Argo,' Old Hollywood and his Fans in France|date=February 28, 2013|access-date=December 20, 2016|via=The Guardian|archive-date=October 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012004650/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-talks-hollywood-argo-424974|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2004 interview with ''[[The Guardian]]'', Lewis was asked what he was least proud of, to which he answered, "Politics."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |date=April 8, 2004 |title='My dream is to be perfect' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/apr/08/1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913123241/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/apr/08/1 |archive-date=September 13, 2014 |access-date=September 4, 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |quote=What is he least proud of? Politics, he says. Not his politics, but the world's politics - the madness, the destruction, the general lack of respect.}}</ref>

He mocked citizens' lack of [[patriotism|pride in their country]], stating, "President [[George W. Bush|Bush]] is my president. I will not say anything negative about the president of the United States. I don't do that. And I don't allow my children to do that. Likewise, when I come to England don't you do any jokes about 'Mum' to me. That is the [[Elizabeth II|Queen of England]], you moron. Do you know how tough a job it is to be the Queen of England?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/apr/08/1|title=My dream is to be perfect|first=Simon|last=Hattenstone|date=April 8, 2004|access-date=December 20, 2016|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In a December 2015 interview on EWTN's ''World Over'' with Raymond Arroyo, Lewis expressed opposition to the United States letting in [[Refugees of the Syrian Civil War|Syrian refugees]], saying, "No one has worked harder for the human condition than I have, but they're not part of the human condition if 11 guys in that group of 10,000 are [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]]. How can I take that chance?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty.news/2016-01-15-jerry-lewis-unleashed-acclaimed-comedian-slams-obamas-destructive-policies-while-praising-donald-trump.html|title=Jerry Lewis unleashed: Acclaimed comedian slams Obama's destructive policies while praising Donald Trump|website=www.liberty.news|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-date=December 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222152440/http://www.liberty.news/2016-01-15-jerry-lewis-unleashed-acclaimed-comedian-slams-obamas-destructive-policies-while-praising-donald-trump.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same interview, he criticized President [[Barack Obama]] for not being prepared for ISIS, while expressing support for [[Donald Trump]], saying he would make a good president because he was a good "[[showman]]." He also added that he admired [[Ronald Reagan]]'s presidency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGmyHivWyN8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/sGmyHivWyN8| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=World Over&nbsp;– 2015-12-17 &nbsp;– Jerry Lewis Exclusive with Raymond Arroyo|publisher=EWTN|date=December 18, 2015|access-date=December 20, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/06/06/donald-trumps-celebrity-endorsements-a-complete-list/jerry-lewis/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/06/06/donald-trumps-celebrity-endorsements-a-complete-list/jerry-lewis/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=From Jon Voight to Azealia Banks: a guide to Donald Trump's celebrity supporters|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=June 6, 2016|access-date=December 20, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/jerry-lewis-says-syrian-refugees-stay-where-hell-173251288.html|title=Jerry Lewis Praises Donald Trump, Says Syrian Refugees 'Should Stay Where the Hell They Are' (Video)|website=Yahoo! News|date=December 29, 2015|access-date=December 20, 2016|archive-date=September 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916160435/https://www.yahoo.com/movies/jerry-lewis-says-syrian-refugees-stay-where-hell-173251288.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Stalking incident===
In February 1994, a man named Gary Benson was revealed to have been stalking Lewis and his family.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1994-02-10-9402100509-story.html|title=JERRY LEWIS SAYS SUSPECT HAS STALKED HIM FOR YEARS|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=February 10, 1994|access-date=June 30, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630004128/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1994-02-10-9402100509-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Benson subsequently served four years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/06b584fae025073b6531fa1d0db559db|title=Jerry Lewis Stalker Apologizes|website=AP NEWS|access-date=February 4, 2020|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818092111/https://apnews.com/06b584fae025073b6531fa1d0db559db|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Allegations of sexual assault ===
In February 2022, ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' reported that several of Lewis's co-stars from the 1960s had come forward to share allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and verbal abuse.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cava |first=Marco della |title=Comedy icon Jerry Lewis 'fondled' women and 'unzipped,' his female co-stars allege |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/02/23/comedy-giant-jerry-lewis-accused-sexual-assault-harassment-female-costars/6914549001/ |access-date=December 12, 2022 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212060107/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/02/23/comedy-giant-jerry-lewis-accused-sexual-assault-harassment-female-costars/6914549001/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=NJ.com |first=Amy Kuperinsky {{!}} NJ Advance Media for |date=February 26, 2022 |title=Jerry Lewis accused of sexual assault and harassment: 'He was all over me' |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2022/02/jerry-lewis-accused-of-sexual-assault-and-harassment-he-was-all-over-me.html |access-date=December 12, 2022 |website=nj |language=en |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212060107/https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2022/02/jerry-lewis-accused-of-sexual-assault-and-harassment-he-was-all-over-me.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Those whose accounts were made public included [[Karen Sharpe]], [[Hope Holiday]], [[Anna Maria Alberghetti]], and [[Lainie Kazan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Jerry Lewis's Costars Speak Out: 'He Grabbed Me. He Began to Fondle Me. I Was Dumbstruck' |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/jerry-lewis-sexual-assault-harassment-investigation |access-date=February 24, 2022 |publisher=Vanity Fair |date=February 24, 2022 |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224000328/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/jerry-lewis-sexual-assault-harassment-investigation |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Illness and death ===
Lewis suffered from a number of chronic health problems, illnesses and addictions related both to aging and a back injury sustained in a comedic [[wikt:pratfall|pratfall]]. The fall has been stated as being either from a piano while performing at the [[Sands Hotel and Casino]] on the [[Las Vegas Strip]] on March 20, 1965,<ref name= usat>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Mike|title=Jerry Lewis Tells It Like It Is&nbsp;– And Was|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-08-29-jerry_x.htm|date=August 29, 2002|access-date=March 6, 2009|archive-date=March 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310202310/http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-08-29-jerry_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=seattlepi>{{cite news|title=A Moment With ... Jerry Lewis, Comedian/Entertainer/Philanthropist|date=April 10, 2003|newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/116664_moment10.html|access-date=March 7, 2009|archive-date=January 4, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104235223/http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/116664_moment10.html|url-status=live}}</ref> or during an appearance on ''[[The Andy Williams Show]]''.<ref name="A Love Story"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Levy |first=Shawn|title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis}}{{full citation needed|date=February 2023}}</ref> In its aftermath, Lewis became addicted to the painkiller [[Oxycodone/aspirin|Percodan]] for thirteen years.<ref name="usat" /> He said he had been off the drug since 1978.<ref name="seattlepi" /> In April 2002, Lewis had a [[Medtronic]] "Synergy" [[Neurostimulation|neurostimulator]] implanted in his back,<ref name="medtronic">{{cite web |title=Jerry's Story |website=Medtronic.com|date=May 17, 2011 |url=http://www.medtronic.com/neuro/ttp/ps_jerry.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204063110/http://www.medtronic.com/neuro/ttp/ps_jerry.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2005|access-date=October 23, 2011}}</ref> which helped reduce the discomfort. He was one of the company's leading spokesmen.<ref name="seattlepi"/><ref name="medtronic"/>

Lewis suffered numerous heart problems throughout his life; he revealed in the 2011 documentary ''[[Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis]]'' that he suffered his first heart attack at age 34 while filming ''Cinderfella'' in 1960.<ref name=madness>{{cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1996-08-22/lifestyle/9608210390_1_jerry-lewis-clown-hal-wallis|title=A&E Profiles The Manic Genius of Jerry Lewis|access-date=March 16, 2015|newspaper=[[Sun-Sentinel]] (Fort Lauderdale)|date=August 22, 1996|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122124/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1996-08-22/lifestyle/9608210390_1_jerry-lewis-clown-hal-wallis|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bmonster.com/cult35.html|title= Cult|website= Bmonster.com|access-date= October 23, 2011|archive-date= September 27, 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110927105552/http://www.bmonster.com/cult35.html|url-status= live}}</ref> In December 1982, at age 56, he suffered his second heart attack and that same month underwent [[cardiac surgery|open-heart]] [[Coronary artery bypass surgery|double-bypass surgery]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|title=After Open-Heart Surgery, King of Comedy Jerry Lewis Bounces Back with a Bride-to-Be|date=February 7, 1983|last=Jerome|first=Jim|url=https://people.com/archive/after-open-heart-surgery-king-of-comedy-jerry-lewis-bounces-back-with-a-bride-to-be-vol-19-no-5/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190928015841/https://people.com/archive/after-open-heart-surgery-king-of-comedy-jerry-lewis-bounces-back-with-a-bride-to-be-vol-19-no-5/|archive-date=September 28, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=September 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jerry Lewis Has Heart Bypass Surgery - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/12/21/Jerry-Lewis-Has-Heart-Bypass-Surgery/9165409294800/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> En route to San Diego from New York City on a cross-country commercial airline flight on June 11, 2006, Lewis suffered his third heart attack at age 80.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sciretta|first=Peter|title=Jerry Lewis Suffers Heart Attack|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/20060614023221649|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220430/http://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/20060614023221649|url-status=dead| archive-date=September 27, 2007|date= June 14, 2006|publisher=[[/Film]]|access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> It was discovered that he had [[pneumonia]], as well as a severely damaged heart. He underwent a [[cardiac catheterization]] days after the heart attack, and two [[stent]]s were inserted into one of his coronary arteries, which was 90 percent blocked.<ref name=hospital>{{cite news|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=Jerry Lewis out of the hospital|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jun-20-et-quick20.3-story.html|date=June 20, 2006|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190928020205/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jun-20-et-quick20.3-story.html|archive-date=September 28, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=September 28, 2019}}</ref> The surgery resulted in increased blood flow to his heart and allowed him to continue his rebound from earlier lung problems. Having the cardiac catheterization required him to cancel several major events from his schedule, but he fully recuperated in a matter of weeks.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |date=1984-06-13 |title=TV REVIEW; JERRY LEWIS TALK SHOW |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/13/arts/tv-review-jerry-lewis-talk-show.html |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1999, Lewis's Australian tour was cut short when he had to be hospitalized in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] with viral [[meningitis]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Meningitis Hospitalizes Jerry Lewis|url=https://apnews.com/1413fcd08061c1b917034f8b09d56f88|website=AP NEWS|access-date=April 30, 2020|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818220505/https://apnews.com/1413fcd08061c1b917034f8b09d56f88|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jerry Lewis Misses Part of Telethon|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-07-me-7597-story.html|date=September 7, 1999|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=April 30, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802021854/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-07-me-7597-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was ill for more than five months. It was reported in the Australian press that he had failed to pay his medical bills. However, Lewis maintained that the payment confusion was the fault of his health insurer. The resulting negative publicity caused him to sue his insurer for US$100&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Price |first=Jenna |date=June 11, 2000 |title=Jerry Lewis Calls The Shots Now That He's Paid His Bill |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]]}}</ref>

In addition to his decades-long heart problems, Lewis had [[prostate cancer]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Henkel|first=John|title=Prostate Cancer: New Tests Create Treatment Dilemmas|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v28/ai_15955600/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708120551/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n10_v28/ai_15955600/ |url-status=dead|archive-date= July 8, 2012|date=December 1994|work=[[FDA Consumer]]|publisher= [[BNET]]|access-date=June 16, 2009}}</ref> [[type 1 diabetes]],<ref name="seattlepi" /><ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/jerry-lewis-opens-up-sons-709775|date=June 6, 2014|author=Feinberg, Scott|title=At Home With Jerry Lewis as He Opens Up About Son's Death, Skirmishes With Fans|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=December 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213210411/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/jerry-lewis-opens-up-sons-709775|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[pulmonary fibrosis]].<ref name="usat" /> In the late 1990s, Lewis was treated with [[prednisone]]<ref name="usat" /> for pulmonary fibrosis, which caused considerable weight gain and a startling change in his appearance. In September 2001, Lewis was unable to perform at a planned London charity event at the [[London Palladium]]. He was the headlining act, and was introduced, but did not appear onstage. He had suddenly become unwell, apparently with cardiac problems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.drmirkin.com/weekly-ezine-page/jerry-lewis-lifelong-comedy-and-pain.html|title=Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Health, Fitness and Nutrition. {{!}} Jerry Lewis: Lifelong Comedy and Pain|website=www.drmirkin.com|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123914/http://www.drmirkin.com/weekly-ezine-page/jerry-lewis-lifelong-comedy-and-pain.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

He was subsequently taken to a hospital. Some months thereafter, Lewis began an arduous, months-long therapy that weaned him off prednisone, and he lost much of the weight gained while on the drug. The treatment enabled him to return to work. On June 12, 2012, he was treated and released from a hospital after collapsing from [[hypoglycemia]] at a [[New York Friars Club]] event. This forced him to cancel a show in Sydney.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-friars-club-jerry-lewis-collapsemt1thewrap43976-20120613,0,4472954.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614152004/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-friars-club-jerry-lewis-collapsemt1thewrap43976-20120613%2C0%2C4472954.story |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |title=Jerry Lewis Rushed to Hospital After Friars Club Collapse (Report) |last=Kenneally |first=Tim |date=June 13, 2012 |work= [[Chicago Tribune]] |agency= Reuters |access-date=June 13, 2012}}</ref> In an October 2016 interview with ''Inside Edition'', Lewis acknowledged that he might not star in any more films, given his advanced age, while admitting, through tears, that he was afraid of dying, as it would leave his wife and daughter alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiyQtff7r64| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/QiyQtff7r64| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=90-Year-Old Jerry Lewis Breaks Down In Tears While Discussing Death|work = [[Inside Edition]] |date=October 5, 2016|access-date= December 20, 2016|via= YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In June 2017, Lewis was hospitalized at a Las Vegas hospital for a [[urinary tract infection]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jerry-lewis-making-progress-after-hospitalization|title=Jerry Lewis 'making progress' after hospitalization|first=Sasha|last=Savitsky|date=June 5, 2017|publisher=[[Fox News]]|access-date=June 6, 2017|archive-date=June 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605201810/http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/06/05/jerry-lewis-making-progress-after-hospitalization.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lewis died at his home in [[Las Vegas]], Nevada, on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91.<ref name="varietyobit">{{cite magazine |first1=Richard |last1=Natale |first2=Carmel |last2=Dagan |title=Jerry Lewis, Comedy Legend, Dies at 91 |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/jerry-lewis-dies-dead-nutty-professor-1202533899/ |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=August 20, 2017 |issn=0042-2738 |access-date=December 13, 2017 |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812090319/https://variety.com/2017/film/news/jerry-lewis-dies-dead-nutty-professor-1202533899/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The cause was end-stage cardiac disease and [[peripheral artery disease]]. Lewis was [[Cremation|cremated]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/celebrities/coroner-jerry-lewis-death-was-from-end-stage-heart-disease/2017/08/21/36908046-86cb-11e7-96a7-d178cf3524eb_story.html |title=Coroner: Jerry Lewis death was from end-stage heart disease |first=Ken |last=Ritter |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=August 21, 2017 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824014804/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/celebrities/coroner-jerry-lewis-death-was-from-end-stage-heart-disease/2017/08/21/36908046-86cb-11e7-96a7-d178cf3524eb_story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Celebrities, loved ones remember comedian Jerry Lewis |work=Associated Press News |date=September 5, 2017 |url=https://apnews.com/article/855bac794f604ae0a1b6a8d03c3386fb |access-date=February 25, 2022 |archive-date=July 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719144202/https://apnews.com/article/855bac794f604ae0a1b6a8d03c3386fb |url-status=live }}</ref> In his [[Will and testament|will]], he left his estate to his second wife of 34 years, SanDee Pitnick, and their daughter, and explicitly [[Inheritance|disinherited]] his children from his first marriage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/jerry-lewis-actual-kids-excluded-from-his-will-1818664266|title=Jerry Lewis' actual kids excluded from his will|last=McLevy|first=Alex|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=September 22, 2017|access-date=September 28, 2017|archive-date=September 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929055657/https://www.avclub.com/jerry-lewis-actual-kids-excluded-from-his-will-1818664266|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Controversies==
In 1998, at the [[The Comedy Festival|Aspen U.S. Comedy Arts Festival]], when asked which women comics he admired, Lewis answered, "I don't like any female comedians. A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/celebrity/jerry-lewis-not-funny/|title=Jerry Lewis: Not Funny|date=October 29, 1998|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|magazine=People Magazine|access-date=July 6, 2018|archive-date=July 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706050259/https://people.com/celebrity/jerry-lewis-not-funny/|url-status=live}}</ref> He went on to praise [[Lucille Ball]] as "brilliant" and said [[Carol Burnett]] is "the greatest female entrepreneur of comedy." On other occasions, Lewis expressed admiration for female comedians [[Totie Fields]], [[Phyllis Diller]], [[Kathleen Freeman]], [[Elayne Boosler]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], and [[Tina Fey]].

During the 2007 MDA Telethon, Lewis used the slur "[[Faggot (slang)|fag]]" in a joke, for which he apologized.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lewis-slur/jerry-lewis-apologizes-for-anti-gay-slur-idUSN0444968820070904|title=Jerry Lewis apologizes for anti-gay slur|last=Gorman|first=Steve|work=U.S.|access-date=November 26, 2018|archive-date=November 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126180846/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lewis-slur/jerry-lewis-apologizes-for-anti-gay-slur-idUSN0444968820070904|url-status=live}}</ref> Lewis used the same word the following year on Australian television.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/20/the-two-sides-of-jerry-lewis/|title=Appreciation: The Two Sides of Jerry Lewis|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 20, 2017|first=Elahe|last=Izadi|access-date=July 6, 2018|archive-date=July 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075133/https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/20/the-two-sides-of-jerry-lewis/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a 2022  ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' article, actresses [[Karen Sharpe]], [[Hope Holiday]], [[Renée Taylor]], [[Jill St. John]], [[Anna Maria Alberghetti]] and [[Lainie Kazan]] accused Lewis of sexual assault and harassment. According to Sharpe, Lewis assaulted her during a wardrobe fitting, while Holiday alleged Lewis locked her in his dressing room, then began talking graphically and masturbating in front of her. Alberghetti and Kazan alleged Lewis sexually harassed them. Comedian [[Amy Schumer]] also alleged that she had to physically resist Lewis trying to lower her onto the stage to perform a mock sex act at a 2014 Friars Roast.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Miller |first=Julie |date=2022-02-23 |title=Jerry Lewis's Costars Speak Out: "He Grabbed Me. He Began to Fondle Me. I Was Dumbstruck" |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/jerry-lewis-sexual-assault-harassment-investigation |access-date=2025-05-24 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Tributes and legacy==
From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, Lewis was  considered a significant force in American popular culture."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Here at Last--A Serious Life of Jerry Lewis|first=Bruce|last=Handy|magazine=Time|page=180|date=July 29, 1996}}</ref> He influenced generations of comedians, comedy writers, performers and filmmakers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/arts/jerry-lewis-critic-comedians-influence.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/arts/jerry-lewis-critic-comedians-influence.html |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=For Jerry Lewis Few Statuettes But Lots of Influence|first=Neil|last=Genzlinger|date=August 20, 2017|newspaper=NY Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After his death, actors such as [[Jim Carrey]] and [[Jeffrey Tambor]] paid tribute. [[Carl Reiner]] wrote, "All comedians watch other comedians, and every generation of comedians going back to those who watched Jerry on the ''Colgate Comedy Hour'' were influenced by Jerry. They say that mankind goes back to the first guy ... which everyone tries to copy. In comedy that guy was Jerry Lewis."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/carl-reiner-tribute-jerry-lewis-he-was-a-true-genius-1031722|title=Carl Reiner on 7 Decades of Laughter With Friend Jerry Lewis|first=Carl|last=Reiner|date=August 23, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=February 5, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073520/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/carl-reiner-tribute-jerry-lewis-he-was-a-true-genius-1031722|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some critics have argued that Lewis' career as a director is underappreciated. [[Richard Brody]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' said Lewis was "one of the most original, inventive, ... profound directors of the time" and "one of the most skilled and original comic performers, verbal and physical, ever to appear on screen."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-jerry-lewis|first=Richard|last=Brody|title=Postscript: Jerry Lewis|date=August 29, 2017|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=February 9, 2018|archive-date=February 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219144928/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-jerry-lewis|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Dave Kehr]], a film critic and film curator for the [[Museum of Modern Art]], wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that Lewis was "one of the great American filmmakers."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kehr |first=Dave |date=December 31, 2004 |title=The Disc's Coming of Age, From Noir to Seinfeld |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/movies/the-discs-coming-of-age-from-noir-to-seinfeld.html |access-date=December 20, 2022 |quote="Is it finally time to stop with the French-love-him jokes and acknowledge that Jerry Lewis is one of the great American filmmakers? The 10 Lewis films released by Paramount this fall, all in fine transfers and with additional material drawn from Mr. Lewis's extensive archives, reveal both the fierce creativity of his comic performances and the extreme formal sophistication of his direction." |archive-date=December 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221003922/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/movies/the-discs-coming-of-age-from-noir-to-seinfeld.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{quote box||align=right|width=25em|quote=As a filmmaker who insisted on the personal side of his work—who was producer, writer, director, star, and over-all boss of his productions in the interest of his artistic conception and passion—he was an [[auteur]] by temperament and in practice long before the word traveled Stateside.|source=''The New Yorker'', 2017}}

There have been numerous retrospectives of Lewis's films in the U.S. and abroad, most notably ''Jerry Lewis: A Film and Television Retrospective'' at [[Museum of the Moving Image]], the 2013 [[Vienna International Film Festival|Viennale]], the 2016 [[Melbourne International Film Festival]], ''The Innovator: Jerry Lewis at Paramount'' at [[American Cinematheque]] in Los Angeles, ''Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90'' at [[Museum of Modern Art|MoMA]] in New York City,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Happy Birthday, Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90 |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/1621 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328125458/https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/1621 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=[[Museum of Modern Art|MoMA]] }}</ref> and "Jerry Lewis, cinéaste" at the [[Cinémathèque Française|French Cinémathèque]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rétrospective Jerry Lewis, cinéaste - La Cinémathèque française |url=https://www.cinematheque.fr/cycle/jerry-lewis-cineaste-1123.html |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=www.cinematheque.fr |archive-date=October 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029041417/https://www.cinematheque.fr/cycle/jerry-lewis-cineaste-1123.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2017, Lewis with others inaugurated and founded Legionnaires of Laughter and Legacy Awards, and the first Legacy Award held in Downtown, New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=News |url=https://legionnairesoflaughter.com/news/ |access-date=July 11, 2022 |website=Legionnaires Of Laughter |language=en-US |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085233/https://legionnairesoflaughter.com/news/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On August 21, 2017, multiple hotel marquees on the [[Las Vegas Strip]] honored Lewis with a coordinated video display of images of his career as a Las Vegas performer and resident.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/celebrity/las-vegas-strip-tribute-remembers-jerry-lewis/|first=Carol|last=Cling|title=Las Vegas Strip tribute remembers Jerry Lewis|date=August 21, 2017|newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal|access-date=June 17, 2018|archive-date=June 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618025516/https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/celebrity/las-vegas-strip-tribute-remembers-jerry-lewis/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Between 1952 and 1957, [[DC Comics]] published a 40-issue comic book series with Martin & Lewis as the main protagonists, titled ''[[The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Adventures of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis |url=https://www.comics.org/series/862/ |website=Comics.org |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref> They continued the series under the new title ''The Adventures of Jerry Lewis'' after the team split up, running until issue #124 in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |title=he Adventures of Jerry Lewis |url=https://www.comics.org/series/1243/ |website=Comics.org |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref>

In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', the character of [[Professor Frink]] is based on Lewis's Julius Kelp from ''The Nutty Professor.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paWsDhzeaN8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/paWsDhzeaN8| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Hank Azaria Discusses basing Professor Frink on Jerry Lewis|work=FoundationINTERVIEWS |date=December 4, 2015|publisher=Archive of American Television|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Lewis himself would later voice the character's father in the episode "[[Treehouse of Horror XIV]]." In ''[[Animaniacs]]'', Lewis is parodied in the form of a recurring character named Mr. Director (voiced by series writer [[Paul Rugg]]), who initially appears as a comedy director whose appearance and mannerisms are based around those of Lewis, complete with frequent exclamations of faux-Yiddish. While he is typically depicted as a caricature of Lewis, on some occasions Mr. Director has also been seen as a caricature of [[Marlon Brando]] and as a birthday clown, although still retaining the voice and mannerisms inspired by Lewis.

In ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter recreates Lewis's 'chairman of the board' scene from ''The Errand Boy''. Additionally, when questioned of his knowledge of the French language, the character Quagmire claims that he is loved in France: cutting to a scene in which a French audience enthusiastically watch a comedy film starring Quagmire which parodies several of Lewis' films. Comedian, actor and friend of Lewis, [[Martin Short]], satirized him on the series ''[[Second City Television|SCTV]]'' in the sketches "The Nutty Lab Assistant", "Martin Scorsese presents Jerry Lewis Live on the Champs Elysees!", "The Tender Fella", and "Scenes From an Idiots Marriage",<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgwVdVmazYA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/GgwVdVmazYA| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Jerry Lewis Live on the Champs Elysees!| date=August 21, 2017|publisher=CBC Television|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|title=Jerry Lewis as Tender Fella|publisher=CBC Television}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|title=Jerry Lewis in Scenes From an Idiots Marriage|publisher=CBC Television}}</ref> as well as on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''{{'}}s "[[Celebrity Jeopardy!]]."<ref>{{cite episode|url=https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jeopardy/n10924|title=Celebrity Jeopardy!|season=22|number=8|series=Saturday Night Live|date=December 7, 1996|publisher=NBC Television|access-date=February 7, 2018|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207114213/http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/jeopardy/n10924|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also on ''SNL'', the Martin and Lewis reunion on the 1976 MDA Telethon is reported by [[Chevy Chase]] on ''[[Weekend Update]]''.<ref>{{cite episode|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzwQ_7Gv4k0| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/LzwQ_7Gv4k0| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Weekend Update Martin and Lewis Reunion|series=Saturday Night Live |date=September 1976|season=2 |publisher=NBC Television|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Comedians Eddie Murphy and [[Joe Piscopo]] both parodied Lewis when he hosted SNL in 1983. Comedian and actor [[Jim Carrey]] satirized Lewis on ''[[In Living Color]]'' in the sketch "Jheri's Kids Telethon."<ref>{{cite episode|title=Jheri's Kids Telethon|season=1 |number=6|series=In Living Color|date=May 10, 1990|publisher=Ivory Way Productions, FOX Television}}</ref> Carrey had an uncredited cameo playing Lewis in the series ''[[Buffalo Bill (TV series)|Buffalo Bill]]'' on the episode "Jerry Lewis Week."<ref>{{cite episode |title=Jerry Lewis Week |series=Buffalo Bill|season=2|number=2|date=January 5, 1984|publisher=Stampede Productions, NBC Television}}</ref> He also played Lewis, with impersonator [[Rich Little]] as [[Dean Martin]], on stage. Actor [[Sean Hayes (actor)|Sean Hayes]] portrayed Lewis in the made-for-TV movie ''[[Martin and Lewis (film)|Martin and Lewis]]'', with [[Jeremy Northam]] as Dean Martin.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=IMDB |title=Martin and Lewis (2002 TV Movie) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318908/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309054850/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318908/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast |url-status=live }}</ref> Actor [[Kevin Bacon]] plays the Lewis character in the 2005 film ''[[Where The Truth Lies]],'' based on a fictionalized version of Martin and Lewis.<ref>{{cite news|title=Where The Truth Lies|first=Peter|last=Bradshaw|date=December 2, 2005|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2005/dec/02/1|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=February 6, 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802044437/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2005/dec/02/1|url-status=live}}</ref>

John Saleeby, writer for ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' has a humor piece "Ten Things You Should Know About Jerry Lewis."<ref>{{cite web|first=John|last=Saleeby|date=August 16, 2001|title=Ten Things You Should Know About Jerry Lewis|website=acidlogic.com|url=http://www.acidlogic.com/jerrylewis.htm|access-date=February 11, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726170151/http://www.acidlogic.com/jerrylewis.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the animated cartoon ''[[Popeye]]'s 20th Anniversary'', Martin and Lewis are portrayed on the dais.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Popeye's 20th Anniversary|date=1954|publisher=Paramount Pictures}}</ref> The animated series ''[[Animaniacs]]'' satirized Lewis in several episodes. The voice and boyish, naive cartoon character [[SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob SquarePants]] is partially based on Lewis, with particular inspiration from his film ''The Bellboy''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/news/spongebob-inspiration-stephen-hillenburg|title=How Famous Comedians Inspired Stephen Hillenburg to Create SpongeBob SquarePants|date=December 18, 2018|first=Brad|last=Witter|website=biography.com|access-date=September 22, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922024202/https://www.biography.com/news/spongebob-inspiration-stephen-hillenburg|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Story of How Spongebob Squarepants Made it to Air|date=December 4, 2015|first=Karl|last=Smallwood|website=Today I Found Out|url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/12/spongebob-squarepants-made-air/|access-date=September 22, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922024200/http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/12/spongebob-squarepants-made-air/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998, The [[MTV]] animated show ''[[Celebrity Deathmatch]]'' had a clay-animated fight to the death between Dean Martin and Lewis. In a 1975 re-issue of ''[[MAD Magazine]]'' the contents of Lewis's wallet is satirized in their on-going feature "Celebrities' Wallets."{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Similarly, varied musicians have mentioned Lewis in song lyrics including, [[Ice Cube]], [[The Dead Milkmen]], [[Queen Latifah]], and [[Frank Zappa]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/jerry+lewis|title=Lyrics containing the term: jerry lewis|website=www.lyrics.com|access-date=March 17, 2019|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802003759/https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/jerry+lewis|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[hip hop music]] band [[Beastie Boys]] have an unreleased single "The Jerry Lewis", which they mention, and danced to, on stage in Asheville, North Carolina in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-jerry-lewis-the-untold-story-of-the-beastie-boys-single-that-never-was-20140807|title='Jerry Lewis': The Untold Story of the Beastie Boys Single that Never Was|first=Peter|last=Relic|date=August 2, 2014|work=RollingStone Magazine|access-date=February 11, 2018|archive-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212005219/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-jerry-lewis-the-untold-story-of-the-beastie-boys-single-that-never-was-20140807|url-status=dead}}</ref> In their film ''Paul's Boutique—A Visual Companion'', clips from ''The Nutty Professor'' play to [[Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science|"The Sounds of Science"]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paulsboutiqueavc.com/|title=Paul's Boutique—A Visual Companion|website=paulsboutiqueavc.com|access-date=July 13, 2018|archive-date=August 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814200443/http://www.paulsboutiqueavc.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the years, countless actors and performers have regularly impersonated or portrayed Lewis in various tribute shows, most notably Nicholas Arnold, Tony Lewis, David Wolf, and Matt Macis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribute to Jerry Lewis comes to the Grand |url=https://kingstonthisweek.com/2013/06/10/tribute-to-jerry-lewis-comes-to-the-grand |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=kingstonthisweek |language=en-CA |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520045906/https://www.kingstonthisweek.com/2013/06/10/tribute-to-jerry-lewis-comes-to-the-grand |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Martin and Lewis Tribute Show |url=http://martinandlewistribute.com/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=martinandlewistribute.com |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530152929/http://martinandlewistribute.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=David Wolf |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4535344/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=IMDb |language=en-US |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530152925/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4535344/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-03-15 |title=Eric Richardson and Matt Macis: The Crooner and the Comic |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/eric-richardson-and-matt-macis-the-crooner-and-the-comic |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Time Out New York |language=en-US |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530152926/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/eric-richardson-and-matt-macis-the-crooner-and-the-comic |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Bibliography==
[[File:Oliver Mark - Jerry Lewis, Berlin 2006.jpg|thumb|Lewis photographed by [[Oliver Mark]] in the library of the [[American Academy in Berlin]] (2006)]]
* {{cite book |title=Instruction Book For ..."Being a Person" or (Just Feeling Better) |first=Jerry |last=Lewis |publisher=Self-published |year=1962 |isbn=978-0-937-539743}} (ISBN is for the 2004 Mass Market Edition)
* {{cite book |title=The Total Film-Maker |first=Jerry |last=Lewis |location=New York City |publisher=[[Random House]] |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-394-46757-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/totalfilmmaker00lewi }}
* {{cite book |title=Jerry Lewis: In Person |first1=Jerry |last1=Lewis |first2=Herb |last2=Gluck |location=New York |publisher=[[Atheneum Books|Atheneum]] |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-689-11290-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/jerrylewisinpers00lewi }}
* {{cite book |title=Dean & Me (A Love Story) |first1=Jerry |last1=Lewis |first2=James |last2=Kaplan |author-link2=James Kaplan |location=New York |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7679-2086-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/deanmealovestory00lewi_0 }}

==Biography==
* Levy, Shawn (1997). [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250122605/kingofcomedy King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530153604/https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250122605/kingofcomedy |date=May 30, 2023 }} New York: [[St. Martin's Press]]. ISBN 9781250122605

==Documentaries==
* [[Annett Wolf]] (Director) (1972) ''The World of Jerry Lewis'' (unreleased)
* [[Robert Benayoun]] (Director) (1982) ''Bonjour Monsieur Lewis'' (Hello Mr. Lewis)
* [[Burt Kearns]] (Director) (1989) ''Telethon'' (Released in US, 2014)
* Carole Langer (Director) (1996) ''Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown''
* Eckhart Schmidt (Director) (2006) ''König der Komödianten'' (King of Comedy)*
* Gregg Barson (Director) (2011). ''[[Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis]]''
* {{cite AV media |people=[[Gregory Monro]] (Director) |year=2016 |title=Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown |medium=Motion picture}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Comedy Is A Man In Trouble|first=Alan|last=Dale|year=2000|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|isbn=978-0-8166-3657-0|url=https://archive.org/details/comedyismanintro00alan}}
* {{cite book|title=Jerry Lewis (Contemporary Film Directors)|first=Chris|last=Fujiwara|year=2010 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|isbn=9780252076794|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/jerrylewis0000fuji}}
* {{cite book |title=That Kid: The Story of Jerry Lewis |first=Richard |last=Gehman |author-link=Richard Gehman |location=New York |publisher=[[Avon (publisher)|Avon Books]] |year=1964 |asin=B0006BLNAO}}
* {{cite book|title=Why The French Love Jerry Lewis, From Cabaret to Early Cinema|first=Rae Beth |last=Gordon|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|year=2002|isbn=9780804738941}}
* {{cite book| title=Side by Side:Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis on TV and Radio|first=Michael J. |last=Hayde|publisher=BearManor Media|year=2018|isbn=9781629333526}}
* {{cite book|chapter=Jerry Lewis:deformation of the comic|title=The Film Comedy Reader|first1=Frank |last1=Krutnik|editor-first=G.|editor-last=Rickman|location=New York|publisher=Limelight Editions |year=2001 |isbn=9780879102951|url=https://archive.org/details/filmcomedyreader0000unse |url-access=registration}} Also, Film Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Autumn, 1994), pp.&nbsp;12–26 University of California Press
* {{cite book |title=Inventing Jerry Lewis|first=Frank|last=Krutnik|location=Washington |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|year=2000|isbn=9781560983668}}
* {{cite magazine|title=The Handsome Man and His Monkey|first=Frank|last=Krutnik|magazine=Journal of Popular Film & Television|date=Spring 1995 |volume=23 |issue=1}}
* {{cite book |title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis |first=Shawn Anthony |last=Levy |author-link=Shawn Levy (writer) |location=New York |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-312-13248-4}}
* {{cite book |title=Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself): The Story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis |first=Arthur |last=Marx |author-link=Arthur Marx |location=New York |publisher=[[Hawthorne Books]] |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-8015-2430-1}}
* {{cite book |title=The Jerry Lewis Films:An Analytical Filmography of the Innovative Comic |first1=James L. |last1=Neibaur |first2=Ted |last2=Okuda |author-link2=Ted Okuda |location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina|Jefferson, NC]] |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-89950-961-7}}
* {{cite book|title=Enfant Terrible: Jerry Lewis in American Film|editor-first=Murray|editor-last=Pomerance |date=2002|location=NY|publisher=[[New York University Press]]|isbn=9780814767061}}
* {{cite news|title=Comic Theory from a Feminist Perspective: A Look at Jerry Lewis|first=Joanna E|last=Rapf|date=1993|work=Journal of Popular Culture}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Nick Tosches |last=Tosches |first=Nick |title=[[Dino (biography)|Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams]] |publisher=Delta Trade Paperbacks |location=New York |year=1992 |edition=1st |isbn=0-385-33429-X }}
* Lamarca, Manuel (2017). ''Jerry Lewis. El día en el que el cómico filmó''. Barcelona, Spain. Ediciones Carena.{{ISBN|978-8416843749}}

==Film criticism links==
* [http://brightlightsfilm.com/search/jerry+lewis/ Bright Lights Film Online Journal]
* [https://filmschoolrejects.com/search/jerry+lewis/ Film School Rejects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802021445/https://filmschoolrejects.com/search/jerry+lewis/ |date=August 2, 2020 }}
* [http://www.lafuriaumana.it/index.php/archives/31-lfu-12/ la furia umana (Multilingual Film Quarterly)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224053031/http://www.lafuriaumana.it/index.php/archives/31-lfu-12/ |date=February 24, 2018 }}
* [https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/a-mubi-jerrython.html ‘jerrython’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209063928/https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/a-mubi-jerrython.html |date=February 9, 2018 }} at [[MUBI]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180224112901/http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/the-king-of-comedy-20081117/ Museum of the Moving Image]
* [https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/an-american-original-the-rogerebertcom-staff-remembers-jerry-lewis An American Original: The RogerEbert.com Staff Remembers Jerry Lewis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211072201/https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/an-american-original-the-rogerebertcom-staff-remembers-jerry-lewis |date=February 11, 2018 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180212004936/http://sensesofcinema.com/search/jerry+lewis/ Senses of Cinema]

==External links==
{{Archival records|title=Jerry Lewis collection, 1946–2015|location= [[Music Division, Library of Congress]]|description_URL=https://lccn.loc.gov/2016570626}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons}}
* {{AFI person | 81916-Jerry-Lewis }}
* {{IMDb name|1471}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{EmmyTVLegends name|jerry-lewis}}
* [https://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory/Interviews/Jerry-Lewis.aspx?Filter=Full+Interview.html Jerry Lewis Interview video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208125056/https://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory/Interviews/Jerry-Lewis.aspx?Filter=Full+Interview.html |date=February 8, 2018 }} at [[Directors Guild of America]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180224053047/http://www.movingimagesource.us/dialogues/view/316/Jerry Lewis interview video] with [[Peter Bogdanovich]] [[Museum of the Moving Image]] Pinewood Dialogues
* [http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/wtf-uncovered-3-jerry-lewis Jerry Lewis Interview Podcast WTF with Marc Maron] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212201721/http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/wtf-uncovered-3-jerry-lewis |date=February 12, 2018 }}
* [http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/buddyrich55jerrylewis.html Drum Solo Battle (1955)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005183635/http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/buddyrich55jerrylewis.html |date=October 5, 2020 }} with [[Buddy Rich]] at [http://www.drummerworld.com/DrummerWorld]

{{Jerry Lewis}}
{{Navboxes
| title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Jerry Lewis|Awards for Jerry Lewis]]
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{{EmmyAward GovernorsAward}}
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