1. Jerry Lewis's fame rose to prominence together with singer Dean Martin, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946 and for ten years, the two did a series of sixteen buddy-comedy films, along with their televised run on The Colgate Comedy Hour, live stage performances, guest spots on other shows and a radio series.
For television, he hosted The Jerry Lewis Show and did guest shots on other TV programs.
Jerry Lewis starred in six more comedic features from 1981 to 1984, including Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy, in which he played the role of a talk show host, earning a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Jerry Lewis had a lasting friendship and bond with Sammy Davis Jr.
Jerry Lewis performed in concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings and appeared in at least 117 film and television productions.
Jerry Lewis was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and France awarded him the Legion of Honor in 2006.
Jerry Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16,1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family.
Jerry Lewis's parents were Daniel "Danny" Levitch, 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, a WOR radio pianist and Danny's music director, from Warsaw.
Reports about the hospital where he was born conflict as well; biographer Shawn Levy claims Jerry Lewis was born at Clinton Private Hospital and others report it as Newark Beth Israel Hospital.
Jerry Lewis was expelled from Weequahic High School in the ninth grade and dropped out of Irvington High School in the tenth grade.
Jerry Lewis landed a gig at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but his performance fell flat and he was unable to book any more shows.
In 1945, Jerry Lewis was 19 when he met 27-year-old singer Dean Martin 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 Jerry Lewis on July 25,1946.
Jerry Lewis had not sung alone on stage since he was five years old, twenty-five years before.
Jerry Lewis delivered jokes and clowned with the audience while Garland sat off-stage, watching.
In late 1956, Jerry Lewis began performing regularly at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which marked a turning point in his life and career.
In February 1957, Jerry Lewis followed Garland at the Palace Theater in New York and Martin called on the phone during this period to wish him the best of luck.
In January 1957, Jerry Lewis did a number of solo specials for NBC and starred in his adaptation of "The Jazz Singer" for Startime, then hosted the Academy Awards three times, in 1956,1957 and 1959.
Jerry Lewis remained at Paramount and started off with his first solo film The Delicate Delinquent then starred in The Sad Sack.
Jerry Lewis then appeared in Don't Give Up The Ship and cameoed in Li'l Abner.
Jerry Lewis ended his association with Hal Wallis, their last joint venture being Visit to a Small Planet.
Paramount, needing a quickie movie for its summer 1960 schedule, insisted that Jerry Lewis must produce one.
Jerry Lewis produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in The Bellboy.
Jerry Lewis, always laughed at, fails to win the viewer's heart.
Jerry Lewis later revealed that Paramount was not happy about financing a "silent movie" and withdrew backing.
Jerry Lewis used his own funds to cover the movie's $950,000 budget.
Jerry Lewis continued to direct more films that he co-wrote with Bill Richmond, including The Ladies Man, where Jerry 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.
NBC released him from a long-term contract in 1960; the official reason given was that Jerry Lewis was devoting more time to his motion pictures.
Jerry Lewis appeared in The Wacky World of Jerry Lewis, Celebrity Golf, The Garry Moore Show, The Soupy Sales Show, It's Only Money 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.
Jerry Lewis then directed, co-wrote and starred in The Nutty Professor.
Jerry Lewis next starred in The Patsy, his satire about the Hollywood star-making industry and The Disorderly Orderly, the only film executive produced by Jerry Lewis and his final collaboration with Tashlin.
In 1965, Jerry Lewis went on The David Susskind Show, starred in his final Paramount-released film Boeing Boeing, in which he received a Golden Globe nomination, then guest appeared on Ben Casey, The Andy Williams Show and Hullabaloo with son Gary Jerry Lewis.
Jerry 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.
Undaunted, Jerry Lewis signed with Columbia Pictures, where he tried to reinvent himself with more serious roles and starred in a string of new box-office successes: Three on a Couch, during this period, he appeared in Way.
Jerry Lewis continued to make television appearances: The Merv Griffin Show, The Sammy Davis Jr.
Behind the scenes, he contributed to some scripts for Filmation's animated series Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down, directed an episode of The Bold Ones and directed the Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Jerry Lewis would leave Columbia after his agreement with the studio lapsed, leaving him to produce his next movie independently.
The Day the Clown Cried, a drama directed by and starring Jerry Lewis and set in a Nazi concentration camp, received only brief exposure.
Jerry Lewis said a factor for the film's burial was that he was not proud of the effort.
Jerry Lewis was stunned by the surprise, but he embraced Martin and they exchanged jokes for several minutes.
Later, he hosted a third and final version of The Jerry Lewis Show, this time as a syndicated talk show for Metromedia, which was not continued beyond the scheduled five shows, directed an episode of Brothers, appeared at the first Comic Relief in 1986, where he was the only performer to receive a standing ovation, appeared for Classic Treasures, Fight for Life, did a second double act with Davis Jr.
Jerry Lewis did the long-awaited sequel The Nutty Professor II, then went on The Talk and finally, Max Rose, an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Trust and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
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.
Jerry Lewis was known especially for his distinctive voice, facial expressions, pratfalls, and physical stunts.
Jerry 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.
Man in Motion, a featurette for Three on a Couch, features the video system, named "Jerry's Noisy Toy" and shows Lewis receiving the Golden Light Technical Achievement award for its development.
Jerry Lewis stated he worked with the head of Sony to produce the prototype.
Jerry Lewis traveled to medical schools for seminars on laughter and healing with Clifford Kuhn and did corporate and college lectures, motivational speaking and promoted the pain-treatment company Medtronic.
Jerry Lewis earned consistent praise from French critics in the influential magazines Cahiers du Cinema and Positif, where he was hailed as an ingenious auteur.
Jerry 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.
Jerry Lewis was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Comedian or Comedienne in 1952 and the Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film for his performance in Boeing, Boeing.
Jerry Lewis was nominated for ten Golden Laurel Awards winning twice.
Jerry Lewis received a nomination for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor for his performance in Slapstick of Another Kind, as well as two Stinker Award nominations for Worst Director and Worst Actor for Hardly Working.
Jerry Lewis fought Rocky Marciano in a boxing bout for MDA's fund drive in 1954.
Jerry 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.
In early 2016, at MDA's brand relaunch event at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Jerry Lewis broke a five-year silence during a special taped message, marking his first appearance in support of MDA since his final telethon in 2010 and the end of his tenure as national chairman in 2011.
Jerry Lewis wed Patti Palmer, a singer with Ted Fio Rito, on October 3,1944.
DNA testing indicated an 88.7 percent probability that Suzan is related to Jerry Lewis' acknowledged son Gary.
Jerry 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 in 2011.
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.
Jerry Lewis vowed to leave the country rather than send another of his sons.
Jerry Lewis observed that political speeches should not be at the Oscars.
Jerry Lewis suffered from a number of chronic health problems, illnesses and addictions related both to aging and a back injury sustained in a comedic pratfall.
Jerry Lewis said he had been off the drug since 1978.
En route to San Diego from New York City on a cross-country commercial airline flight on June 11,2006, Jerry Lewis suffered his third heart attack at age 80.
Jerry Lewis underwent a cardiac catheterization days after the heart attack, and two stents were inserted into one of his coronary arteries, which was 90 percent blocked.
However, Jerry Lewis maintained that the payment confusion was the fault of his health insurer.
In September 2001, Jerry Lewis was unable to perform at a planned London charity event at the London Palladium.
Jerry Lewis was the headlining act, and was introduced, but did not appear onstage.
Jerry Lewis had suddenly become unwell, apparently with cardiac problems.
Some months thereafter, Jerry Lewis began an arduous, months-long therapy that weaned him off prednisone, and he lost much of the weight gained while on the drug.
In June 2017, Jerry Lewis was hospitalized at a Las Vegas hospital for a urinary tract infection.
Jerry Lewis died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 20,2017, at the age of 91.
Jerry Lewis used the same word the following year on Australian television.
Jerry Lewis knew how to frame and present his own adrenaline-fuelled, instinctive physical comedy for the camera.
Jerry Lewis was at the forefront in the transition to independent filmmaking, which came to be known as New Hollywood in the late 1960s.
Yet Jerry Lewis regularly led, often flouting the power structure to do so.
Jerry Lewis is the only one today who's making courageous films.
Intensely personal and original, Jerry Lewis's films were groundbreaking in their use of dark humor for psychological exploration.
Jerry Lewis was an early master of deconstruction to enhance comedy.
Jerry Lewis wrote in The Total Filmmaker, his belief in breaking the fourth wall, actors looking directly into the camera, despite industry norms.
Jerry Lewis embodied the term "funny bones": a way of differentiating between comedians who tell funny and those who are funny.
Piscopo channeled Jerry Lewis while performing as a 20th-century stand-up comedian in Star Trek: The Next Generation; in the second-season episode "The Outrageous Okona", Piscopo's Holodeck character, The Comic, tutors android Lieutenant Commander Data on humor and comedy.
When that failed, Jerry Lewis tried to blackball Petrillo by pressuring television outlets and then nightclubs, threatening legal action after Petrillo used his Jerry Lewis impersonation in the film Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla.