Jerry Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were professionals in the entertainment world.
When he was only five years old Jerry made his debut in New York's Borscht Circuit singing "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" By the time he was fifteen, he had perfected a comedic routine, miming and silently mouthing lyrics of operatic and popular songs to a phonograph located off-stage. This was his "Record Act".
He was eventually able to get booked at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but this hardly proved to be his big break. Veteran burlesque comedian Max Coleman convinced Jerry not to give up. And indeed, when he tried out his mime act at Brown's Hotle in Loch Sheldrake, NY, the audience liked it so much that Irving Kaye, a Borscht Circuit comedian, helped the youth get further bookings. Kaye remains very close to Jerry to this day.
On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis had worked with Martin before at the Glass Hat in New York, and suggested him as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, throwing things, and generally acting zany. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00.
When producer Hal Wallis watched the two perform at the Copacabana in New York City, he offered them a contract with Paramount Pictures. Their first film was My Friend Irma.
In the nest 10 years, Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and TV bookings. Their last film together was Hollywood or Bust in 1956. On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.
During the 1950's and 60's Jerry played first base with numerous professional baseball teams and trained every year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gil Hodges became one of his very close friends.
In 1965 Jerry moved to Columbia Pictures where he produced, directed and starred several films.
In 1967, Lewis became a professor at the University of Southern California, where he taught graduate students a course in film direction.
Jerry has won the Best Director of the Year award eight times in Europe since 1960; three in France, and one each in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
Over the years Jerry Lewis scored triumphs in stage appearances in Europe, where he has been hailed as one of the greatest comedians of the 20th Century.
In 1977, his efforts toward the cause of muscular dystophy were recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. He won several honors in the following years, such as the Murray-Green award for community service, and the NATPE Award of the Year for humanitarian efforts to combat neuromuscular disease through his annual Labor Day Telethon.
Meanwile, with the help of Herb Gluck, Lewis also found time to pen his autoiography, Jerry Lewis, In Person.
In January of 1991, Jerry was presented with the Comic Life Achievement Award (the "ACE" award).
In February of 1995, Jerry set foot on stage for his first performance as the star of Damn Yankees at the Marquis Theater on Broadway.
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The popularity of Lewis' films continued to grow. He also recorded several records, and began to write, direct and produce. In 1959 Paramount Pictures and Jerry Lewis Products signed a contract specifying payment of ten million dollars plus sixty percent of the profits of 14 films over a seven year period.
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