| # | Fact |
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| 1 | Had Ralph Helfer, the owner and trainer of Zamba the African Lion, thrown off the set of The Ladies Man (1961) and barred from working at the studio for six months because he got up into his face and yelled at him because he found out that Jerry had a gun. |
| 2 | Jerry was so scared of working with Zamba, the African lion, that he had gun in his pocket for protection when they were in the movie The Ladies Man (1961). |
| 3 | After 21 years in semi-retirement (following the release of Funny Bones (1995)), he made his big screen return with two 2016 theatrical releases: The Trust (2016) and Max Rose (2013). |
| 4 | Suffered a heart attack while filming Cinderfella (1960). |
| 5 | Treated for pneumonia and a damaged heart in 2006. |
| 6 | During the late 1950s Jerry Lewis' stint on his NBC Burbank color television network series, his studio 2 dressing room was located in the lower basement level of the stage 2 facility. Incidental, this stage originally had been built for the MGM swimming film star Esther Williams; the stage was built with a swimming pool (pit with camera ports). NBC's Studio 2 was adjacent to Studio 4 with both studios sharing a common central corridor. Studio 2 and Studio 4 television show's guest performer's dressing rooms were located on each side of the studio's common center corridor. The each studio's much larger "star dressing rooms" were located in the basement of each stage. During a break between the rehearsal and taping of Jerry Lewis' comedy television series, Jerry Lewis (age 32) decided to practice his golf swing in his dressing room. Driving the golf balls into the wall-board soundproof walls, the golf ball divot indentations made Jerry's dressing room walls look like Al Capone had cut loose with a Thompson sub-machine gun. Upon completion of the show, the next day, NBC facilities had to replace the dressing room walls and redecorate Jerry Lewis' star dressing room. NBC's generous price paid for a network's featured star's boredom and for a pricey spoiled entertainer. |
| 7 | Interviewed in "The Great Comedians Talk About Comedy" by Larry Wilde. [1968] |
| 8 | The LA Times revealed on Aug. 5th 2015 that the Library Of Congress received a collection of Jerry Lewis work from himself, including The Day the Clown Cried (1972). Lewis made the Library agree not to screen the movie for ten years. If this is true, the film will be available again in 2025. |
| 9 | (5/13) Cannes, France: The annual Film Festival is officially paying an 'homge' tribute to Lewis and his life's work with a screening of his latest film Max Rose (2013). |
| 10 | Released his memoir, "Dean and Me: A Love Story", about his friendship with Dean Martin. [2006] |
| 11 | Hosted the annual Muscular Dystrophy marathon, but shocked audiences with his bloated and infirm appearance, due to treatment for a pulmonary illness. [2002] |
| 12 | Is a registered Republican. |
| 13 | While filming Cinderfella (1960), he suffered a mild heart attack immediately after running up the stairs and was in an oxygen tent at Mount Sinai hospital 30 minutes later. He ran up 66 steps in 8 seconds. |
| 14 | Was good friends with US President John F. Kennedy. |
| 15 | An acclaimed chronicle of the Martin and Lewis partnership, "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself): The Story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis" by Arthur Marx was published by Hawthorne in 1974. |
| 16 | Twice voted Best Foreign Director by the French film critics. |
| 17 | His classic character "Julius Kelp" from The Nutty Professor (1963) was cleverly parodied by Joe Piscopo in 1984, on Joe's self-titled HBO TV Special. |
| 18 | He once played first base in an exhibition game for 5 innings for the Houston Astros . |
| 19 | In 1956, in an attempt to dispel rumors of their impending breakup, Dean Martin and Jerry performed "Side by Side" (We Ain't Got A Barrel of Money) on one of the last of their many appearances on their variety show, NBC-TVs The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950). |
| 20 | As a young Catskill comic recorded "I Love A Murder Mystery", a speaking novelty record, in the early 1940s. |
| 21 | Lewis always wore tiny lady's sized wristwatches, usually made by Cartier. They are easy to spot in all of his films. |
| 22 | Patti Lewis (aka Patti Palmer) was his first wife's stage name. Her birth name was Esther Calonico. When Jerry Lewis first met her in Detroit in August 1944, she was a singer with Ted Fio Rito and his Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, she joined Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra. |
| 23 | Has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star for movies is at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. His star for television is at 6150 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 24 | Was one of the co-hosts of what may have been the only Academy Awards ceremony that actually ended earlier than expected, by almost twenty minutes - The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959). He and several other celebrities gallantly tried everything they could to improvise and fill the extra time. NBC mercifully cut the broadcast short to air a short film about target shooting until the next scheduled program began, which in most cases was the local news. |
| 25 | He was elected into the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to Arts and Entertainment and charity. |
| 26 | His idol is Al Jolson. |
| 27 | He was nominated in the inaugural 2007 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to entertainment and to charity. |
| 28 | Appointed Honorary Ambassador of Peace for the Harvey Ball Foundation along with Brooke Shields, Jackie Chan, A.V.T. Shankardass, Prince Albert of Monaco, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Phil Collins, Jimmy Buffett, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, Heather Mills, Yoko Ono, Patch Adams, Sergei Khrushchev and Winnie Mandela. |
| 29 | Suffered a mild heart attack on the flight home to San Diego on June 11, 2006. |
| 30 | Jerry suffered a minor heart attack on June 11, 2006 which caused him to postpone his comeback in Las Vegas |
| 31 | Lewis changes white sweatsocks several times a day, always putting on a brand-new pair, and he gives the used ones to charity. |
| 32 | For his 80th birthday in 2006, he was given a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor by France, given the honorary title of "Legion Commander." He apologized for not speaking French at the ceremony but said that "even if the French people cannot hear my language, they have always heard my heart." |
| 33 | He and Dean Martin recorded a radio spot endorsing a product,"Tuck Tape", an alternative brand of "Scotch Tape" and noticing the recording tape for the commercial was still rolling, decided to improvise additional radio spots, with Jerry slipping profanities into his dialog. The unedited master recording was surreptitiously taken from the studio and made into a "bootleg" record that sold briskly among collectors. |
| 34 | Is portrayed by Sean Hayes in Martin and Lewis (2002) |
| 35 | Collapsed at a London show in September 2002. |
| 36 | Society of Operating Cameramen, (SOC) Honorary Member(1981) Lewis was honored for his contribution and development the first "Video Assist" for the motion picture camera in 1966. This allowed him to view his performance while directing himself in his films. This is used extensively today in filmmaking, known as "Video Village." |
| 37 | Pronounced clinically dead from a massive heart attack in December 1982, after completing The King of Comedy (1982) with Robert De Niro. |
| 38 | Diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2001. |
| 39 | Was offered the role of Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by his friend Billy Wilder. He declined because he didn't want to dress in drag. The part, of course, eventually went to Jack Lemmon and he received an Oscar nomination for his performance. Lewis says that Lemmon would send him chocolates every year to thank him and he now regrets not taking the role. |
| 40 | Was close friends with comic Lenny Bruce. |
| 41 | Was best friends with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. They starred in Lewis' home movies after Curtis complained about the parts he was being offered by his studio. |
| 42 | Some have said that if Lewis hadn't pursued a career in show business, he would have been a professional baseball player for the Dodgers. He played with the team a few times at charity events and was apparently very good. |
| 43 | Says his favorite Martin & Lewis film is The Stooge (1951) because "...it came closest to capturing what Dean and I had as a team". |
| 44 | Norman Lear (creator of All in the Family (1971)) co-wrote many of Martin & Lewis' The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) shows. |
| 45 | Encouraged Christopher Walken to act. Walken met Lewis while he was on The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) and Lewis suggested to the young boy that he pursue a career in show business. |
| 46 | Contrary to belief, the 1976 MDA telethon was not the first reconciliation of the legendary comedy team. They appeared spontaneously on ABC's The Joey Bishop Show (1961) and then ran off through the audience. In 1960, four years after they split, they briefly reunited. Both were performing their own separate acts at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, a club they frequently played while they were together. Lewis caught Martin's closing act and Martin introduced his former partner to the audience, bringing him on stage. For about 15 minutes they joked a bit and sang a duet of "Come Back to Me". Unfortunately, the reunion was only a one-time thing. Later when Lewis was too exhausted to perform his act, Martin generously replaced him. |
| 47 | Claims to have never seen Hollywood or Bust (1956), the last film he made with his partner, Dean Martin, saying it's much too painful for him to watch. |
| 48 | Besides Dean Martin, Lewis says the closest friend he ever had was Sammy Davis Jr. Davis would call Lewis in tears at times because of the racial slurs people would say to him about his relationship with Swedish actress May Britt. |
| 49 | Although critics usually referred to him as "the little guy" throughout his career, Lewis was around the same height or slightly taller than Dean Martin (Dean was around 5'11'' and Jerry was 6'). To try to make himself look more diminutive next to his partner, Lewis frequently hunched and also shaved a few inches off the heels of his shoes and added them to Martin's. |
| 50 | On March 20, 1965, suffered a serious back injury while performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, resulting in chronic pain. He became addicted to the prescription painkiller Percodan, but says he has been off the medication since 1978. He now uses an implant device that dulls nerve impulses and can be controlled by a hand-held remote control. |
| 51 | His recording "Jerry Lewis Just Sings" (American Decca: 1956) was a best-seller, securing a place in the Top 20 on the Billboard Album Charts, launching a Top 10 single and a recording career. Biographer Arthur Marx once likened his singing to "the croaking of a parched parrot"; however, it is believed that this referred only to the singing voice of his many comic characters. |
| 52 | Came upon his long-time theme song, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody)," by accident. In 1956 he had to cover for an indisposed Judy Garland at a performance in Las Vegas, which included singing several of her songs. His performance of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby," using Garland's arrangement, went over so well with the audience that Lewis has used it as his theme song ever since.He had a #10 hit recording with the song in 1957 and launched a recording career. |
| 53 | Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 586-593. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988. |
| 54 | Was voted the 50th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Although he is at the bottom of this list, perhaps a bit shockingly, Charles Chaplin didn't even make the list. |
| 55 | Sammy Davis Jr. called him the "greatest white faker" as a dancer. |
| 56 | His film class students included Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. |
| 57 | Was teamed up with Dean Martin from 1946-1956. |
| 58 | Wrote, produced, and acted in the film The Day the Clown Cried (1972) which, because of legal difficulties, has not been released as of this date (March 2009). The film is a tale of a clown in Auschwitz during WWII. |
| 59 | 13 October 2003 - Entered a Las Vegas hospital to kick steroids used in the treatment of his pulmonary fibrosis. |
| 60 | Starred with Dean Martin on NBC Radio's "The Martin and Lewis Show" (1949-1953). They first appeared together in the films My Friend Irma (1949) and My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). The Martin & Lewis comedy team were one of a series of rotating hosts of TV's The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950). |
| 61 | The character Prof. John Frink in The Simpsons (1989) is based on his role of Prof. Kelp in The Nutty Professor (1963). He also did the voice of Prof. John Frink Sr. in "he Simpsons" episode "Treehouse of Horror XIV", segment "Finkenstein". Also, some of Krusty the Clown's off-stage antics are based on him. |
| 62 | In 1969 Lewis announced an ambitious project of franchising a chain of Jerry Lewis Cinemas. A firm believer in family entertainment, he said that the one inviolate rule of the chain would be that nothing other than family-oriented films would be shown. The theaters were to be state-of-the-art, easy to operate and franchised to individuals who could meet the chain's investment requirements. However, a combination of changing tastes in popular entertainment and management problems caused the project to collapse within just a few years. Several lawsuits between Lewis and his associates were settled out of court. |
| 63 | Children with Patti Lewis: Gary Lewis (b. 1945), Ronald (b. 1949), Scott (b. 1956), Christopher (b. 1957), Anthony (b. 1959)and Joseph (b. 1964). With SanDee Pitrick a daughter Danielle (b. 1992). |
| 64 | Suffers from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis. |
| 65 | He was a big fan of 'The Catcher in the Rye' and strongly identified with the main character Holden Caulfield. He planned to direct a movie version but failed to acquire the rights from the book's famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger. |
| 66 | In Italy, Lewis has been given the nickname 'Picchiatello' (which means something like "nut" or "crazy"). At least three of his movies use the word in their Italian title: You're Never Too Young (1955) which became "Il Nipote Picchiatello" ("The Crazy Nephew"), Hardly Working (1980) ("Bentornato Picchiatello", or "Welcome Back Crazy") and Cracking Up (1983)("Qua La Mano Picchiatello". pr "Shake My Hand, Crazy"). |
| 67 | Says there is no gap between comedy and tragedy. |
| 68 | Wrote 10 scripts in 10 years. |
| 69 | First filmmaker to develop and use video-assist device on location. |
| 70 | Nominated for Nobel Prize for his 50 years raising money to fight muscular dystrophy. |
| 71 | He and Dean Martin were the world's top box-office earners from 1950-1956. Lewis, on his own, also ruled as #1 movie draw in 1957, 1959, and 1961 to 1964! |
| 72 | Oldest son Gary Lewis and his soft-rock group Gary Lewis & The Playboys had several pop hits in the 1960s, including "This Diamond Ring". At the height of his recording career Gary and Jerry appeared together on NBC TV's Hullabaloo (1965). |
| 73 | Son of Danny Lewis. |
| 74 | In 1995, he became the highest paid performer in Broadway history for his role as the Devil in "Damn Yankees". |
| 75 | He taught a class in film at the University of California. |
| 76 | He was presented the French Legion of Honor in 1984 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977. |
| 77 | He is known as a clothes horse. He gives away suits rather than having them cleaned and refuses to wear a pair of socks more than once. |
| 78 | Jerry took his last name from his actor-father's stage name. |
| 79 | Underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 1992. |
| 80 | Had open heart surgery in 1983. |
| 81 | Born at 12:15 pm EST. |
| 82 | Claims he was thrown out of high school for punching out his principal who had offended him with an anti-Semitic remark, and then went directly into vaudeville. An episode of Seinfeld (1989) makes use of plot point based on Lewis' (alleged) real-life stratagem of secretly leaving an audiotape recorder running in a briefcase he intentionally leaves behind him in meetings to see what some people may be saying about him. |
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