Hey pallies, likes below is a repost of much that was first shared here on March 16, 2010 in honor of Mr. Jerry Lewis's birthday.
This salute to Mr. Jerry Lewis on his birthday first appeared on the pages of the web pad ABA DSS, but when I tried to click on the original link we created the page no longer exists. None-the-less we share it 'gain this day 'cause it is a lovin' tribute to a man who always has and always will love our most beloved Dino.
It was on this day in 1926 that as the prose below coolly states, that the "goofy partner of the suave, romantic Dean Martin" came into the world." Lewis when speakin' about his partner in performance was quoted as sayin', "Dino means more to me than a partner in a two-act. Outside of my wonderful wife, Dean is the person I’ve been closest to in my whole life. We’re so close that our minds think like one mind. There’s a very deep and profound love between Dean and me, and our act is good only because of this feeling of closeness."
We here at ilovedinomartin offer our heartiest of hearty belated best wishes to Mr. Jerry Lewis on the anniversary of his birth/ Thanks you for all the great entertainin' moments that you provided with our beloved Dino....and even more thanks for lovin' our great and man and not bein' ashamed to say so. Dino-lovin', DMP
Who could have known that Joseph Levitch, the baby boy born on this day in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, would someday wear the crown of the ‘King of Crazy’! Maybe his father had a clue when he introduced his five year old on stage at Brown’s Hotel in Loch Sheldrake, NY. Little Joey sang, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime. Today, that theatre bears the name of this actor, singer, dancer, musician, comedian, producer, professor, and humanitarian. Maybe you’ve been to the Jerry Lewis Theatre in the borscht belt in upstate New York. Certainly, you’ve seen Jerry Lewis perform.
Maybe your first experience was seeing him in his role as the goofy partner of the suave, romantic Dean Martin. From 1946, when the two performed together for the first time in Atlantic City’s 500 Club, till a decade later when the partners split; we were entertained with club appearances and no less than a dozen movies. The first, My Friend Irma, premiered at New York’s Paramount Theatre. The opening stage act starred Martin and Lewis in person.
Jerry Lewis’ mugging skills became the central force behind many of the movies the two made. Films like That’s My Boy and The Caddy catapulted him into stardom. From 1951 through 1959, Jerry’s name appeared in the top ten of box-office stars (6 years with his partner and 3 solo). In fact, in 1959, Paramount signed him to a fourteen-film contract for ten million dollars -- probably the most expensive contract signed with a performer at the time. He was back in the top ten from 1961 through 1964 and had received acclaim as Best Director for The Nutty Professor from the French.
Comedian, film star and director was never enough for the zany, talented Lewis. He had a top-ten hit in 1956, Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody; his own TV variety show from 1965 to 1974 and he continued to make movies, work the club circuit, and teach film at USC. His devotion to supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association is known world wide. There are few who have never seen the annual Labor Day Telethon for MDA hosted by the untiring Jerry Lewis. Undaunted by protesters he continues the quest to raise money to help those stricken with neuromuscular diseases.
And, undaunted by the fact that his talents have never been truly recognized by his fellow Americans, Jerry Lewis continues to entertain us. A cult hero to the French, he remains ‘Le Roi du Crazy’.
6 comments:
One secret to the success of the Martin and Lewis Team was the contrast between the two men. Our Dino was the coolest of the cool, Jerry the nerdiest of the nerdy.
Jerry Lewis came into his own as a serious actor quite late in life. I'm thinking of a particular episode of Law & Order: SVU. Richard Belzer, a regular on the show, is a good friend of Jerry Lewis's. I note that Jerry Lewis won a Satellite Award (best guest performance) for his performance in that particular episode. He has, of course, won many other awards.
I wish that our Dino had received more recognition via awards and nominations for awards. He did receive quite a few nominations and award wins, of course. But not enough! The man was a genius!
To his credit, Jerry Lewis often stated what a genius of a performer our Dino was.
Hey pallie, likes everythin' youse sez is so so perfectly Dino-truth...and thanks for the links as well. Keeps lovin' our most beloved Dino!
DMP,
You know how I love to do research. Especially when I'm researching anything related to our Dino.
I wish that I could find that short research paper that I did on our Dino back when I was in high school. If I recall correctly, the paper was about his facade of nonchalance, which masked how much he truly cared about performing well. He did thumb his nose at a lot of matters, but he was the epitome of a performer. No wonder that our Dino was the highest-paid entertainer in Hollywood back in the day.
Hey pallie, likes very very wise words Miss AOW. Perhaps when you retire from full time work, and if ilovedinomartin is still goin', you might consider bein' more of a regular contributor to our Dino-efforts. Regards to you and Mr. AOW.
DMP,
Sounds like a plan!
Hey pallie, likes great Miss AOW. It woulda be so cool to have a feminine perspective on the life, times, and teachin's of our Dino on a regular basis. Keeps lovin' our most beloved Dino!
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