Likes this potent prose was shared on November 1, 2005 followin' Mr. Lewis' appearance at Boston University's School of Management auditorium who was at the time promotin' his new Dino-tome, "DEAN & ME (A Love Story). Miss Berlo shares with us the coolest of cool comments that Mr. Lewis shared with the audience that evening when he was interviewed by Miss Robin Young, host of WBUR's Here and Now.
Of course, we are most deeply drawn to the primo portion of the incredible interview that focuses on Mr. Lewis' remarkable relationship with our Dino. We gotta 'fess up that we are most majestically moved with Lewis speakin' of on meetin' our Dino for the first time sayin'....“I just remember thinking, God, I wish he was my friend.” Likes what dino-phile 'mong us wouldn't desperately desire the same thin'?!?!?!?! We ubber understand why and awesomely appreciate Lewis bein' so completely candid when he spoke of his deepest of deep devotion to our Dino speakin of havin' "a man-crush" on our Dino and then "referring to Martin as the most handsome man he ever knew."
Likes how remarkably refreshin' to had been lovin'ly led to this intriguin' interview after all these years and hear Mr. Jerry Lewis' perfect passion for his beloved Dino. The Martin & Lewis partnership ended after the decade of superior success, but it is clear that Mr. Lewis' lastin' love for our Dino never ever ended. We thanks the folks at BU Today and in particular Miss Beth Berlo for originally scribin' these wonderful words...and that they still remain up at the site after all these years.
To checks this out in it's original source, likes simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-gram.
We Remain,
Yours in Dino,
Dino Martin Peters
BU Today
Jerry Lewis talks about his career and friendship with Dean Martin
Interview at BU promotes his newly-released memoir
11.01.2005
By Beth Berlo
Fans ranging in age from 15 to 85 filled the School of Management auditorium Friday night for a rare opportunity to see and hear legendary comedian Jerry Lewis, who was in town promoting his newly-released memoir, Dean and Me: A Love Story.
Lewis appeared for an on-stage interview with Robin Young, host of WBUR’s Here and Now. At 77 pounds lighter, the man who has brought laughter to audiences for decades said he feels terrific.
Lewis has battled a host of health problems over the years and had gained considerable weight as a result of a drug he took for a lung ailment. The slapstick comic of “Hey Laaa-dy” fame will turn 80 in March. He took questions from the audience seriously, but kept them laughing as he playfully bantered with Young between answers. He even appeared sentimental at times, speaking openly about the importance of love and about his “inner nine-year-old.”
Lewis called Boston “a special place,” because it is where he first saw his name lit up on a marquee. The sign at Steuben’s Vienna Room read Jerry Lewis — Good Steaks, he said, laughing. What was supposed to be a 2-week stay stretched to 47. “I practically lived on Boylston Street,” he said.
Lewis talked candidly about his relationship with pal and longtime sidekick Dean Martin — a man-crush, he called it, referring to Martin as the most handsome man he ever knew. He recalled the first time they met, on the corner of Broadway and 54th Street in New York City, in 1946: Martin, hair slicked and wearing a camel-hair coat, appeared tan, and, Lewis said, “I just remember thinking, God, I wish he was my friend.”
Dean, the Italian crooner, and Lewis, often referred to as “the monkey,” began their smash partnership at Atlantic City’s 500 Club. Young recalled the reaction to the show: “They didn’t get laughs. It was pandemonium. They were knocking over tables.”
The two went on to collaborate on what many say was the best vaudeville act of all time and to make 16 films. But on July 25, 1956, 10 years to the day after they met, their professional relationship and their friendship ended, after a final gig at Manhattan’s famed Copacabana. Martin increasingly was being pushed into the background, while Lewis stole the spotlight. Tired of playing second fiddle, Martin went his own way, and the two did not speak for 20 years.
When they were reunited onstage by their friend Frank Sinatra during Lewis’ annual Labor Day muscular dystrophy telethon, Lewis remembered panicking, pleading to God for something clever to say. “So, you working?” Lewis asked. The audience loved it, but even after that, Lewis said, the two did not talk. It was the death of Martin’s son, Dino, that connected them again. Lewis said that Dean phoned to tell him that in his life there had been two men he had loved, one his son and the other Lewis.
Despite Martin’s reputation throughout his career for drinking heavily, Lewis insisted that it was always apple juice in the glass at the piano. It wasn’t until Dino died that “Dean let himself go,” he said, and became reclusive and alcoholic.
Martin died on Christmas Day 1995. Lewis said he “took on the press” for often slighting Martin while lauding Lewis throughout their partnership. “I told them who he was,” he said. “I told them if he wasn’t there, I would have been a record act and nothing else.”
Asked what Martin would have thought of the book, Lewis said, “He would have loved it. I gave him every bit of credit he deserved.”
You can call it a man crush. I prefer a perpetual gravitational pull to COOLNESS, baby.
ReplyDeleteHey pallie, likes Eddie-o, youse always knows how to speaks the Dino-truth in the coolest Dino-way possible! Keeps lovin' our King of Cool...our one, our only DINO!
ReplyDeleteYea! Ed! Youse nailed it, bro! It truly is like a gravitational pull! Who wouldn’t wanna be around our pal, Dean?! His charm, charisma & all ‘round coolness Must’ve just sucked you in! Cool read.
ReplyDeleteI've read Jerry Lewis's book several times. Yeah, he really loved Dino. His idol!
ReplyDeleteHey pallie, likes Miss AOW, as we have stated a number of times here at ilovedinomartin, it was in the consumin' of Mr. Lewis' book that we completely changed our opinion of him as we grew to beautifully believe that he passionately, powerfully, and purely loved our most beloved DINO! Keeps lovin' our one, our only DINO!
ReplyDelete