Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NUTTY PROF JERRY LEWIS DIES AGED 91
HOLLYWOOD comedy king Jerry Lewis whose slapstick humour with Dean Martin captivated millions, has died at the age of 91.
He had a long history of health issues and had been in hospital since June.
Lewis, at the peak of his fame in the 1950s and 1960s, was hugely popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
He broke with the Rat Pack star but then became the highest paid Hollywood actor.
Solo hits included The Bell Boy in 1960 and Cinderfella and The Nutty Professor, with Stella Stevens, in 1963.
Star Trek legend William Shatner tweeted: “Condolences to the family of Jerry Lewis. World is a lot less funnier today.”
Born in New Jersey, Lewis was brought up in showbiz. But it was small time vaudeville, his father Danny Levitch was a song-and-dance man and his mother Rae was a pianist.
And they were frequently on the road leaving the young Joey, as he was called, in the care of his gran and her sisters. It gave him an in-built insecurity and a need for affection that he turned to comedy gold.
Performing from the age of five, he would often go on stage alongside his parents in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. By the age of 15, he had developed his “Record Act”, exaggeratedly miming the lyrics to songs on a phonograph.
He used the name Joey Lewis but soon changed it to Jerry Lewis – in part to avoid confusion with heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis.
The youngster lived his “character” off stage and on, pulling pranks in his neighbourhood, including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies.
Dropping out of High School, he was rejected for military service in the Second World War due to a heart murmur. He went on to perform in nightclubs and found himself on the same bill as the young Dean Martin, who was everything he was not. Suave and self-assured.
The pair teamed up and became a legendary double act.
They appeared together in 16 films and achieve huge box office success.
At the peak of their popularity, Martin and Lewis ruled nightclubs, radio and then the box office with their breezy yet physical comedy act, reigning as the top draw at theatres from 1950-56.
After a particularly acrimonious break-up with Martin, Lewis remained Hollywood’s biggest draw through the mid-1960s.
As Paramount studio’s biggest star, he was given the creative freedom to make the movies he wanted to make.
He also didn’t hesitate to share his right-wing political views.
Later on Lewis appeared in a few films such as Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy,” but he was largely off-screen from the late 60s on and was more active with his huge fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy telethon. He helped to raise an astonishing £1.91 billion.
Lewis married his first wife Patti Palmer in 1944 and the couple had six children before divorcing in 1980.
Three years later, he married Sandee Pitnick and together the couple adopted daughter Danielle. One of his sons, Joseph, died of an overdose in 2009.
Another of his sons is singer and musician Gary Lewis. Lewis died at home in Las Vegas, yesterday morning.
He was taken to hospital In June, with a urinary tract infection, the latest chapter in a history of health problems.
Lewis suffered ever since 1983 when he underwent open-heart surgery before having an operation for prostate cancer in 1992.He had lived on medication since suffering a heart attack in 2006.