Nice to meet you, Mr. Lewis
Our reporter remembers the irascible star, who told him ‘you have been boring’ before wheeling off
Jerry Lewis’ irrepressibly zany persona made him one of the most famous people on Earth.
But meeting Lewis, who died Sunday at 91, in person as a working journalist gave me a wildly different view of the legendary comedian. He did not suffer interviews gladly.
More specifically, he didn’t suffer entertainment journalists who expected more out of a sitdown than publicity for Lewis’ latest film.
I survived two memorable interviews when I went toe-tomouth with Jerry Lewis. His toe, maybe his whole foot, eventually figuratively stuck in my mouth.
Round 1 took place during Lewis’ 2013 Cannes Film Festival appearance for his return to film in Max Rose. While the film was derided by critics, there was tremendous excitement around Lewis’ appearance in France, where his comic genius has been long admired. He was a rock star.
Lewis, however, was quickly consumed by Cannes controversy when he dismissed female comedians doing “broad” comedy in a news conference.
“It bothers me,” Lewis told reporters. “I cannot sit and watch a lady diminish her qualities to the lowest common denominators. I just cannot do that.”
Lewis had made similar sexist statements before. But this controversy blew up big. He was distant and annoyed when I interviewed him the next day. When I circled to the point about women in comedy he had proud- ly made 24 hours earlier, Lewis shut the discussion down.
I figured, no harm, no foul. Bad timing.
It was a joy was to witness the fantastic image of Lewis speeding away on his souped-up electric cart at full throttle, barking at his entourage running behind him, as he sought safety from the crowds.
Round 2 came when Max Rose arrived in theaters in 2016. To my surprise, Lewis was up for another talk with me. But even as he was wheeled in late for the interview at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he signaled he wasn’t happy to be there.
He yawned in a not-subtle fashion 30 seconds in; 10 minutes in, he gave a not-subtle look at his watch. When I busted him on that, he didn’t so much apologize as testily explain: “I’ve got 400 places to go in the next two days. I’ve got to be on time. I have to make each meeting that I’ve been confirmed. And you just have to keep going.”
Knowing the interview was go- ing nowhere, I asked why he kept doing interviews only to tussle with journalists. If it was a straightforward question, he’d roll his eyes as if he’d heard it before and had answered it. Tougher questions, forget it. Lewis knew the importance of interviews, but he couldn’t stand the idea that some schmo with a byline would have the audacity to question Jerry Lewis.
“An interview for me is vital for the work, part of the work. But there are times when an interviewer can be a pain in the ass,” Lewis said. “And when that happens, I become a pain in the ass. And it’s an unimportant, hardly enjoyable kind of thing.
“You cannot allow an interviewer to take your life and disturb it,” he added. “And there are people that do that.”
Mind you, there had been no digging at all at this point. But I understood his general reluctance to open up.
The only other question where Lewis got excited was when I asked about how his fans had changed. Lewis teed off on how smartphone shooters have replaced autograph-seekers.
“I think everybody in the world now is a photographer. And none of them know what the f - - - to do with the camera or the picture they take,” Lewis said. “It’s a pain in the ass. And you can tell all the readers that I said it. Not a lot of people will say that.”
As the rest of the interview mini-exploded with terse responses, Lewis grew tired of it. He called to be wheeled away before taking a final stab.
“I said it all. And you have been boring,” Lewis announced. “That is what an interview is supposed to be. So don’t feel badly.”
He looked to his manager and commanded, “All right, let’s move.”
With that, Jerry Lewis was wheeled away in my most surreal interview exit ever. It wasn’t fun, but as he took his leave, I couldn’t but find the historical silver lining: I just got smacked down by a comic legend, and I’m going to remember this my entire life.