RIP Jerry Lewis, Dead at 91

Just breaking news. One of the 20th Century’s greats.

I’ve only seen a few of his movies, whats weird is what comes to mind the most is him hosting the yearly Telethon for MDA.

RIP sir, you were one of the greats.

RIP

Funny, i don’t think I have seen any of his films as an adult, i saw them before my 20s, so don’t remember if they were any good but I remember him as an actor with good range whose comedy was silly and over the top but when he was playing it straight he was very convincing and charismatic. Jim Carrey and Robin Williams remind me of him.

How many more can today take?

RIP

I saw Nutty Professor before I’d heard of Jekyll and Hyde, on TV pre-cable back when local stations played 10-year-old movies on Saturday afternoons. Damn, I laughed, and was fascinated by Buddy Love. I worked on seeing his other stuff after that, which was spotty in the pre-internet era. I went to see King of Comedy when it came out, even though I didn’t know who DeNiro was at the time. I was pleasantly surprised with him turning up for a while on Wise Guy in the 80’s, which was one show back then I was following. He had quite a range, but I (and I expect most) will remember him most for his frantic slapstick when young. Sorry to see him go.

I remember him as a goofy face of my childhood.
I remember his name as the person who, genuinely, supported and helped a Telethon happen in my country. The event has arguably been a triumph here: it has led to incredible progress on the very rare genetic diseases over the last 30 years it has been organized yearly.

I saw The Nutty Professor in a theater with my grandmother. The scene where he changes scared the crap out of me. Well I was only 4 at the time. RIP great one.

Maybe now someone will release The Day the Clown Cried?

Edit: Well what do you know?

I grew up watching his movies. I remember rooting for him (well, his characters really) so much in his movies with Dean Martin. And he made me laugh a lot back then.

He was an important part of my childhood, and it’s sad to see him go, much more so knowing he made me laugh so much.

May he rest in peace.

Here’s a thought experiment. Find an interview clip of Serious Jerry the Filmmaker from the 60’s onward.

Then find one of Lou Reed.

Have someone play them to you with your eyes closed.

Other then the subject matter, you won’t be able to tell them apart.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any Jerry Lewis movie other than Scorsese’s King of Comedy, which is primarily a DeNiro movie (but JL is great in it). Slapstick comedy never appealed to me. During the 70s I remember really enjoying his Cerebral Palsy telethon contributions (and the event itself, which was always an “occasion” that is difficult to explain to people who didn’t grow up with only a handful of TV channels and no recording devices).

This grumpy interview he gave last year is kinda awesome too: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-interview-painful-awkward-awful-7-minutes-watch-957115

That’s perfect for the thought experiment I posted above.

My family went out to eat at our local pub this evening and when the waitress came by my 5-year-old son, who knows her well, called out to her “Hey laaaady!” My wife and I figured it was his tribute to Jerry Lewis.

If you have never watched a Jerry Lewis movie I recommend The Ladies Man. Here’s a post I wrote up yesterday:

I was a big fan of Jerry Lewis as a kid, as his 50s and 60s movies were on Portuguese TV a lot in the 80s. Nowadays I understand that he was not a nice man, to say the least, but his comedy still influenced me a great deal.

Among them was The Ladies Man, which would count as a forgotten gem, these days. It’s about a man who renounces women after being jilted by his college girlfriend.

It’s very well shot, with brilliant moments of whimsical humor amid some daring film making. Even today, The Ladies Man still impresses me. Almost the whole movie is filmed in a single gigantic set, which is used to great effect in several scenes.

This scene introduces the set and the titular ladies:

This is just brilliant, with Buddy Lester:

And here have some surreal dancing, featuring Harry James and his band:
https://youtu.be/Ua4suRfdbWU

Also note that Kathleen Freeman, the brilliant character actor, is in this, as she was a frequent collaborator of Jerry Lewis. she steals most of the scenes she is in. Most of you will recognize her as The Penguin in Blues Brothers. She shows up in the first clip.