March 16
LE ROI DU CRAZY DAY
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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, who considered him a cult hero -- nicknaming him, Le Roi du Crazy.
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. Beginning in 1966, millions watched the annual Labor Day Telethon for MDA, hosted by the untiring Jerry Lewis. Undaunted by protesters, he continued the quest to raise money to help those stricken with neuromuscular diseases through 2010.
On August 20, 2017, Jerry Lewis died, leaving us his legacy of award-winning films and many zany memories. Au revoir, Le Roi du Crazy.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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