Jerry Lewis
This is the sighted version that was marked on January 15, 2021. There are 2 pending changes that still need to be sighted.
The title of this article is ambiguous. For other meanings, see Jerry Lewis (disambiguation).
Jerry Lewis (* March 16, 1926 as Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey; † August 20, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, screenwriter and director. He became known worldwide after World War II for a ten-year collaboration with singer and entertainer Dean Martin. The duo of Martin & Lewis became one of the most successful comedy teams of the postwar era. After the team split up, Lewis developed an independent career.
Jerry Lewis (1995) 
Private life
Jerry Lewis was married to former singer Patti Palmer from 1944 to 1980 and to Las Vegas dancer SanDee Pitnick from 1983. He had five biological sons, one adopted son and one adopted daughter. His oldest son Gary had some success in the 1960s in a band called Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Another son, Joseph Christopher Lewis (1964-2009), died of a drug overdose. Lewis had seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
In March 1965, Jerry Lewis fractured his vertebrae during a failed roll off a piano at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Since then he suffered for several decades from considerable back pain, which even made him think of suicide. It wasn't until a newly developed device was implanted that this pain was alleviated. Lewis had been addicted for years to the narcotic Percodan, to which he had been introduced by Dean Martin's assistant Mack Gray.
Jerry Lewis died on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91, surrounded by his family from vascular heart failure.
Charity
Starting in 1966, Jerry Lewis organized annual telethons on Labor Day in the United States for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They lasted between 19 and 21.5 hours. In total, over two billion US dollars were raised there. In 1985, Lewis was awarded the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service for his work, and in 2005 he also received the Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the telethons.
Telethons typically featured a large number of show stars, including some as co-hosts (e.g., Ed McMahon and Casey Kasem). The fortieth telethon in 2005 featured collections for the Salvation Army to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. At the 42nd Telethon in 2007, donations totaled nearly $64 million, and at the 43rd Telethon in 2008, a record $65 million was donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
On February 22, 2009, Lewis was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards for his humanitarian service.
Questions and Answers
Q: What was Jerry Lewis's birth name?
A: His birth name was Jerome Levitch.
Q: What type of movies did Jerry Lewis star in?
A: He starred in comedy movies during the 1950s and 1960s, such as The Nutty Professor.
Q: What charity did Jerry Lewis support?
A: He supported the Muscular Dystrophy Association and helped to raise money for people with muscular dystrophy.
Q: Where was Jerry Lewis born?
A: He was born in Newark, New Jersey.
Q: Who did he work with during his career?
A: He worked with singer Dean Martin as part of Martin & Lewis for ten years. They appeared on stage, radio and television, and in movies together before splitting up in 1956. They reunited a few times from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Q: How did Jerry Lewis help save time when directing films?
A: He used video cameras alongside movie cameras to help film scenes so that they could be played back right away if a scene needed to be redone instead of having to wait for film processing which takes time. Other directors soon started using his technique, and it is still used today.
Q: Which presidents did Jerry Lewis support politically?
A: He supported Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump and had been friends with President John F Kennedy despite being a Republican himself.
