Not for everyone but a unique talent to be sure. I loved The Nutty Professor as a kid and the Labor Day Telethons were a tradition. Only as I got older could I appreciate some of his work with Dean Martin and others. There was something unique in his manic humor especially at the time. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-lewis-dead-nutty-professor-bellboy-star-was-91-721408 http://variety.com/2017/film/people-news/jerry-lewis-dies-dead-nutty-professor-1202533899/
Loved the Martin Lewis films. His solo stuff was hit or miss. As a kid I always watched the telethon. RIP and thanks for the laughs and helping the kids. Flaven!
I've heard it said that--after his passing--this film would be released https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Clown_Cried
Rest in peace Mr. Lewis. He and Ron Silver did a great job playing father and son in the garment district arc on Wiseguy. Now they are both gone.
Watching "King of Comedy" right now. Had it on my list for far too long, this news reminded me that I should finally watch it.
Jerry Lewis was a comedic genius, and his work for the MD charity is unparalleled. RIP, sir. You will be missed.
His annual telethons used to be the demarcation of Summer transitioning to Fall-- back to school and the new TV season. RIP, Jerry Lewis.
Is the MD telethon still broadcast during the Labor Day weekend anymore? When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s and we only had access to 3 networks (ABC, CBS & NBC), it was the only thing one could watch, so it had something of a captive audience. But with the proliferation of cable, premium channels, the internet and now streaming services, surely it doesn't corner the viewing audience as it did years ago.
He gave a copy to the Library of Congress in 2015, with the instructions that it be released in 2025 (he figured he'd be long since dead and gone by that time). So we have another eight years to wait.
The last I saw it airs on some random channels here and there (if at all) but a real shadow of what it once was. I imagine it will diminish even more with Jerry's passing and no obvious successor. I just confirmed it with Wikipedia which shows a sadder state of affairs than I described:
He is said to have had a heart attack after climbing a huge flight of stairs in about 8 seconds (Cinderfella ). As the story goes, Jerry was in an old fashioned oxygen tent, when his Dad stuck his head in and said: "Do you know what you are doing to your mother?"
There's a bunch of classic Jerry Lewis stuff on TCM tonight (Mon Sep 4) if anyone's interested. EST 8:00 PM Nutty Professor, The (1963) 10:00 PM King of Comedy, The (1983) 12:00 AM Stooge, The (1952) 2:00 AM Bellboy, The (1960) 3:30 AM Disorderly Orderly, The (1964)