Lewis, Jerry, 1926-2017

Jerry Lewis was a comedian, singer, and humanitarian who performed in several casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada from the 1950s to 1980s. Jerry Lewis was born as Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey. Lewis dropped out of high school in the tenth grade to perform lip-syncing routines in New York state. In 1945, Lewis met singer Dean Martin and began performing in nightclubs and radio broadcasts as the comedy duo Martin and Lewis. In 1956, the partnership with Dean Martin ended. Subsequently, Lewis and his wife took a vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada. While he was vacationing, Sid Luft approached Lewis to fill in for a performance originally intended for Judy Garland to which Lewis accepted and was well-received by the audience. In late 1956, Lewis recorded his first album Jerry Lewis Just Sings that was met with positive critical response and reached #3 on the Billboard charts. From 1957 to 2016, Lewis acted in, wrote and produced 48 films and won an Academy Award in 2009. Jerry Lewis passed away from heart disease on August 20, 2017 at the age of 91.

Sources:

Kehr, Dave. "Jerry Lewis, a Jester Both Silly and Stormy, Dies at 91." The New York Times, August 20, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/movies/jerry-lewis-dead-celebrated-comedian-and-filmmaker.html.

Natale, Richard, and Carmel Dagan. "Jerry Lewis, Comedy Legend, Dies at 91." Variety August 20, 2017. https://variety.com/2017/film/people-news/jerry-lewis-dies-dead-nutty-professor-1202533899/.