The Man Who Started It All
In some circles, they say that comedy as we know it wouldn’t exist without Jerry Lewis. He walked so that the comedians we know and love could run. It is undeniable that his movies brought joy and laughter to the world. However, the comedian’s life was not as nearly straightforward nor squeaky clean as one might suspect. The “King of Comedy” had his skeletons to hide.
1. His Past Is Murky
Jerry Lewis's origins are colored with confusion and conflicting information. He was born on March 16, 1926, to two Jewish immigrants. His father, Daniel “Danny” Levitch, immigrated to New York from the Russian Empire, and his mother, Rachael “Rae” Levitch, was from Warsaw. This is where the certainty ends.
2. He Changed His Story
The ambiguity surrounding Lewis’s early life likely has a dark cause behind it. Lewis himself claimed his birth name to be Joseph. However, several official documents early in his life list his birth name as Jerome. There is also some confusion about which hospital Lewis was born in.
Over time, these records and memories have likely faded, though it is possible, given the prejudices associated with it, that Lewis crafted his own story to diminish his Jewish associations.
3. He Was Made For Performing
Lewis’s parents were both performers. His father performed in vaudeville and his mother was a radio pianist for an AM channel. Lewis himself developed an impulsive sense of humor early. As a teenager, he played pranks and caused mostly harmless trouble. No one was surprised when he ended up performing early.
4. He Had Early Setbacks
Lewis’s early acts included a skit referred to as his “Record Act”. It was a simple gimmick. Lewis would mime singing the lyrics while a record played off-stage. He developed this by age 15 and landed an early gig in Buffalo. He was set to perform at a burlesque house, but this big break was doomed to a brutal end.
When this performance didn’t sell, Lewis was unable to book any more gigs. He began looking at other options.
Martin and Lewis - Jerry the opera singer, JillLovesJer
5. He Needed A Push
Following his failure in Buffalo, Jerry Lewis seemed to have put entertainment behind him. Instead, he took on a series of jobs to make ends meet, including working as a soda vender and an usher for several theaters in New York. It wasn’t until Lewis connected with a friend of his father who had worked with him in his vaudeville days that things began to turn around.
Donaldson Collection, Getty Images
6. He Found A Manager
The friend was Max Coleman, and Coleman convinced Lewis to give performing another chance. Lewis began performing, particularly in the “Borscht Belt”, a series of resorts in the Catskills in New York that were particularly popular with Jewish vacationers. It was here that Irving Kaye saw Lewis’s act, and became Lewis’s manager. He continued to perform solo with modest success—his true launch, however, was around the corner.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
7. He Was Spared
For many young men in the 1940s, their lives were put on hold as the world dissolved into conflict—but not Jerry Lewis. Due to a heart murmur, the USA rejected him from service. This allowed Lewis to meet and fall in love with Patti Palmer, a singer who reportedly worked with Jimmy Dorsey’s Orchestra when she and Lewis met.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
8. He Made A Family
As a pair of performers, it was a natural match between Lewis and Palmer. They married on October 3, 1944, and would go on to have five biological children throughout the 1950s, and adopt one additional son in 1949. From the outside, it may have looked like the perfect marriage. However, as Lewis’s star began to rise, the tensions within the home increased with it.
Max B. Miller/Fotos International, Getty Images
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9. He Met Someone
Jerry Lewis was little more than an amusing circuit performer when he met and married Palmer. However, one year after they married, Lewis’s fortunes changed. Lewis was 19 years old and performing at the Glass Hat Club in New York City. Dean Martin, then 27 and yet to fully come into his own as a singer, was also performing.
This early meeting couldn’t possibly predict the fortune that was to come.
10. He Became A Duo
It would be another two years before the pair would appear together for the first time on stage. This time, Lewis was performing in the 500 Club in Atlantic city. The other singer that had been scheduled to perform had become unavailable. They had a problem, but Lewis had a solution—he suggested that Martin step into the role.
11. His Early Attempts Failed
Anyone who is a fan of classic film and comedy will know that, eventually, Lewis and Martin became a dynamic duo. However, in the early days, that was far from the case. They were so bad initially that Skinny D’Amato, owner of the 500 Club, threatened to toss them out if they didn’t improve their act.
Martin and Lewis needed to find something new or they’d be sunk before they even started.
John Springer Collection, CORBIS/Corbis, Getty Images
12. He Found His Method
Another thing that fans of classic films will know is that Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin had true magic. It was their ability to adlib and improve jokes and gags that brought about the real charm. And that was exactly what brought their success at the 500 Club. They tossed out their prewritten jokes and instead ran with an improved set that revolved around Lewis interrupting Martin’s performance with gags and antics. The audiences loved them.
13. He Started A Show
Once Lewis and Martin found the magic formula for their routine, they became unstoppable. They began touring the Eastern Seaboard before ending at the popular Copacabana Club in New York. In 1948, NBC wanted to help the duo reach more people (and make money in the process), so they booked them for The Martin and Lewis Show, which ran on radio until 1953.
By 1950, however, radio was the past; television and film were the future.
14. His Fame Began To Spread
At the same time that The Martin and Lewis Show was running on the radio, Ed Sullivan was launching one of his early shows, Toast of the Town. Martin and Lewis made a key appearance in the first episode of this variety series and would continue to make appearances on various variety shows until April 1949, when they would try their hand at their own show.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
15. He Hired Writers
With a successful radio show under their belts, Lewis and Martin expected their TV show to get a big reaction—but they were in for a bigger reality check. Much like their early days on stage, the initial reviews for their TV variety show were less than stellar. Their antics which had served so well on stage and radio failed to impress television viewers.
So, they came up with a plan. They fired a couple of feisty young writers named Ed Simmons and a young Norman Lear. But while they dipped their toes in television, it was Hollywood that would truly set their stardom to new heights.
Jack Albin/Hulton Archive, Getty Images
16. He Went To Hollywood
Based on their success, Paramount Pictures signed Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin to a film deal in 1949. They first appeared together in My Friend Irma, a film that starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn as a pair of hapless roommates looking for love. While Paramount hired Martin and Lewis for comedic relief in an ensemble cast, this film showed the world the magic that was the comedic duo on the big screen.
Once they’d been let out of that bottle, they couldn’t be put back in.
Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin 1949 My Friend Irma Fragmento, Fer Carreiro
17. He Signed A Deal
Following the success of this film, Martin and Lewis signed one of the best deals that Hollywood has ever offered. They received $75,000 between the two of them, a solid salary for film in the 40s, and retained control over their appearances outside of film. Together they would go on to make 14 films between 1950 and 1956.
This record bonafide them as successes—though they never felt secure in that fact.
18. He Felt Threatened
In 1950, another young actor was looking to follow in his theatrical parents’ footsteps and make his mark on the world. Sammy Petrillo was eight years younger than Jerry Lewis and happened to bear a striking resemblance to the growing star. Lewis didn’t like the looming competition that Petrillo posed, and he set out to do something about it.
film screenshot (Jack Broder Productions), Wikimedia Commons
19. He Made Threats
Lewis didn’t want Petrillo to step into his limelight, so he did everything that he could to make sure that he wouldn’t. In 1950, Lewis hired Petrillo to play Lewis’s baby in a sketch for Colgate Comedy Hour. Petrillo recalled Lewis as being abrasive in the meeting, “Jerry said a couple of derogatory things to me. He said something to the effect of, 'Don't sign any checks and tell people you're Jerry Lewis!' He wasn't being funny. He was being serious”.
He wasn’t looking to help Petrillo, but stop him.
The Story of Sammy Petrillo, Nick in Revue
20. He Manipulated Others
Although Petrillo was initially hesitant, he was persuaded to sign with MCA, Lewis’ talent agency, after reading a positive write-up in Variety. But it backfired spectacularly. Lewis promised Petrillo work that never appeared. Lewis wasn’t helping Petrillo, he was “keeping him on the shelf,” so that Petrillo would never find work, and never jeopardize Lewis’s career.
Petrillo would escape Lewis’s clutches, but Lewis wouldn’t give up.
The Story of Sammy Petrillo, Nick in Revue
21. He Didn’t Like Competition
Petrillo was only 16 at the time all of this was happening. As a minor, his father got Petrillo out of his contract with Lewis, and Petrillo would continue to string together small performances. However, Lewis wasn’t done with him. In the early 50s, Petrillo met Duke Mitchell, a singer, and they paired up for a duo act.
By this time, Lewis and Martin were well on their way to success, so the pair thought they’d use the similarities to their advantage.
Bela Lugosi Meets Mitchell and Petrillo, horrormovieshows
22. He Wouldn’t Let It Go
Petrillo and Mitchell indeed included impersonations of Martin and Lewis in their act. However, their act involved impersonating many famous singers and comedians, and when they did end their act mimicking Martin and Lewis, Petrillo mimicked Martin and Mitchell Lewis, creating humor out of inverting the expected.
However, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did not find it funny.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
23. He Was Mimicked
In 1952, Petrillo and Mitchell starred in a low-budget film Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. It was not well received overall, but critics did recognize Petrillo and Lewis as an amusing “Martin & Lewis-esque” duo. This could have spelled some modest success for the young actors. However, neither Lewis nor Martin had any interest in entertaining the competition.
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi by Cult Cinema Classics
24. He Killed A Career
Lewis’s eldest son, Gary, later revealed more about his father’s grudge, remarking, “Whenever there was any mention of Sammy Petrillo, it was a tense moment”. Mitchell and Petrillo would carry on with nightclub work following the film. But that wasn’t good enough for Lewis.
He used his considerable influence to blackball them whenever he could. And while he could control Petrillo, he was losing control of his personal life.
Express/Archive Photos, Getty Images
25. He Bragged About Sins
In 1952, a woman by the name of Lynn Dixon Kleinman had a daughter named Suzan. According to Lewis’s eldest son, Gary, DNA testing has confirmed that there is an 88.7% chance that Suzan is Lewis’ daughter. But that wasn’t his only extramarital affair.
Years later, Lewis revealed in interviews that he had relationships with stars like Marlene Dietrich. Lewis may have won the hearts of America, but the hearts of his family was another matter.
26. He Found A Cause
In 1951, Lewis and Martin began speaking about a cause that was close to Lewis’s heart in particular. During the finale of The Colgate Comedy Hour, they made an appeal for support to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). In 1956, the pair hosted a telethon for the MDA, the first of many for Lewis, who the association named national chairman around the same time.
While Lewis would go on to support the cause, his partnership with Martin was already on the rocks.
The Best of The Colgate Comedy Hour | Episode 23 | May 30, 1954, FamilyTime
27. He Was The Star
By the spring of 1956, tensions were high between Lewis and Martin. As the pair gained more and more fame, the spotlight became brighter and brighter on Lewis, leaving Martin on the sidelines. Everyone called Lewis the talented one, while they implied that Martin was simply tagging along. The media did little to help the matter.
Studio publicity photographer, Wikimedia Commons
28. His Partner Was Cut Out
In 1954, Martin’s already-frayed nerves were rubbed raw with one brutal incident. That was when Look magazine published a photo of the team on the cover. Or rather, they published a photo of Lewis, and not just any photo of Lewis. Look had taken a promo photo that had included both men, but then cropped Martin out entirely.
This was the beginning of the end.
Evening Standard, Getty Images
29. He Lost His Other Half
The last film that Martin and Lewis did together was called Hollywood or Bust. It was not a pleasurable filming experience. Lewis took his frustrations out on the director instead of Martin, and Martin told Lewis he was “nothing but a […] dollar sign”. Following Hollywood or Bust, they did a small series of engagements that they’d already agreed to at the Copacabana Club, which became their farewell shows.
Exactly 10 years after teaming up, Martin and Lewis performed their last show together, and Lewis was on his own.
Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis 'Hollywood Or Bust' 1956 (Full Movie), Gaz Martin
30. He Lost His Way
Jerry Lewis had spent a decade working with Dean Martin. They had built their careers together. For many rising stars, it would’ve been their time to shine—but not Lewis. Following the split, he lost his confidence. Reflecting on that time, Lewis stated, “I was unable to put one foot in front of the other with any confidence. I was completely unnerved to be alone”.
However, he was an entertainer at heart. It was only a matter of time, and the right bit of influence before Lewis found himself back on his feet.
The Ettinger Company, Wikimedia Commons
31. He Was Wary To Try
The world owes the second half of Jerry Lewis’s career to another famous duo. He and his wife were on vacation in Las Vegas when he heard from Judy Garland’s manager (and husband), Sid Luft. Garland had strep throat and couldn’t perform. He wanted Lewis to save the day and step into her place.
Lewis hadn’t sung alone in 25 years, having always been accompanied, even before Martin. He was wary.
32. He Found His Path
Jerry Lewis may have been hesitant to step on stage at first. However, this opportunity was exactly the push he needed. He clowned around and sang some songs he’d known as a boy. The crowd exploded. It gave Lewis the confidence to continue on his own without a partner, and it also showed the world that he could make it. Following this, opportunities came knocking.
33. He Began To Rise Again
In response to this performance in Vegas, Lewis recorded the songs he had sung which earned him a record deal. He began a short stint of recording albums throughout the late 50s. He also began performing at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which launched a new phase of his career that focused on solo live performances. They would be a staple throughout the remainder of his career. However, he had not forgotten about film.
34. He Carved A New Identity
Lewis was a bona fide performer, and he’d proved that he didn’t need Martin to entertain audiences. He appeared on specials and hosted the Academy Awards three times between 1956 and 1959. He also remained at Paramount and began starring in films solo. He signed a contract in 1959 that not only gave him unprecedented control over his future films, but also made him the highest-paid individual in Hollywood to date.
It seemed that Lewis couldn’t grow any higher, and yet he continued to do so.
Jerry Lewis's Opening Monologue: 1957 Oscars, Oscars
35. He Needed To Film
A decision by Paramount in 1960 enabled Lewis to change the way films were made forever. He’d filmed Cinderfella as Paramount’s summer release. However, Paramount decided to save it for Christmas that year. Having created a hole in their lineup, Paramount demanded that Lewis make a film in order to replace it, and he stepped up to the challenge with astounding success.
JERRY LEWIS AS A DRUMMER ~ FROM THE MOVIE CINDERFELLA 1960, Bee Music
36. He Created Something New
In response, Jerry Lewis created The Bellboy, which he not only starred in but directed, co-wrote, and produced. He had a tiny budget. The filming schedule was tight, and Lewis was filming in the day and performing at night. It seemed like an impossible task. Lewis couldn’t possibly finish a film like this on time—and he couldn’t, at least not with the technology that existed. He needed something new.
jerry lewis - Le Dingue du Palace - (The Bellboy), nissa7079
37. He Revolutionized Film
Instead of a dialogue-heavy movie, the film focuses on Lewis’s physical comedy. His character speaks only one line, at the end. This was to save time on filming. However, the real-time saver was the use of monitors to instantly review his scenes, letting him know if he needed to refilm without having to wait for “dailies”.
All this enabled Lewis to find a new style for both acting and creating films. However, Paramount was not happy.
38. He Went Backwards
Since Lewis’s character in The Bellboy didn’t speak until the final scenes, he had essentially made a “silent movie”. Paramount’s reaction was brutal. They pulled their backing. Lewis had to use his own money, in the end, to produce. However, it was Lewis who had the last laugh: The Bellboy is one of his better-ranking films. It was a success, and Lewis’s career was never the same.
jerry lewis - Le Dingue du Palace - (The Bellboy), nissa7079
39. He Was An Artist
From this point on, Jerry Lewis would continue to have a large amount of creative control over his movies, often having some hand in writing, direction, producing, or all three. It was this that gave him a lot of popularity in France, where they felt that Lewis understood how to turn film into a true art form.
Still, he never forgot about his roots, where he started—and who he started with.
40. He Found An Old Friend
Although Jerry Lewis had made his mark as a solo artist, his early days with Dean Martin followed him—and the consequences of their split were devastating. Lewis stated that he and Martin did not speak in private for 20 years, something he regretted. However, publicly, they reunited a handful of times. The most famous instance was in 1976, when Frank Sinatra arranged for Martin to surprise Lewis on one of his annual Labor Day telethons for the MDA.
This was one relationship Lewis seemed to repair before it was too late. His relationship with his family, however, was another matter entirely.
41. He Paid For His Sins
Despite having never made an effort to hide his infidelity, Jerry Lewis remained married for nearly 40 years. However, in 1980, his wife Patti Palmer finally had enough of his antics. She filed for divorce on the grounds of his flagrant disregard for their marriage, as well as his excessive spending. The divorce was finalized three years later.
However, Lewis did not waste any time in moving on.
Victor Crawshaw/Mirrorpix, Getty Images
42. He Didn’t Regret Them
Sandra “SanDee” Pitnick was a stewardess who was also professionally trained as a ballerina. At the same time that Palmer was filing for divorce, Pitnick earned a small dancing role in Lewis’s film Hardly Working. The pair would meet through this connection, and they married in February 1983. Lewis and Pitnick adopted a daughter in the early 90s, and Lewis never looked back at his first family—even when it was clear his time was up.
43. He Wasn’t Well
Jerry Lewis suffered his first heart attack in 1960 when he was only 34 years old. He would survive two more heart attacks in 1982 and 2006, respectively. So, when Lewis finally succumbed to heart and artery disease in 2017, it was less of a surprise that it happened, and more of a surprise that he made it to 91 at all.
Lewis’s passing unlocked both praise and scrutiny on all that he had done—particularly from his family.
44. He Abandoned His Family
As you may recall, Patti Palmer was Lewis’s wife for nearly 40 years, and together they raised six sons. But in the end, his parting gift to them was a heartbreaking act of cruelty. Lewis cut every single one of his sons and their families out of the will, leaving money only to Pitnick and their daughter.
While this shocked the world, it did not shock his family, who had long had a complicated relationship with their father.
45. His Family Feared Him
Following Lewis’s passing and the shocking disinheritance, several of Lewis’s sons came forward to discuss what life with their father was like. His youngest son, Anthony, came forward to say that his father was unpredictable, and they would never know which version of Lewis would come home. He went as far as calling him emotionally abusive; yet, he still held some warmth in his heart for his father, unlike some of his siblings.
46. He Was Mean And Evil
Anthony expressed regret that Lewis had completely cut him off from his life, and that he didn’t have the opportunity to tell his late father that despite all of the pain, he still loved him. However, his elder brother Gary had much harsher words for his father. Gary called his father a “mean and evil person” and insisted that he never showed any of his children any love.
In the end, it was not just his family who came forward following his passing.
Getty Images
47. He Was Accused
During the 1960s, once he was a solo artist, Jerry Lewis starred in many films—and a beautiful woman often starred with him. In 2022, several of those co-stars came together to accuse Lewis of harassment, verbal abuse, and even sexual assault. Vanity Fair reported on the allegations. However, to date, nothing has come of it.
After all, the person in question can no longer speak in his defense, and his impact on society still looms great.
John Springer Collection, CORBIS, Corbis, Getty Images
48. He Changed The World
Despite the controversy that exists around whether Jerry Lewis was a good person or not, it is undeniable that Lewis did much for the future and development of comedy. Before Lewis, comedy was a much more staid affair.
Lewis was unafraid to be bold, to take risks, and most importantly, to laugh at himself. It made ripples throughout history.
49. He Created A New Space
Jerry Lewis created an environment that allowed comedy to grow and adapt. Many of the comedians we know and love today, such as Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and Jim Carrey owe their start to Lewis. Carrey, upon hearing of Lewis’s passing, stated that “Through his comedy, Jerry would stretch the boundaries of reality so far that it was an act of anarchy [...] I learned from Jerry”.
New Line Cinema, Dumb and Dumber (1994)
50. He Was Complicated
Jerry Lewis definitely had problems with infidelity in his first marriage, but in 2011, he finally let all his secrets from the Golden Age of Hollywood out, confessing to affairs with Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe—and he didn’t shy away from the dirty details. When asked what his time with Marilyn was like, Lewis said “It was long,” then, after pausing, continued, “I was crippled for a month”!
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