Filmmaking for Dummies

Jerry Lewis was born Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey on March 16, 1926. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16. He performed between features at movie theaters in northern New Jersey before moving on to burlesque and vaudeville. In 1946, he created a nightclub act with Dean Martin that lasted until 1956. They also made several movies together including My Friend Irma, My Friend Irma Goes West, At War with the Army, That's My Boy, The Stooge, The Caddy, Artists and Models, and Hollywood or Bust.

He went on to a successful solo career, eventually writing, producing and directing many of his own films. He appeared in several movies including Rock-a-Bye Baby, The Geisha Boy, Cinderfella, and The King of Comedy and on the television series Wiseguy. In 1960, he wrote, directed and starred in the movie The Bellboy. He went on to direct and star in The Nutty Professor, Three on a Couch, The Big Mouth, Which Way to the Front?, Hardly Working, and Smorgasbord. In 1995, he played Mr. Applegate (a.k.a. the Devil) in a Broadway revival of the musical Damn Yankees and later took the show on an international tour. He was appearing in one-man shows until 2016.

He did charity work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his charitable activity in 2009. He also received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - one for his movie work, the other for television - and an induction into the Légion d'Honneur in 2006. He wrote several books including Jerry Lewis: In Person, Dean and Me (A Love Story) written with James Kaplan, and The Total Film-Maker. He died on August 20, 2017 at the age of 91.

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