Columnist Joe Delaney: Marveling at the workaholic who is Lewis

Joe Delaney

Friday, Sept. 8, 2000 | 9:55 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at joe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4066.

Jerry Lewis, perfectionist, performer, comedian, humanitarian, survivor, comes off his most successful MDA Labor Day Telethon yet, to bring his 74-year life sum total to audiences at the Orleans Showroom through Sunday ... Lewis has hours of material, honed to the nth degree, which he constantly reassembles, always backed by a large orchestra.

When Dean Martin and Lewis went their separate ways, those in the know were sure that Lewis would do well but worried about Martin's future ... The truth is that Martin did very well in all the media, successful in films, hot on television and recordings and a big winner in live performances.

Martin is gone; Sinatra and most of the rest of the Sands' luminaries when Martin and Lewis were at their peak are no longer with us ... Lewis just signed a 20-year contract with the Orleans.

Lewis' films

Thanks to the comedic genius of Eddie Murphy, Lewis' original film, "The Nutty Professor," was an even bigger hit in the remake, and "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" is doing very well in current release ... A "Nutty Professor III" is not a remote possibility ... There are negotiations for remakes of other Lewis films ... He added legitimate theater to his areas of success with a recent long run starring in a "Damn Yankees" revival.

In France, Lewis is ranked with Chaplin and Buster Keaton as a comedic genius; a distinction that has eluded him in this country ... Raising $54.6 million on the telethon last weekend will not necessarily result in full houses in the Orleans Showroom this weekend ... It has not done so in the past elsewhere.

Lewis is not easy to know ... I can name possibly five persons who might be able to tell you who dwells behind the facade we identify as Lewis ... We do know what he does and should be impressed by his accomplishments.

In conclusion

Who would believe that Joseph Levich, son of vaudevillians Danny and Rae Lewis, starting as a record mime, would have achieved what he has, as Jerry Lewis, in his first 74 years ... The best may be yet to come, materially, and, perhaps, esthetically as well.

One more thought: The MDA Telethon rightfully belongs back in Las Vegas with the support of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and an originating hotel; it's 21 hours or more of great publicity and public relations as well.

Weekend wrap-up

A Lewis contemporary -- the same age, really ageless as a performer, as is Lewis -- Sonny King continues offering a bit of old Las Vegas in performances at 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 3 and 7 p.m. Monday in Addison's Lounge (Regent Las Vegas) ... Comedian Pete Barbutti, naturally funny, and singer Denise Clemente will be with King this weekend.

Mario & Daniel have left the Tropicana's "Folies Bergere" to devote full time to a sitcom with 26 episodes confirmed ... They deserve it; two guys as nice as they are funny ... Monti Rock III is set to do a local column in a weekly publication; it won't be dull and should be fun ... Speaking of fun, "Bottoms Up" (Flamingo Las Vegas) makes one's afternoon a lot of laughs.

Trivia bit: Jack Feierman, musical director for Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme when the duo closed Caesars Palace's Circus Maximus Sunday, also conducted for Andy Williams when he opened the Circus Maximus in 1966 ... See you next Thursday.