Columnist Joe Delaney: Jerry Lewis’ long — and laugh-filled — road

Joe Delaney

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

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

Belated birthday bests to Jerry Lewis, 75 years young last Saturday ... Lewis will be performing through Sunday at the Orleans ... His parents, Danny and Rae Lewis, were professional entertainers ... Danny was a total entertainer while Rae was a pianist, arranger and musical director for Danny ... Jerry made his entertainment debut at age 5.

His father was the master of ceremonies at a resort in the Catskills, the Borscht Circuit, and watched from the wings as young Jerry sang "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime" ... By age 15 Jerry had perfected a comedy routine in which he would mime and silently mouth lyrics to both operatic and popular songs played on a phonograph located backstage.

Record pantomime was the starting point for many careers, including those of Dick and Jerry Van Dyke, who called themselves "The Merry Mutes."

Lewis was booked into Atlantic City's 500 Club in the summer of 1946 ... An act had canceled and Lewis suggested they book Dean Martin, with whom he had worked previously in a New York City nightclub.

Martin and Lewis worked separately at first, then decided to work together as an act ... That's when the craziness began, improvising, squirting seltzer water, throwing food, nonstop tumult ... In less than six months their salaries went from $250 per week to $5,000 ... In 1949 they made their first film together, "My Friend Irma."

During the next decade they appeared in 16 money-making films, starred in "The Colgate Comedy Hour" on television, and were one of the hottest acts in nightclubs ... Ten years later to the day, they made their last nightclub appearance together in New York City's Copacabana ... Martin did appear briefly with Lewis many years later on an MDA Telethon.

From 1958 until the present, Lewis' films have grossed more than $800 million, a figure that approaches $1 billion if you include the gross receipts for remakes of "Nutty Professor 1 and 2" with Eddie Murphy ... Other remakes are in works, including "The Errand Boy" for Disney and "The Bell Boy" for MGM.

We could fill several columns with lists of his awards and honors worldwide ... Lewis has been at the forefront of the battle against neuromuscular diseases since 1951 ... His annual Labor Day MDA Telethons have grossed close to $2 billion.

With all of his success in films, Lewis still loves working before a live audience ... A typical performance will include a bit of record mime ... It will also have various segments that together represent a "Best of Jerry Lewis" special, one that could run two hours or more ... Like his father, Lewis is a total entertainer.

As an actor, comedian, director, inventor, producer, teacher and writer, Lewis has climbed and conquered every possible entertainment mountain ... His record as a humanitarian is equally impressive ... At 75 he has lost none of that intensity, and will to not merely succeed but actually exceed his already tremendous accomplishments.

Weekend wrap-up

Clint Holmes will debut his new show tonight at 6:30 in Harrah's main showroom ... He was joined this week by Janien Masse, most recently with "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," and prior to that portrayed the fiery Esmeralda in "Notre Dame de Paris," and earlier in "Starlight Express" at the LV Hilton.

Coast Resorts Chairman Michael Gaughan and his wife, Paula, will be the honorees at the 19th annual "Knight of the Gael" benefit dinner for Bishop Gorman High School Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., at Palace Station ... See you next Thursday.