Jerry Lewis, the Jewish comedian and filmmaker who died on August 20 at age 91, will be remembered for more than “Cinderfella” (1959), “The Ladies Man” (1961), “The Nutty Professor” (1962), and a handful of other funny movies. A premier Jewish clown of American cinema, his innovative understanding of the medium ensured that his ethnic…
To say that Jerry Lewis and reporter Andy Lewis didn’t hit it off would be an understatement. For seven cringeworthy minutes, the interviewer asked the actor questions about his career for The Hollywood Reporter’s feature “Creative Until You Die,” a series of interviews with working actors in the 90’s and up age bracket. “Throughout the…
“It was surreal,” writer-director Daniel Noah, 44, told the Forward. “I was being served lox and bagels on a Sunday morning in my pajamas by Jerry Lewis. He was wearing a silk kimono, putting salmon on my plate, and asking me do I want more capers.” Jerry Lewis turned 90 this year and had been…
“A mensch with chutzpah.” These were the yiddishisms that Republican Jewish Coalition board member Abbie Friedman deployed when he introduced Donald Trump at the group’s candidates forum last December. It was, in part, an effort to ease the palpable discomfort of wealthy RJC donors with the brash billionaire who would be president. The problem, though,…
The BBC has released a short documentary about Jewish comedian Jerry Lewis’ never-before-seen Holocaust film. “The Day the Clown Cried,” which Lewis wrote and directed at the height of his Hollywood career in 1971, has never been released. The BBC documentary released on Tuesday includes behind-the-scenes footage of production, stills from the film and narration…
“How are you, Marty?” Jerry Lewis asked, sizing up his former director Martin Scorsese. “You’re not as tall as I thought you were.” His last words were clipped by a roomful of laughter, and the 89-year-old comedian, on hand for the Museum of the Moving Image and Comedy Hall of Fame discussion series “Iconic Characters…
Not every creative endeavor is a great one, as we note in this week’s quiz, which touches on a Jerry Lewis movie and a Craigslist personal ad that may or may not bring joy (and boy) to its writers. But at least we’re hoping for that last one.
Footage from a never-released Jerry Lewis Holocaust film buried since the early 1970s was unearthed on YouTube on Saturday. The now-87-year-old Jewish comedic actor had promised that no one would ever see what he admitted was the “bad, bad, bad” film titled, “The Day the Clown Cried.” Seven minutes of footage from a 1972 Flemish…
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