-40%
The Jazz Singer Jerry Lewis Autograph DVD, In-Person WITH PHOTOS
$ 31.65
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Description
JERRY LEWIS SIGNED DVD "THE JAZZ SINGER" OBTAINED IN PERSONJerry Lewis as The Jazz Singer, from the personal archives of Jerry Lewis...Not seen since its original 1959 Broadcast. Signed "Jerry 2/12" in silver marker.
Signing witnessed and DVD obtained by the owner of The Inkwell Autograph Gallery.
Obtained in Los Angeles, CA
We will provide our COA WITH PHOTO OF SIGNING
In fine condition, new, only opened to get signed and take photos for this listing.
Jerry Lewis
(born
Joseph Levitch
;
[a]
March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, dubbed as "The King of Comedy" and "The Total Filmmaker". He gained his career breakthrough together with singer
Dean Martin
, becoming
Martin & Lewis
in 1946 and for ten years, would both perform on stage and in film and television until their acrimonious breakup in 1956.
Lewis pursued a solo career, starring in several theatrical movies, worked behind-the-scenes as director, producer and screenwriter, performed
comedy routines
on stage, released many albums as a singer and raised awareness for
muscular dystrophy
, while as national chairman of the
Muscular Dystrophy Association
, most notably
The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon
he hosted, which raised .6 billion for the cause.
Lewis was born on March 16, 1926 in
Newark, New Jersey
, to Daniel "Danny" Levitch (1902–80), a
master of ceremonies
and
vaudevillian
, who performed under the stage name Danny Lewis, from
New York
whose parents immigrated to the United States from the
Russian Empire
, and Rachael "Rae" Levitch (née Brodsky; 1903–83), a
WOR
pianist and Danny's music director from
Warsaw
.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
Reports as to his
birth name
are conflicting; in Lewis' 1982 autobiography, he claimed his birth name was Joseph, after his maternal grandfather, but his
birth certificate
,
[11]
[12]
the
1930 U. S. Census
, and the
1940 U. S. Census
all name him as Jerome.
[13]
[4]
[14]
[15]
Lewis said that he ceased using the names Joseph and Joey as an adult to avoid being confused with
Joe E. Lewis
and
Joe Louis
.
[8]
Reports as to the hospital in which he was born conflict as well, with biographer
Shawn Levy
claiming he was born at Clinton Private Hospital and others claiming
Newark Beth Israel Hospital
.
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
Other claims of his early life also conflict with accounts made by family members, burial records, and
vital records
.
He was a "character" even in his teenage years, pulling pranks in his neighborhood including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies. He dropped out of
Irvington High School
in the tenth grade. By age 15, he had developed his "Record Act" miming lyrics to songs while a phonograph played offstage. He landed a gig at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but his performance fell flat and was unable to book any more shows. Lewis worked as a
soda jerk
and a theater usher for
Suzanne Pleshette
's father Gene at the
Paramount Theatre
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
as well as at
Loew's Capitol Theatre
, both in New York City,
[25]
to make ends meet.
A veteran burlesque comedian, Max Coleman, who had worked with Lewis' father years before, persuaded him to try again. Irving Kaye,
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
a
Borscht Belt
comedian, saw Lewis' mime act at
Brown's Hotel
in Loch Sheldrake, New York, the following summer, and the audience was so enthusiastic that Kaye became Lewis' manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances.
[30]
During
World War II
, he was rejected for military service because of a
heart murmur
.
[31]
Career
Performing with Dean Martin
Main article:
Martin and Lewis
Lewis with
Dean Martin
in 1950
Lewis initially gained attention as part of a double act with singer
Dean Martin
, who served as
straight man
to Lewis' zany antics as the
Martin and Lewis
comedy team. They were different from other duo acts of the time because they played to each other and had ad-libbed improvisational segments within their planned routines.
After forming in 1946, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, then as stars of their
NBC
radio program
The Martin and Lewis Show
.
[32]
The two made appearances on early
live television
on their June 20, 1948 debut broadcast on
Toast of the Town
(later renamed as
The Ed Sullivan Show
on September 25, 1955) on CBS.
[33]
This was followed by a guest stint on
The Milton Berle Show
, then their appearance on NBC's
Welcome Aboard
on October 3, 1948.
In 1950, Martin and Lewis signed with NBC to be one of a series of weekly rotating hosts of
The Colgate Comedy Hour
, a live Sunday evening broadcast. Lewis, writer for the team's nightclub act, hired
Norman Lear
and Ed Simmons as regular writers for their
Comedy Hour
material.
[34]
[35]
Their
Comedy Hour
shows consisted of stand-up dialogue, song and dance from their nightclub act and movies, backed by
Dick Stabile
's
big band
, slapstick and satirical sketch comedy, Martin's solo songs, and Lewis' solo pantomimes or physical numbers.
Martin and Lewis often broke character, ad-libbing and
breaking the fourth wall
. While not completely capturing the orchestrated mayhem of their nightclub act, the
Comedy Hour
displayed charismatic energy between the team and established their popularity nationwide. By 1951, with an appearance at the
Paramount Theater
, they were a cultural phenomenon, attracting crowds rivaled only by
Frank Sinatra
earlier and later by
Elvis Presley
and
The Beatles
. The duo began their film careers at
Paramount Pictures
as ensemble players, in
a 1949 film adaptation
of the
radio series
My Friend Irma
and its sequel
My Friend Irma Goes West
(1950).
Soon after, Martin and Lewis starred in their own vehicles in 14 new movies,
At War with the Army
(1950),
That's My Boy
(1951),
Sailor Beware
(1952),
Jumping Jacks
(1952),
The Stooge
(1952),
Scared Stiff
(1953),
The Caddy
(1953),
Money from Home
(1953),
Living It Up
(1954),
3 Ring Circus
(1954),
You're Never Too Young
(1955),
Artists and Models
(1955),
Pardners
(1956) and
Hollywood or Bust
(1956), all produced by
Hal B. Wallis
.
In 1952, Martin and Lewis appeared on
Bing Crosby
and
Bob Hope
's Olympic Fund Telethon, cameoed in their film
Road to Bali
(1952) and then Hope and Crosby would do the same thing in Lewis and Martin's
Scared Stiff
a year later. Attesting to the duo's popularity,
DC Comics
published
The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
from 1952 to 1957. In 1954, the team appeared on episode 191 of
What's My Line?
as mystery guests, appeared on the 27th annual
Academy Awards
in 1955 and appeared on
The Steve Allen Show
and
The Today Show
in 1956.
Their films were reliable financial successes for Paramount and hugely popular with audiences, in later years, both Lewis and Martin admitted frustration, and were critical of Wallis for his formulaic and trite film choices, restricting them to narrow, repetitive roles. As Martin's roles in their films became less important over time and Lewis receiving the majority of critical acclaim, the partnership came under strain. Martin's participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when
Look
magazine published a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out.
[36]
After their partnership ended with their final nightclub act on July 24, 1956, both Martin and Lewis went on to highly successful solo careers and neither would comment on the split nor consider a reunion. However, they would occasionally be seen at the same public events, though never together. On two occasions, Martin invited Lewis on stage, in 1958 and 1961, but the split was too serious for them to reconcile. Sinatra surprised Lewis by bringing Martin on stage on the MDA telethon in September 1976
[37]
and in 1989, Lewis attended Martin's 72nd birthday.
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