Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; 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 $2.6 billion for the cause.

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