
- 1,005 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
"[A] penetrating unauthorized biography, probably the fullest, most revealing portrait to date of the elusive star." — Publishers Weekly
Shawn Levy's fascinating biography King of Comedy - the product of vast research and interviews with contemporaries, admirers, foes, and even, briefly, Lewis himself—traces the story of a man who defines High American Show Biz.
At points along the time line of his career, Lewis has been the highest-paid performer in history in film, on television, and on Broadway. With partner Dean Martin, he was half of the most successful comedy duo of all time. He was the first director who debuted in talkies to direct himself. He was a direct, acknowledged influence on giants from Woody Allen to Lenny Bruce to David Letterman to Jim Carrey. He is a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, has raised over $1 billion in charity, and was once nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. And, since the 1950s, he has been one of the most recognized faces on earth.
For almost that long, though, people have argued over what Jerry Lewis means. Is he a talented comedian or a grotesque mimic? A startlingly original director or a pretender to Chaplin's throne? A multifaceted entertainer or a megalomaniacal egoist? A tireless champion of the disabled or a tireless self-promoter who has confused America's charitable impulses with affection for him as a performer?
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Prologue
- 1. Eight Hundred Mamas and Papas
- 2. Tummling Among the Nazis
- 3. Are You for Real?
- 4. The Playboy and the Putz
- 5. Gunsels, Dames, and Screen Tests
- 6. The Importance of Being Seymour
- 7. Everything
- 8. Home Movies
- 9. The Stooge Turns
- 10. The Wonder Clown
- 11. The Other Shoe
- 12. One-Man Show
- 13. Today You Are a Man
- 14. The Jewish Bataan Death March
- 15. Lawrence of Bel Air
- 16. Frogs’ Legs and Pratfalls
- 17. Levitch’s Complaint
- 18. Shirley Temple in Auschwitz
- 19. A Defeated Jew
- 20. “Why Am I a Criminal?”
- 21. Commander
- 22. New Mirrors
- Epilogue: J & I
- Filmography
- A Note on Sources
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- About the Author
- Newsletter Sign-up
- Contents
- Copyright