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A Memorable Visit With A True Star... |
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A Memorable Visit With A True Star... |
  Jerry Lewis will be opening his terrific new show in a few weeks,
on January 13. The Orleans will be Jerry’s host, and for four days, Las Vegans will
enjoy sharing an evening with a true star. Jerry hasn’t appeared in Las Vegas for
more than 8 years. I recently spent several hours at Jerry’s house as his guest. We
visited. I liked him tremendously; anyone would. Relaxed in his home, surrounded by family
and personal things, Jerry looked wonderful, and very healthy in spite of a recent bout
with viral meningitis.By Carolyn CarpenterPhotos of Mr. Lewis by Ladi Novotny |
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 n a shirt and shorts, it could be said his legs aren’t bad for
someone of our generation. He called me "kid." I asked if I should call him Mr.
Lewis. He told me Mr. Lewis was his father.I
asked Jerry about his recent illness, which he says actually occurred almost five months
ago. It sneaked up on him like a silent locomotive, nearly dropping him to his knees on
stage in Australia. He asked his audience to talk to one
another for a moment, while he stepped behind the curtain and yelled for some aspirin.He finished the
show and drove to Darwin, Australia. There, he became so ill he spent twelve days
hospitalized."When I got
off the plane in the U.S., people told me I looked great. They knew I’d been sick. I
thanked them and requested a wheel chair. It reminded me of the old joke about one man
admiring another man’s good looking shoes. ‘Thanks,’ says the second man,
‘I’m the only one who knows they hurt.’"People were
terrific, coming up to me with their kind words. I liked it. I think I’ll request
more wheel chairs."We chatted about
his upcoming show."I was at
dinner the other night, when a gentleman I recognized approached. He said ‘I
understand you’re going to appear at the Orleans next month. I’m going over to
buy some tickets. By the way,’ he said, ‘what do you do?’ "I asked him
why he was buying tickets if he didn’t know what I do?" The man said
‘Because we love you.’"When I do a
concert, I go out and do everything I can to entertain an audience. I’m
mid-Victorian. I’m old fashioned, I’m a dreamer. I don’t mix my passion
with my business."When I
shake hands with a man, and agree to make an appearance, I’m totally loyal to that
man. I told my acquaintance, ‘Just so you know you’re protected, I promise not
to ask for any pledges.’"My dad used
to tell me, ‘Kid, when you go out on that stage, you want to be a pro? You sweat! If
you sweat then you’re a professional.’"I’m
reminded of my first stage appearance at the age of 5. I don’t remember anything else
about my early life until about the age of 7. I’ve asked my parents why that
particular night is so outstanding in my memory."My mother
said ‘it’s not that often that a five-year old is dressed in a tuxedo. You had
to walk out on the stage in front of several thousand people. You sang your song, and when
you took your bow, your shoe slipped and broke a foot light. As the smoke was rising, and
your confusion became evi-dent, the audience was on its feet with applause and
laughter.’"I got my
first laugh that night, which is either the reason I remember it, or the reason I’ll
never forget it."After 68
years, I still feel that excitement."We didn’t
talk much about Jerry’s early years in the business—we’ve all grown a lot
since then. I did, however, remember my impressions of his nighttime talk show during
1963. That show had exposed a side of Jerry Lewis, few outside his per-sonal life had ever
seen: His intellect and his capacity for profound thought."I liked
that show. It was fun, but I almost offended my audience because I wasn’t being what
they expected me to be. Many people who wanted to see the silly Jerry Lewis rejected the
show. It was almost like bad advertising."We agreed he was
probably, terminally, type cast."It’s
interesting," Jerry continued, "that I got the most critical reviews of my life,
in my entire career, for doing "King of Comedy;" a dramatic piece starring
Robert DiNiro as a comedic wannabe, stalking Jerry Lewis’ character."You should hear what people say about me doing that
film," Jerry continued. "There are those who want me to do more work like that,
and there are people who absolutely did not like it. They just want to see the other
Jerry."While anticipating my visit with Jerry, I’d reflected on
what impact if any, he’d had on my life. I shared with him my conclusion that his
genre of comedy gave people of all ages, permission to be silly."I recently read something in a script I’d written:
a young man is trying to convince a girl that she is being seduced by society, and by the
social structure. He says to her, ‘If you learn to understand that being yourself is
the beauty of that which you are, the wisdom will enable you to recognize the most serious
illness on God’s earth, which is sophistication.’"That idea came from my being annoyed at snobbery. It
came from that part of me—when I get into a line at a restaurant, I know the other
people have been waiting. Even though I’ve made a reservation like the others, the
Captain always comes to take me past the people waiting. I hate it and at the same time,
it’s something anyone would love.
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"It’s a sad dichotomy, and I never want to lose the
sensitivity that there is something inherently unfair about it."I asked Jerry what he thought about the difference between
the Las Vegas of earlier years, and Las Vegas now. I reminisced about the old, beautiful
hotel entries where the span of an elegant casino was one’s first glimpse of the
entertainment capital of the world.
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