bergenPAC Presents Jerry Lewis, 4/4

Jerry Lewis, star of stage, screen, and beloved telethon host will be at bergenPAC for an evening of memories, film clips, songs and fun culled from his long career. He is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. His motion pictures, television shows, stage performances, recordings, radio programs, books, and personal appearances, have brought his unique humor and creativity to every corner of the globe.

Jerry Lewis was born as Joseph Levitch on March 6, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. Growing up in a show business family, Lewis began following in his parents' footsteps as a performer from a very young age. He made his debut at the age of 5, singing "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" at New York's "Borscht Belt" nightclubs in the Catskill Mountains.

At age 20, he met singer Dean Martin and his career sky rocketed. They developed a comedy act and performed in nightclubs like the Copacabana. With their popular comedy routine, the duo went from making $250 a week to $5,000. In 1949, the pair landed their own regular radio comedy show, The Martin and Lewis Show. Over the next decade, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made 16 films together, including My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). Martin & Lewis made many appearances on early live television, their first on the June 20, 1948 debut broadcast of Toast of the Town with Ed Sullivan.

In 1994, he made his Broadway debut, as a replacement cast member playing the Devil in a revival of the baseball musical, Damn Yankees. In 2006, he was given a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor by France, given the honorary title of "Legion Commander" and an induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2009. Jerry's status as one of the most recognizable people on earth is constantly renewed by each new generation of audience who discover the fun and goodness of laughter.

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