Earlier this week, when I learned that Jerry Lewis had died,
my first thoughts were not of telethons, Martin and Lewis, or The Nutty Professor. Instead, I thought
of a January night a little over two years ago, Eddie Cantor, and “show
business.”
On January 9, 2015, I celebrated my birthday at the Lincoln
Theatre in Washington, D.C. watching a production of Lewis’s one-man show, An Evening with Jerry Lewis. I wasn’t
always a Jerry Lewis fan, and there were times in my life when I would have
opted for other birthday entertainment. But I had grown to appreciate Lewis
over the years for his grit in continuing to perform, discuss, and defend his
work on and off the stage.
At the time Lewis visited Washington, D.C., I was immersed in
writing The Eddie Cantor Story: A Jewish Life in Performance and Politics. Martin and Lewis and Eddie Cantor each hosted The Colgate Comedy Hour, an influential
early TV program that rotated hosting duties among several comedians. Lewis was
the only surviving headliner from The
Colgate Comedy Hour and one of the few living links to Cantor.
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Lewis’s death marks the end of an era. He was the last star
from the heyday of live television comedy and variety shows. As I watched Lewis that night in Washington, I
was reminded of Cantor and countless other performers who enjoyed stardom during
the 1940s and early 1950s. They were professionals who took tremendous pride in
their celebrity status and their abilities to pack theaters. As they reprised
popular songs and comedy routines, these entertainers demonstrated their love
of show business and respect for their audiences. There was nothing wrong with a
little nostalgia and kitsch. As long as theatergoers would buy tickets, and
viewers would tune in, Lewis and his fellow entertainers would take the stage and give
the people their money’s worth. Jerry Lewis was a trouper.
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