Jerry Lewis On His Borscht Belt Childhood And The Lonely Work Of Comedy
In 2005, Lewis told Fresh Air about his partnership with singer Dean Martin and how he honed his comic skills while working as a busboy. The comedian, actor and director died Sunday at the age of 91.
Comedian, actor and director Jerry Lewis died Sunday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 91.
Throughout his childhood, Lewis' parents performed a vaudeville song-and-dance act at resorts in the Catskill Mountains, a circuit known as the Borscht Belt. He dropped out of high school to pursue his own career, and in 1945 he met singer Dean Martin. Together, they formed a nightclub act in which Martin was the sophisticated crooner, while Lewis did slapstick comedy as a hit No. 3 on the Billboard chart, outselling any of Martin's recordings.
