Martin and Lewis
Encyclopedia
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team
, comprising singer Dean Martin
(as the "straight man
") and comedian Jerry Lewis
as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City
's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946.
Before they teamed up Martin was a nightclub singer, while Lewis did a comedy act in which he lip-synched to records. As a team, they worked in nightclubs, on radio
(starting in 1949) and in television
and films. In the team's later years, it was no longer billed by the two men's surnames alone, as in their early radio work, but by their full names: "Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis." These separate identities helped them launch successful solo careers after the team's dissolution.
(né Joseph Levitch, from Newark, N.J.) at the Glass Hat Club in New York, where both men were performing. Martin and Lewis' official debut together occurred at Atlantic City
's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not a hit. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they didn't come up with a better act for their second show later that same night, they would be fired. Huddling together out in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to go for broke, to throw out the pre-scripted gags that hadn't worked and to basically just improvise their way through the act. Dean sang some songs, and Jerry came out dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and more or less making a shambles of both Martin's performance and the club's sense of decorum. They did slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville
jokes, and did whatever else popped into their heads at the moment. This time, the audience doubled over in laughter.
Their success at the 500 led to a series of well-paying engagements up and down the Eastern seaboard, culminating with a triumphant run at New York's Copacabana
. Club patrons were convulsed by the act, which consisted primarily of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, and ultimately the two of them chasing each other around the stage and having as much fun as possible. The secret, they have both said, is that they essentially ignored the audience
and played to one another.
radio series commenced in 1949; it lasted until 1953. Martin and Lewis made key appearance on the first Ed Sullivan show ("Toast of the Town") in June 1948 (photographs and schedules in Library of Congress confirm this), although they may have appeared on TV earlier on "Hour Glass",the first TV variety show which aired from May 1946 - March 1947, during the time the duo first paired up formally. On October 3, 1948, the team were stars of the television debut of the NBC live television
variety show Welcome Aboard
sponsored by Admiral
, manufacturers of TV sets, and were also featured on the second show of October 10, 1948 (kinescope survives of this live TV broadcast in UCLA archives). On April 3, 1949 they debuted on their TV version of their "Martin & Lewis" radio show on the NBC-TV network, with guest Bob Hope, with their inaugural program drawing lackluster reviews in the April 30, 1949 issue of Billboard magazine.
Also in 1949, Martin and Lewis were signed by Paramount
producer Hal Wallis as comedy relief for the film My Friend Irma
.
Martin was thrilled to be out of New York City
, a place he had developed a lifelong hatred for. He liked the fact that California
, because of its earthquakes, had few tall buildings. Suffering as he did from claustrophobia
, Martin almost never used elevators, and having to climb multiple flights of stairs in Manhattan's skyscrapers was not his idea of fun.
Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated for them one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only a modest $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions: their first starring feature was the independently-produced At War with the Army
(1950). They also had complete control of their club, records, radio and television appearances, and it was through these endeavors that Martin and Lewis earned millions of dollars. They made regular appearances on NBC
's Colgate Comedy Hour during the 1950s.
Although there had been a number of hugely successful film teams before, Martin and Lewis were a new kind of team. The fun they had together set them apart from everything else being done at the time. Both were talented entertainers, but the fact that they were such good friends on and off stage took their act to a new level.
Martin and Lewis were the hottest act in America during the early '50s, but the pace and the pressure took their toll. Dean usually had the thankless job of the straight man
, and his singing had yet to develop into his unique style of his later years. The critics praised Lewis, and while they admitted that Martin was the best partner he could have, most of them claimed that Lewis was the real talent of the team and could succeed with anyone. It is worth noting that Lewis always praised his partner, and while he appreciated the attention he was getting, he has always said with complete conviction that the act would never have worked without Martin. In the book Dean & Me Lewis calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time.
After five years at Paramount Pictures
, Dean Martin was becoming tired of scripts limiting him to colorless romantic leads while the stories centered on the antics of Jerry Lewis. Martin also noticed that Lewis was playing comedy scenes for pathos and greed and staging more of the action himself, having lost vision of what their comedy team-up was all about in the first place. The last straw came when Look
gave Martin and Lewis a cover photo—and cropped Martin out of the picture, humiliating Martin. Martin dutifully fulfilled the rest of his movie contract, but put less and less enthusiasm into his work and becoming increasingly disillusioned about his partnership with Lewis, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. The two finally could not possibly work together, especially when Martin angrily told his partner that he was "nothing to me but a fucking dollar sign." Martin left the act at his first opportunity, on July 25, 1956 (10 years to the day after the first official teaming, even though they performed together before). Hollywood or Bust
was their final film released in late 1956.
and Reprise
labels, as a movie actor (Rio Bravo
, The Young Lions
and the Matt Helm
series), as a member of Frank Sinatra
's Rat Pack
(Ocean's 11, Sergeants 3, Robin and the 7 Hoods
), and with his own hugely successful 1960s-'70s television variety series, The Dean Martin Show
. Lewis made a succession of commercially successful films on his own (The Nutty Professor
, The Bellboy
), at one point becoming Paramount Picture's biggest star.
The two men reconciled privately in the later years of Martin's life. In 1976, Martin made a surprise appearance on Lewis's annual Labor Day telethon
for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
, orchestrated by mutual friend Frank Sinatra
.
Another source claims that contrary to belief, the 1976 MDA telethon was not the first reconciliation of the legendary comedy team. In 1960, four years after they split, Martin and Lewis briefly reunited. Both were performing their own separate acts at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, a club they frequently played while they were together. Lewis caught Martin's closing act and Martin introduced his former partner to the audience, bringing him on stage. For about 15 minutes, they joked a bit and sang a duet of "Come Back to Me". However, the reunion was never duplicated. Later in 1960, when Lewis was rushing to finish The Bellboy
and too exhausted to perform his stage act, Martin generously replaced him.
In 1987, when Dean's son Dean Paul Martin
was killed in a plane crash, Jerry attended the funeral unannounced. He did not walk up to Dean, for he did not want any reporters to catch them together. Later when Dean found out about it, he called Jerry and talked to him for about an hour. Finally in 1989, the two reunited for the last time together at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where Dean was doing a week of shows. The occasion was Dean's 72nd birthday. Lewis presented him with a birthday cake, thanked him for all the years he gave joy to the world, and finally joked, "Why we broke up, I'll never know." This would be the last public reunion of the duo before Martin's death in 1995.
The animosity between Martin and Lewis after the split was legendary, but Lewis published an affectionate memoir of his partnership with Martin called Dean and Me — A Love Story in 2005.
television movie which portrays the lives of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Directed by John Gray
and starred Jeremy Northam
as Martin and Sean Hayes
as Lewis, the film depicts the years from 1946 to 1956, where they first teamed up, their separate lives and their breakup.
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
, comprising singer Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
(as the "straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
") and comedian Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946.
Before they teamed up Martin was a nightclub singer, while Lewis did a comedy act in which he lip-synched to records. As a team, they worked in nightclubs, on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
(starting in 1949) and in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and films. In the team's later years, it was no longer billed by the two men's surnames alone, as in their early radio work, but by their full names: "Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis." These separate identities helped them launch successful solo careers after the team's dissolution.
Nightclubs
In 1945, Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio) met a young comic named Jerry LewisJerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
(né Joseph Levitch, from Newark, N.J.) at the Glass Hat Club in New York, where both men were performing. Martin and Lewis' official debut together occurred at Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not a hit. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they didn't come up with a better act for their second show later that same night, they would be fired. Huddling together out in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to go for broke, to throw out the pre-scripted gags that hadn't worked and to basically just improvise their way through the act. Dean sang some songs, and Jerry came out dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and more or less making a shambles of both Martin's performance and the club's sense of decorum. They did slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
jokes, and did whatever else popped into their heads at the moment. This time, the audience doubled over in laughter.
Their success at the 500 led to a series of well-paying engagements up and down the Eastern seaboard, culminating with a triumphant run at New York's Copacabana
Copacabana (nightclub)
The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...
. Club patrons were convulsed by the act, which consisted primarily of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, and ultimately the two of them chasing each other around the stage and having as much fun as possible. The secret, they have both said, is that they essentially ignored the audience
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and played to one another.
Radio, television, and films
An NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio series commenced in 1949; it lasted until 1953. Martin and Lewis made key appearance on the first Ed Sullivan show ("Toast of the Town") in June 1948 (photographs and schedules in Library of Congress confirm this), although they may have appeared on TV earlier on "Hour Glass",the first TV variety show which aired from May 1946 - March 1947, during the time the duo first paired up formally. On October 3, 1948, the team were stars of the television debut of the NBC live television
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
variety show Welcome Aboard
Welcome Aboard (NBC TV series)
Welcome Aboard is an American variety show that was televised live on Sundays at 7:30pm EST on NBC. The series was initially titled Admiral Presents the Five Star Revue—Welcome Abroad, when it was sponsored by Admiral but was retitled when sponsorship was dropped in December 1948.The premiere...
sponsored by Admiral
Admiral (electrical appliances)
Admiral is an American appliance brand currently manufactured by Whirlpool Corporation. The brand is sold at The Home Depot.Ross Siragusa founded Continental Radio and Television Corp. as a maker of consumer electronics in Chicago during 1934. This later became Admiral Corp. Its annual sales were...
, manufacturers of TV sets, and were also featured on the second show of October 10, 1948 (kinescope survives of this live TV broadcast in UCLA archives). On April 3, 1949 they debuted on their TV version of their "Martin & Lewis" radio show on the NBC-TV network, with guest Bob Hope, with their inaugural program drawing lackluster reviews in the April 30, 1949 issue of Billboard magazine.
Also in 1949, Martin and Lewis were signed by Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
producer Hal Wallis as comedy relief for the film My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma (film)
My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...
.
Martin was thrilled to be out of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, a place he had developed a lifelong hatred for. He liked the fact that California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, because of its earthquakes, had few tall buildings. Suffering as he did from claustrophobia
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...
, Martin almost never used elevators, and having to climb multiple flights of stairs in Manhattan's skyscrapers was not his idea of fun.
Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated for them one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only a modest $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions: their first starring feature was the independently-produced At War with the Army
At War With The Army
At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount...
(1950). They also had complete control of their club, records, radio and television appearances, and it was through these endeavors that Martin and Lewis earned millions of dollars. They made regular appearances on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Colgate Comedy Hour during the 1950s.
Although there had been a number of hugely successful film teams before, Martin and Lewis were a new kind of team. The fun they had together set them apart from everything else being done at the time. Both were talented entertainers, but the fact that they were such good friends on and off stage took their act to a new level.
Martin and Lewis were the hottest act in America during the early '50s, but the pace and the pressure took their toll. Dean usually had the thankless job of the straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
, and his singing had yet to develop into his unique style of his later years. The critics praised Lewis, and while they admitted that Martin was the best partner he could have, most of them claimed that Lewis was the real talent of the team and could succeed with anyone. It is worth noting that Lewis always praised his partner, and while he appreciated the attention he was getting, he has always said with complete conviction that the act would never have worked without Martin. In the book Dean & Me Lewis calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time.
After five years at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, Dean Martin was becoming tired of scripts limiting him to colorless romantic leads while the stories centered on the antics of Jerry Lewis. Martin also noticed that Lewis was playing comedy scenes for pathos and greed and staging more of the action himself, having lost vision of what their comedy team-up was all about in the first place. The last straw came when Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
gave Martin and Lewis a cover photo—and cropped Martin out of the picture, humiliating Martin. Martin dutifully fulfilled the rest of his movie contract, but put less and less enthusiasm into his work and becoming increasingly disillusioned about his partnership with Lewis, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. The two finally could not possibly work together, especially when Martin angrily told his partner that he was "nothing to me but a fucking dollar sign." Martin left the act at his first opportunity, on July 25, 1956 (10 years to the day after the first official teaming, even though they performed together before). Hollywood or Bust
Hollywood Or Bust
Hollywood or Bust is a 1956 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The picture was filmed from April 16 to June 19, 1956 and released on December 6, 1956 by Paramount Pictures, almost five months after the Martin and Lewis partnership split up.-Plot:Malcolm Smith wins a...
was their final film released in late 1956.
After the split
Martin's career arguably reached new heights after the team split up, as a recording artist for the CapitolCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
and Reprise
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
labels, as a movie actor (Rio Bravo
Rio Bravo (1959 film)
Rio Bravo is a 1959 American Western film, directed by Howard Hawks. The script was written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett, based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell...
, The Young Lions
The Young Lions
The Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw, and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin.-Outline:...
and the Matt Helm
Matt Helm
Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.-The character and the series:The...
series), as a member of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
(Ocean's 11, Sergeants 3, Robin and the 7 Hoods
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Robin and the 7 Hoods is a 1964 American musical film that transplants the Robin Hood legend to a 1930s Chicago gangster setting. Directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by Frank Sinatra, with a screenplay by David R. Schwartz, the movie stars members of the Rat Pack as well as Bing Crosby, Peter...
), and with his own hugely successful 1960s-'70s television variety series, The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
. Lewis made a succession of commercially successful films on his own (The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
, The Bellboy
The Bellboy
The Bellboy is a 1960 comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jerry Lewis. The film was released on July 20, 1960 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The movie opens with a movie studio executive introducing the movie...
), at one point becoming Paramount Picture's biggest star.
The two men reconciled privately in the later years of Martin's life. In 1976, Martin made a surprise appearance on Lewis's annual Labor Day telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
, orchestrated by mutual friend Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.
Another source claims that contrary to belief, the 1976 MDA telethon was not the first reconciliation of the legendary comedy team. In 1960, four years after they split, Martin and Lewis briefly reunited. Both were performing their own separate acts at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, a club they frequently played while they were together. Lewis caught Martin's closing act and Martin introduced his former partner to the audience, bringing him on stage. For about 15 minutes, they joked a bit and sang a duet of "Come Back to Me". However, the reunion was never duplicated. Later in 1960, when Lewis was rushing to finish The Bellboy
The Bellboy
The Bellboy is a 1960 comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jerry Lewis. The film was released on July 20, 1960 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The movie opens with a movie studio executive introducing the movie...
and too exhausted to perform his stage act, Martin generously replaced him.
In 1987, when Dean's son Dean Paul Martin
Dean Paul Martin
Dean Paul Martin was an American entertainer, noted as a tennis player, a singer and actor, and a military pilot.-Early life and career:...
was killed in a plane crash, Jerry attended the funeral unannounced. He did not walk up to Dean, for he did not want any reporters to catch them together. Later when Dean found out about it, he called Jerry and talked to him for about an hour. Finally in 1989, the two reunited for the last time together at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where Dean was doing a week of shows. The occasion was Dean's 72nd birthday. Lewis presented him with a birthday cake, thanked him for all the years he gave joy to the world, and finally joked, "Why we broke up, I'll never know." This would be the last public reunion of the duo before Martin's death in 1995.
The animosity between Martin and Lewis after the split was legendary, but Lewis published an affectionate memoir of his partnership with Martin called Dean and Me — A Love Story in 2005.
Biopic
Martin and Lewis is a 2002 CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television movie which portrays the lives of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Directed by John Gray
John Gray (director)
John Gray is an American writer, director, producer. He is the creator of the CBS television series Ghost Whisperer starring Jennifer Love Hewitt...
and starred Jeremy Northam
Jeremy Northam
Jeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Ivor Novello in the 2001 film Gosford Park, as Dean Martin in the 2002 television movie Martin and Lewis, and as Thomas More on the Showtime series The Tudors...
as Martin and Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
as Lewis, the film depicts the years from 1946 to 1956, where they first teamed up, their separate lives and their breakup.
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Jerry Lewis Role | Dean Martin Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 1949 in film The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello... |
My Friend Irma My Friend Irma (film) My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis... |
Seymour | Steve Laird | Film Debut |
| 1950 1950 in film The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush... |
My Friend Irma Goes West My Friend Irma Goes West My Friend Irma Goes West is a 1950 film based on the radio show My Friend Irma and featuring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis... |
Seymour | Steve Laird | |
| 1950 1950 in film The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush... |
At War with the Army At War With The Army At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount... |
PFC Alvin Korwin | Sgt Victor Puccinelli | |
| 1951 1951 in film The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:... |
That's My Boy | 'Junior' Jackson | Bill Baker | |
| 1952 1952 in film The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.... |
Sailor Beware | Melvin Jones | Al Crowthers | |
| 1952 1952 in film The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.... |
Jumping Jacks Jumping Jacks Jumping Jacks is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The movie was released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:Chick Allen is a paratrooper. He invites his former partner, Hap Smith , to help out with a show that he and the other soldiers are preparing... |
Hap Smith | Chick Allen | |
| 1952 1952 in film The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.... |
Road to Bali Road to Bali Road to Bali is a 1952 comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. It was released by Paramount Pictures and is the sixth of the seven Road to … movies... |
'Woman' in Lala's Dream | Man in Lala's Dream | Cameo; first appearance in Technicolor Technicolor Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952... |
| 1953 1953 in film The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A... |
The Stooge The Stooge The Stooge is a 1952 American comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released on December 31, 1952 by Paramount.-Plot:... |
Theodore Rogers | Bill Miller | |
| 1953 1953 in film The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A... |
Scared Stiff | Myron Mertz | Larry Todd | |
| 1953 1953 in film The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A... |
The Caddy The Caddy The Caddy is a 1953 American film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from November 24, 1952 through February 23, 1953. It was released by Paramount Pictures on August 10, 1953... |
Harvey Miller, Jr. | Joe Anthony | |
| 1953 1953 in film The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A... |
Money from Home Money From Home Money From Home is a 1953 film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The comedy was the first for the Martin and Lewis team to be shot in color and was their only film in 3-D. The picture was premiered as a special preview screening across the U.S... |
Virgil Yokum | Herman "Honey Talk" Nelson | Filmed in 3-D. |
| 1954 1954 in film The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda... |
Living It Up Living It Up Living It Up is a 1954 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and released by Paramount Pictures.The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson was based on the 1953 musical Hazel Flagg by Ben Hecht, in... |
Homer Flagg | Dr. Steve Harris | |
| 1954 1954 in film The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda... |
3 Ring Circus 3 Ring Circus 3 Ring Circus is a 1954 film comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. It was shot from February 17 to March 31, 1954 and released on December 25 by Paramount Pictures.The film was the first starring Martin and Lewis to be shot in VistaVision... |
Jerome F. Hotchkiss | Pete Nelson | Re-released in 1978 as 'Jerrico The Wonder Clown' |
| 1955 1955 in film The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released.... |
You're Never Too Young You're Never Too Young You're Never Too Young is a comedy film starring the team of Martin and Lewis, released on August 25, 1955 by Paramount Pictures, and co-starring Diana Lynn, Nina Foch, and Raymond Burr.-Plot:... |
Wilbur Hoolick | Bob Miles | |
| 1955 1955 in film The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released.... |
Artists and Models Artists and Models Artists and Models is a 1955 Paramount musical comedy in VistaVision and marked Martin and Lewis's fourteenth feature together as a team. The film co-stars Dorothy Malone, Eva Gabor, Anita Ekberg, and Shirley MacLaine.-Plot:... |
Eugene Fullstack | Rick Todd | |
| 1956 1956 in film The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by... |
Pardners Pardners Pardners is a movie starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis and was released on July 25, 1956 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The storyline involves two ranch partners who are killed by the 'Masked Raiders' defending their land. Their infant sons are separated, one being raised on the farm and... |
Wade Kingsley Sr/Wade Kingsley Jr | Slim Mosley Sr/Slim Mosley Jr | |
| 1956 1956 in film The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by... |
Hollywood or Bust Hollywood Or Bust Hollywood or Bust is a 1956 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The picture was filmed from April 16 to June 19, 1956 and released on December 6, 1956 by Paramount Pictures, almost five months after the Martin and Lewis partnership split up.-Plot:Malcolm Smith wins a... |
Malcolm Smith | Steve Wiley | Last film together |
Further reading
- The Jerry Lewis Films by James L. Neibaur and Ted OkudaTed OkudaTed Okuda is an American non-fiction author and film historian. He has many books and magazine features to his credit, under his own name and in collaboration with others.-Career:...
. Jefferson, SC: McFarland, 1994, ISBN 0-8995-0961-4 - Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself): The Story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis by Arthur MarxArthur MarxArthur Julius Marx was an American author, a former ranked amateur tennis player, and son of entertainer Groucho Marx and his first wife, Ruth Johnson....
, New York, NY: Hawthorn Books, 1974, ISBN 978-080152430
External links
- Jerry Lewis interview for the Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
- Collection of Martin and Lewis Radio Shows