Updated: February 14, 2026

Jerry Lewis

Born Joseph Levitch March 16, 1926 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Died August 20, 2017 ( Aged 91 ) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. "The King of Comedy" "Le Roi du Crazy" "The Total Filmmaker"

Occupations: Comedian actor singer film director film producer screen writer human itarian vaudevillian headliner Years active 1945 to 2017

Spouses: Patti Palmer ​ ​( M. 1944; Div. 1980 )​

Sandee Pitnick ​( M. 1983 )​ Children 8, including Gary Notable work The Typewriter The Bellboy ( 1960 ) The Opera Singer The Nutty Professor ( 1963 ) Chairman of the Board Comedy Career Medium Film Television Stage Theatre Genres Parody Satire Slapstick Signature

Jerry Lewis ( Born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 August 20, 2017 ) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. Across his seven decade career, he is regarded as one of the greatest comedians of the 20th century, by his nickname the "King of Comedy".

Rising to prominence with singer Dean Martin, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946, the two did a series of sixteen buddy comedy films, their televised run on The Colgate Comedy Hour, live stage performances, guest spots on other shows and a radio series until their split in 1956. Lewis continued on his own in thirty five motion pictures from 1957 to 1984, guest hosted The Tonight Show a record fifty two times, while helming his own nightly series and from 1950 to 1989, performed closely with Sammy Davis Jr. As its honorary national chairman, Lewis raised funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association ( MDA ) through his annual Labor Day telecast The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, a live event which raised $2.6 billion each year.

Performing in concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings, on radio and appeared in at least 117 film and television productions, Lewis was honored two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and France awarded him the Legion of Honor.

Early Life and Education:

Lewis was born as Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family. His parents were Daniel "Danny" Levitch ( 1902 to 1980 ), a master of ceremonies and vaudevillian who performed under the stage name Danny Lewis, whose parents immigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire to New York, and Rachael "Rae" Levitch ( Nee Brodsky; 1904 to 1982 ), a WOR radio pianist and Danny's music director, from Warsaw. Reports about his birth name are conflicting; in Lewis 1982 autobiography, he claimed his birth name was Joseph, after his maternal grandfather, but his birth certificate, the 1930 U. S. Census, and the 1940 U. S. Census all named him as Jerome. Reports about the hospital where he was born conflict as well; biographer Shawn Levy claims Lewis was born at Clinton Private Hospital and others report it as Newark Beth Israel Hospital. Other aspects of his early life conflict with accounts made by family members, burial records, and vital records.

In his teenage years, Lewis was known for pulling pranks in his neighborhood, including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies. He was expelled from Weequahic High School in the ninth grade and dropped out of Irvington High School in the tenth grade. Lewis said that he ceased using the names Joseph and Joey as an adult to avoid being confused with Joe E. Lewis and Joe Louis. By age 15, Lewis had developed his "Record Act", miming lyrics to songs while a phonograph played offstage. He landed a gig at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but his performance fell flat and he was unable to book any more shows.

To make ends meet, Lewis worked as a soda jerk and a theater usher for Suzanne Pleshette's father, Gene Pleshette, at the Paramount Theatre as well as at Loew's Capitol Theatre, both in New York City. A veteran burlesque comedian, Max Coleman, who had worked with Lewis father years before, persuaded him to try again. Irving Kaye, a Borscht Belt comedian, saw Lewis' mime act at Brown's Hotel in Loch Sheldrake, New York, the following summer, and the audience was so enthusiastic that Kaye became Lewis manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances. During World War II, Lewis was rejected from military service because of a heart murmur.