Comedy and compassion seal legacy of Jerry Lewis

In his distinguished eight- decade career as an entertainer, Jerry Lewis wore many a hat – and comfortably so.

Known best for his nerdy slapstick schtick in most of his 50-plus major motion pictures, Lewis at the same time flourished as a tremendously successful writer and producer.

The classic masks of theater – with comedy and tragedy, joy and sorrow inextricably linked – also fit the legendary entertainer to a T. Unlike many of his films that highbrow critics often panned as juvenile and one-dimensional, Lewis, who died Sunday of heart failure at age 91, embodied above all else a mature and deeply humanistic multi-dimensional personna.

Of course, older Mahoning Valley residents will remember well his comedic personna when seats of the neighborhood Schenley, Newport and Uptown theaters would fill with admiring fans of Lewis’ singularly silly brand of comedy.

There, they would giggle at Lewis’ crippling fear of crows in “The Caddy.” They would laugh at the antics of Lewis as the talentless bellhop hired to impersonate a dead comedian in “The Patsy.” And they would chuckle at the entertainer’s portrayal of a shy and awkward science professor whose special formula transforms hims into a suave and debonair lady’s man in “The Nutty Professor.”

Others older yet will recall with fondness Lewis’ partnership with Ohio crooner Dean Martin in films and standup comedy acts in the 1940s and ’50s.

But that was only one remarkable side of Jerry Lewis. For legions of Lewis aficionados, the other side of that mask makes an even deeper mark.

Few can forget, for example, the comedian’s gut-wrenching and tear-filled rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that became his signature finale to the immensely successful telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association from 1964 through 2010. Many also will remember that children’s Labor Day holidays would be spent scouring for change in neighborhoods, washing cars, selling lemonade – all to help “Jerry’s Kids.”

Needless to say, Lewis leaves an indelible imprint on comedy and humanitarianism.

IMPACT OF LEWIS ON OTHERS

His impact on popular fun-filled entertainment cannot be denied. The Hollywood Walk of Fame honors his talents with two separate stars – one for his work in movies and another for his work on television.

Comedian Jim Carrey spoke of Lewis’ influence on his career: “That fool was no dummy. Jerry Lewis was an undeniable genius an unfathomable blessing, comedy’s absolute! I am because he was!”

Woody Allen referred to Lewis as one of his greatest influences. Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy reprised the comedian’s lead roles in remakes of “The Jerk” and “The Nutty Professor” respectively with great box-office success. Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese hailed Lewis as “a master, a giant, an innovator.”

We would also attribute those three supersized qualities to Lewis for his work over 45 years as the voice and face of the MDA. Through his annual Labor Day telethons, he raised an estimated $2.6 billion for a cause and for his MD-stricken kids.

In mourning the loss of Jerry Lewis, Dr. R. Rodney Howell, chairman of the MDA board, “His enthusiasm for finding cures for neuromuscular disease was matched only by his unyielding commitment to see the fight through to the end.”

In recent years, revenue from the telethons led to the discovery of life-changing drugs to control and treat Duchenne MD and spinal muscular dystrophy.

Such results-oriented humanitarianism has been a hallmark trait of Lewis for decades. Several years back, former U.S. Rep. Les Aspin honored Lewis with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, the first entertainer anywhere in the world to be so honored.

Matter-of-fact Lewis, however, shunned personal glory and never boasted of the many honors he had accumulated over the years from organizations as diverse as the Academy Awards to France’s Legion of Honor. No, this “Nutty Professor,” “Patsy,” and “Bellboy” preferred living out the message of this motto that he so often repeated:

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Admirers of the comedian would do well to honor his legacy by embracing that selfless mantra.