By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — Comedian Jerry Lewis died last week at the age of 91. Lewis, who was Jewish and was born Jerome Levitch, rarely spoke of his religious beliefs, though he did say in reponse to a question about his high school years that he was “the original graffiti artist—I drew a picture of Hitler kissing a Jewish lady!” He visited Israel in 1981 for a telethon, having had a previous visit canceled as he was scheduled to fly to Israel the night before the Six Day War. Which of the following is true about Jerry Lewis?
A. He is the only performer to receive a nomination for an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Chevalier de l’ Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur award in France, a British Academy Film Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, and a Clown d’Or (Golden Clown) award at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo.
B. He is the only Jewish comedian nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
C. Albert Einstein saw Jerry Lewis’s debut on a local New Jersey television show, and met him afterward, telling Lewis “You did a good job, young man.”
D. Many years ago Jerry was a guest at a Chabad fund raising event in Los Angeles. As Jerry danced in a circle with arms wrapped around the rabbis on either side, he noticed that there was a young boy in the room who was in a wheelchair. Jerry went over to him and twirled his wheelchair around as the boy clapped and sang. From this experience, Jerry decided to do whatever he could to help other handicapped children, leading to the idea of a telethon for Muscular Dystrophy.
E. Early in his performing career, Lewis was booed off the stage at a club in Nashville when the audience realized that he was not the rock ‘n’ roll performer Jerry Lee Lewis. And oddly, Jerry Lee Lewis was booed off the stage at a concert in Las Vegas when the audience realized that he was not the comedian Jerry Lewis.
Zimmerman is the author of the Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong series of Jewish trivia e-books. Learn more at http://www.rrrjewishtrivia.com