Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis Joseph Levitch (March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017), known worldwide as Jerry Lewis, was an American comedian, director, actor, producer, singer, screenwriter and humanitarian, whose career spanned eight decades and was nicknamed "The King of Comedy". He was known for his partnership with Dean Martin as the groundbreaking act of Martin and Lewis. Lewis went on to star in, write, produce and direct many motion pictures, such as "The Delicate Delinquent", "The Sad Sack", "Rock-A-Bye Baby", "The Geisha Boy", "Don't Give Up The Ship", "Visit to a Small Planet", "Cinderfella", "The Bellboy", "The Ladies' Man", "The Errand
Jerry Lewis boxing bout for MDA's fund drive, with Martin as referee. He then began hosting New York area telethons to benefit the organization from 1952 to 1959, leading up to the live annual Labor Day event of "The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon" (also referred to as "Jerry Lewis Extra Special Special", "Jerry Lewis Super Show" and "Jerry Lewis Stars Across America"), which ran from 1966 to 2010. In 1977, Lewis was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. By 1990, popular culture had shifted its view of the differently-abled and