Jerry Lewis

His second marriage was to a much younger woman, SanDee Pitnick, a Las Vegas dancer, in 1983. He was 56 and she was 32 at the time of the wedding.

He has a total of seven children.

Jerry Lewis’s name at birth was Joseph Levitch. His father Daniel was an actor and master of ceremonies who performed under the name Danny Lewis. His mother Rachael was a piano player for the New York City radio station.

He started performing along with his parents when he was five years old. He dropped out of the Irvington High School to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer and started using the stage name Jerry Lewis.

He developed a comedic routine called the ‘Record Act’ in which he mimed the lyrics of popular songs while a phonograph played the songs offstage. He was given a chance to perform at a burlesque house which flopped. Unable to get any more shows he worked at odd jobs to make ends meet.

His father’s friend, Max Coleman helped him book a performance at Brown’s Hotel in New York. This time his show was a big success and motivated him to further his career in this field.

While performing at nightclubs in 1945, he met a singer Dean Martin. This meeting proved to be fortuitous and the two went on to form the comedic pair Martin and Lewis in 1946. Their initial routine consisted of Martin singing a song which Lewis interrupted with ad-libbed insults.

Lewis played the comedian while Martin served as the straight man. The pair developed a routine characterized by ad-libbing and impromptu jokes instead of planned rehearsals. By the late 1940s the pair had a prominent national presence.

The duo made many appearances on early live television in 1948, making their debut on Ed Sullivan’s ‘Toast of the Town’. The very next year they had their own regular radio show called ‘The Martin and Lewis Show’.

He rose to international prominence as a part of the comedy duo ‘Martin and Lewis’ which he had formed with Dean Martin. The pair was the hottest act in America during the 1950s and used to perform in nightclubs before venturing into radio, television and films. They appeared together in 16 super hit movies.