Emails from some readers said they enjoyed our first embedded video on TMV, the Lou Costello outtakes. And some wanted more on a classic comedian.
So click on the arrow above and see one of the and most popular comedy teams ever — Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. Martin was the smoother, relaxed singer. Lewis, who idolized the older Martin, did a kind of facial and overall physical comedy that some believe was the inspiration for Jim Carrey.
When they split up with hard feelings after 10 years, they went their separate ways. Martin evolved into a “Rat Pack” member, best-selling singer (his hits continued into the 1960s), and host of a highly rated NBC-TV show. He clearly was beloved by the press and most in show business. What you saw on the screen was what he reportedly was.
Lewis had image problems once he split from Martin and went solo in films for Paramount and other studios. But in recent years he has received many honors and accolades from fellow (and young) comedians (and France, where they always idolized him), helped put out DVDs of his and Martin’s best work, and wrote a classic (and touching) show biz bio of the short-lived comedy team — and his behind the scenes efforts to help Martin even when things were bumpy. Lewis, of course, will earn a special place in American history for his work to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy.
The clip above is from You Tube. It’s a tribute to Martin & Lewis by a fan — a montage of clips culled from their improvised-madness-packed Colgate Comedy Hour appearances (before TMV’s time but they hold up VERY well). Click on the arrow and watch them do a classic “show stopping” song and keep an eye on the clips — and note how Lewis DOES remind you of Jim Carrey…
(And FYI TMV didn’t see them as a kid. He was too young to see or appreciate them; yours truly found out about them by watching videos and DVDs of their performances).
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.