The Untold Side of Jerry Lewis’s Personal Life and Affairs
This article appeared in carterfive.com and has been published here with permission.The King of Comedy Is Born
Jerry Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16th, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. His father was Daniel Levitch was a multi-talented Vaudevillian master of ceremonies who immigrated to New York from the Russian Empire and performed under the stage name Danny Lewis. Jerry’s mother was Rachael “Rae” Levitch, a pianist and Danny’s music director from Warsaw, Poland.
Jerry’s parents’ busy schedule meant he was often left alone as a kid. As so often happens with comedians, he developed a personality that craved attention.
Jerry or Joseph?
Jerry always kept a secret about his birth name — a secret he would take with him to the grave. To this day, no one can be certain of his real first name. His birth certificate and early census information list him as Jerome Levitch, but for decades, he claimed his birth name was Joseph Levitch.
Even in his 1982 autobiography, Jerry Lewis: In Person, he claimed he was named Joseph after his maternal grandfather. As we shall see, shape-shifting Jerry made many spurious claims throughout his life.
The Borscht Belt
Jerry’s life as a performer began when he was just five years old, taking to the stage at the Borscht Belt’s summer camp theaters in the Catskill Mountains, Upper New York State. More recently, the 1980s movie Dirty Dancing and television’s Marvelous Mrs. Maisel made these summer camps famous.
Many other great Jewish American comics — such as Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Stiller, Woody Allen, and Joan Rivers — got their start and honed their self-deprecating comedy schtick at the Borscht Belt’s indoor and outdoor theaters.
Teenage Prankster
Bored of school at Union Avenue School in Irvington, New Jersey, the young Jerry put on amateur shows for his classmates. By the time he was a teenager, Jerry was a tearaway, famous for pulling pranks, like sneaking into school kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies.
As for his schooling, well… that didn’t go too well. In the ninth grade, he was expelled from Weequahic High School and he dropped out of Irvington High School in the 10th grade.
Jerry Lewis was a genuine comedy phenomenon. He and his partner, Dean Martin, ruled Hollywood in the 1950s. However, just like the Jekyll and Hyde character he played in his most famous film, The Nutty Professor, Jerry had two sides. Beneath the surface of his beloved, charitable side, the zany comic jester was an ego-fueled monster who fathered eight children and a serial cheat who had numerous affairs.