It's always great to see Jer getting the respect he deserves.
Also,http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8k7m4e2TYeU/ScMKqlC1SCI/AAAAAAAACmY/ETY0vSaTqwg/s400/glass.bmp
― we can be gyros just for one day (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 18:31 (twelve years ago) link
I'm really sorry we couldn't run a photo of him doing that from this event
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 18:34 (twelve years ago) link
lou reed's last record w/ Metallica is (unintentionally) funnier than anything jerry lewis has ever (intentionally) done for a laugh.
― kurwa mać (Polish for "long life") (Eisbaer), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 19:02 (twelve years ago) link
it was nice to hear the Ladies Man butterfly gag get a big laugh
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
"Thanks for the mail now baby let's wail."
― Eric H., Wednesday, 21 March 2012 19:23 (twelve years ago) link
nice piece Morbz, sounds like a fun night
― the sir edmund hillary of sitting through pauly shore films (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 19:27 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't include Jerry's claim that he was the first to use arclights on a Hollywood set. "I saw them at UFA!"
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 19:30 (twelve years ago) link
Hoberman catalogs some of the evening's weirder moments (so right about the tanned wiseguys), and btw calls JL "Hollywood's most cerebral funny man since Buster Keaton":
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/94492/hey-jer-ree/
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 March 2012 14:48 (twelve years ago) link
After calling Jerry’s trademark “Hey lay-DEE!” the Beethoven’s Fifth of Comedy, Belzer...
Belzer OTM.
― we can be gyros just for one day (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:22 (twelve years ago) link
can't believe I never made the connection between that and Beasties "Hey Ladies" before
― the sir edmund hillary of sitting through pauly shore films (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:36 (twelve years ago) link
I can believe it.
Also, Richard Brody:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2012/03/jerry-lewis-and-love.html
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:39 (twelve years ago) link
amazing story morbius
I do have a question though -- in that 'hardly working' clip upthread, why is the music a faux-oriental koto cover version of 'memories' from cats
― Milton Parker, Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:39 (twelve years ago) link
why
― Milton Parker, Thursday, 22 March 2012 15:40 (twelve years ago) link
via Mubi: a smorgasbord!
The centerpiece of the new issue of the multi-lingual film journal La Furia Umana is a walloping dossier on Jerry Lewis. Of the 24 pieces on Lewis, ten are in English: B Kite on the Little Clown in The Errand Boy (1961), Zach Campbell on Lewis's relation to his own image on screen, Murray Pomerance on that face, Peter Nellhaus on the extension of Lewis's auteurship into the films he didn't direct, David Phelps on Lewis's "Janus-faced comedy," R Emmet Sweeney on the September 18, 1955 broadcast of the Colgate Comedy Hour, Sudarshan Ramani on Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1982), John J Kern on The Day the Clown Cried (1972), Steven Shaviro on Smorgasbord (aka Cracking Up, 1983) — and Gina Telaroli's remarkable, extra-textual piece on Hardly Working (1979).
http://www.lafuriaumana.it/
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 17:58 (eleven years ago) link
B. Kite's is one of the great essays I've read on Lewis.
― hot and brothered (Eric H.), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 18:00 (eleven years ago) link
Smorgasbord/Cracking Up was brilliant. If it was his last film as a directory (as seems insanely likely), what a film to go out on.
― Dancing with Mr. T (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 18:01 (eleven years ago) link
Must read this.
I've always been intrigued with the idea of transcribing the wandering, rococo verbalizations of Jerry the Kid in the films, so here's a partial, inadequate start:
http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/its-only-money/2269
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 18:07 (eleven years ago) link
Nice!
― Dancing with Mr. T (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 18:09 (eleven years ago) link
I'd never seen It's Only Money before and was kind of shocked to hear him aaaaalmost doing the Kelp voice.
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 18:21 (eleven years ago) link
Dave Itzkoff, NYT:
Can you make an Alaskan Polar Bear Heater in Tennessee? A musical version of “The Nutty Professor,” the Jerry Lewis comedy that introduced that stiff alcoholic concoction – along with the Jekyll-and-Hyde-like characters of Julius Kelp and Buddy Love – will have its world premiere in Nashville before a planned Broadway run later this year, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center said on Wednesday.
The “Nutty Professor” musical will be performed at the center’s James K. Polk Theater from July 24 through August 19, the organization said. The production, which is adapted from Mr. Lewis’s hit 1963 film of the same title, is to star Michael Andrew as Kelp, and will feature music by Marvin Hamlisch (“A Chorus Line”) and a book and lyrics by Rupert Holmes (“Curtains,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”). Mr. Lewis – who didn’t need a fat suit to play his “Nutty Professor,” thank you very much – is directing.
With his trademark humility, Mr. Lewis said in a statement: “This musical will be spectacular for a couple of reasons. One, I’m directing it. Two, I have Michael Andrew, who is one of the best talents to come down the pike in 50 years. And I’m surrounding him with one-of-a-kind creative people, like Marvin Hamlisch, Rupert Holmes and me.” He added: “After it’s over, give me a call and let me know if everything I said was spot on.”
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 16:26 (eleven years ago) link
I'll definitely see this when it's within driving range, but ffs, Marvin Hamlisch? Lewis had Count fucking Basie in his films, and the best he can come up with for this is Hamlisch?
― Dancing with Mr. T (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 17:25 (eleven years ago) link
Everybody else he'd approve of is dead.
At the NYC birthday gala, the crowd went 'ooooh' at Hamlisch's name, to give you an idea of his most loyal demo.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 17:28 (eleven years ago) link
this was on cable last night for some reason and just... wtf this film is so lol 90s in every way
― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 12 April 2012 15:50 (eleven years ago) link
Was it it the uncut 140-minute-something version? Pretty good, and maybe Vincent Gallo's best performance before Essential Killing.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 12 April 2012 16:02 (eleven years ago) link
I only caught the last half and admittedly was fascinated by the nutso casting. Gallo is pretty funny. The final scene with Depp and Lewis as icefishing eskimos (speaking Inuit?) and then the fish up and flies away.... o_0
― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 12 April 2012 16:04 (eleven years ago) link
my Friars Club friend ran into Jerry last week and told him that he smelled great. Jerry laughed.
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Monday, 23 April 2012 17:55 (eleven years ago) link
Jerry and Me... Been looking forward to this since donna rouge's curator pal told me about it:
http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=4395
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 24 June 2012 14:22 (eleven years ago) link
So, unless it's a very elaborate ruse, Jerry appears to be directing the Nutty musical.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/theater/jerry-lewis-directing-a-musical-nutty-professor.html?pagewanted=all
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Monday, 23 July 2012 13:59 (eleven years ago) link
I'm guessing no one here will be filing a report from Nashville.
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Monday, 23 July 2012 19:22 (eleven years ago) link
up and running (RIP Marvin Hamlisch)
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120806/ENTERTAINMENT03/308060072/Jerry-Lewis-thanks-Nutty-patrons
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 7 August 2012 20:22 (eleven years ago) link
Jerry-directed episode of "Super Force"
http://thefilmsaurus.com/2012/10/31/jerry-lewis-directs/
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Friday, 2 November 2012 16:36 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, never knew he'd done any tv work post-Cracking Up.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 2 November 2012 16:46 (eleven years ago) link
next, his episode of Showtime's "Brothers":
http://thefilmsaurus.com/2012/11/05/the-return-of-jerry-lewis-directs/
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 19:12 (eleven years ago) link
a recent AV Club primer.... I don't think Artists and Models is quite so great but it's a decent place to start w/ the Dean years.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/where-to-start-with-jerry-lewis-filmography,88748/
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 November 2012 16:42 (eleven years ago) link
The Total Film-Maker
― turds (Hungry4Ass), Thursday, 29 November 2012 17:46 (eleven years ago) link
it is his book.
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 November 2012 17:52 (eleven years ago) link
is it good
― turds (Hungry4Ass), Thursday, 29 November 2012 18:03 (eleven years ago) link
I have only seen a copy once. Scorsese swears by it apparently.
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 November 2012 18:07 (eleven years ago) link
It's a how-to.
Shooting starts tomorrow on new Jerry movie.
(with Mort Sahl in the cast!)
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Tuesday, 15 January 2013 01:28 (eleven years ago) link
that's a lotta chopped liver
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 15 January 2013 02:08 (eleven years ago) link
p amazing tales of initial teaming w/ dean martin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iKNCm7hSgHo#!
― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Monday, 4 March 2013 21:57 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, that's great.
My dad saw them live at the Paramount in the early 50s, says he never laughed so hard before or since. After that, all other comedy fell just a little short.
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Tuesday, 5 March 2013 02:43 (eleven years ago) link
At a trivia contest I was at a couple of weeks ago, one of the questions had to do with Jerola's 1956 hit cover of "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody." I've got a vinyl copy of the album, so I was able to come up with the answer for my team.
http://img0058.popscreencdn.com/131715651_amazoncom-just-sings-part-2-45-rpm-ep-jerry-lewis-music.jpg
― clemenza, Tuesday, 5 March 2013 03:15 (eleven years ago) link
Nice! I've got this hanging on my wall:http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/cae0d7851b64dd6778fca4523b763d69/726440.jpg
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Tuesday, 5 March 2013 03:18 (eleven years ago) link
What fascinates me about Cracking Up—I should say one of the many things that fascinate me about Cracking Up—is the fact that, while “playing” the schmuck Warren Nefron, Lewis didn’t bother to foreswear his impeccably-tailored suits or his expensive watch or the gold chain on his other wrist.* It is a known fact that Jerry never wears the same socks more than once, and I believe that, through the course of Cracking Up, he wears at least a dozen Member’s Only jackets in different colors, usually jauntily hiked up to the elbow. You can almost imagine him flinging them about, like Gatsby’s shirts.
Jerry’s most noteworthy sartorial choice on Saturday were his vinyl-shiny shoes that, as he was seated and his pants began to cinch up, revealed themselves to be ankle-length Beatle boots. (He wears a low-gloss version of same in The Patsy.) It was the sort of thing you might expect Gary Glitter, if not Gary Lewis, to wear...
http://blog.sundancenow.com/weekly-columns/bombast-88
― dell (del), Sunday, 14 April 2013 05:09 (ten years ago) link
The Family Jewels, The Patsy, and The Big Mouth (zero votes altogether) are each on their own better than anything by Judd Apatow.
― Josefa, Sunday, 14 April 2013 06:52 (ten years ago) link
I read that Pinkerton piece... but I knew pretty much all of that. "That's Jerry," we fans say.
― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 14 April 2013 07:27 (ten years ago) link
The whole "Buddy Love/Jerry Langford is the REAL Jerry" thing is well-worn territory; for Pinkerton to treat it as some kind of new insight is amateurish at best. And I swear I'd read the thing about Jerry's suits and jewelry somewhere else before, possibly in Rosenbaum's Hardly Working review.
While an exception might be made for The 40-Year-Old Virgin, this is OTM.
― Pope Frank is the messenger of your doom (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 14 April 2013 14:18 (ten years ago) link