“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not differ nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again”(TOJLCMS, 5). For Jerry Lewis, this was a common outlook he had. Jerry has devoted his life to entertaining others and putting a smile on their faces. Although he did suffer numerous struggles, Jerry Lewis has still successfully made it to the top (Lewis, 3).Joseph Levitch was born March 16, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey. He was born to Danny and Rae Levitch (Levy, 1). “Jerry’s folks were part time entertainers and because of this, he was left home a lot” (Lewis, 15). The only person in his life he felt belongingness with was with his grandmother. His grandmother was a person whom he felt secure and through her he received the love he longed for (Lewis, 15). “Jerry Lewis has always depicted his childhood as a desperate, neurotic struggle with abandonment, friendlessness, deprivation, and Nazis, turning his early life into a kind of explanation of the strange course of his career” (Levy, 1).Lewis first performed at the age of five. “As a kid, he dreamed of growing up and become a clown” (Lewis, 15). At the age of 17 he quit school to enter into show business (Levy, 1). He chose the last name Lewis from his biological fathers stage name. He then changed his first name from Joseph to Jerry so he would not be confused with Joe E. Lewis (Levy, 1). “Jerry went around to different agents exploiting them with his fathers familiarity to get a foot in the door” (Levy, 34). “The career of Jerry Lewis did not really begin until July 25,1946, when the 20-year old teamed up for the first time with a singer by the name of Dean Martin” (Shaviro, 1). “By 1949, Jerry and Dean were among the biggest stars in Hollywood” (Shaviro, 1). “In less then ei...
