Chris Albrecht is one of those guys you don’t screw around with on TCA press tours. So the day he got heckled by Jerry Lewis was one to remember.

Albrecht, a former boss at HBO, was running Starz in July of 2011 when he took the podium in front of a roomful of TV reporters to introduce Lewis. The comedy legend, who passed away Sunday at 91, was the subject that year of an Encore documentary.

Albrecht doesn’t give up the mike easily. He was still rambling his introduction when Lewis shouted from the wings, “Hey Chris! I’m going to have to shave again!”

It was a taste of what it must have been like back in the late ‘40s and ‘50s when Lewis and his comedy partner Dean Martin were the hottest act in nightclubs and in films.

Most of the reporters covering press tour in 2011 weren’t even born when Lewis stopped making his string of slapstick comedy hits of the ’50s and ’60s. Back when Abbott & Costello, Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Milton Berle and Groucho Marx all found new careers on television, young Lewis–together with Martin–was too big for the box.Things had changed in 2011. TV didn’t need Lewis anymore, or at least that was how folks felt at the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. After 50 years, he was being “retired” from the annual TV fundraiser.

Lewis was still smarting from the MD demotion. He told reporters he would hold “an international press conference” on Sept. 5–the day after the telethon–to talk about “what I think is important, and that’s the future, not the past. Okay?”

If there was a press conference, I didn’t hear about it.

Questions about recent sexist remarks he had made further soured Lewis’ mood. At one point he gave his hotel room number to a female reporter. “I feel like I’m working for the Arabs for Christ’s sake,” he snarked.

He could also be charming and magnanimous. Lewis praised Jim Carrey as the “most brilliant physical comic we’ve ever had.” On hearing of Lewis’ death Sunday, Carrey returned the compliment, tweeting, “I am because he was.”

Back at that Starz press conference, Lewis let it be known that he was not a fan of the changing media landscape. He said the industry had “destroyed themselves” by putting “all their product on that goddam stupid phone. You’re going to put Lawrence of Arabia on that stupid son of a bitch?”

He lectured us on what we covered. “I don’t allow people in my family to use the term ‘TV.’ That’s stupid. It’s ‘television.’ It’s a miracle. It’s entitled to that respect.”

Twenty years ago, a more youthful Lewis held a press conference in Toronto to promote his starring role in the revival of “Damn Yankees.” He made his Broadway debut in the musical two years earlier and also headlined the production of the show in London.

Lewis looked and sounded more his old self that day, boasting about being the highest-paid performer in the history of Broadway. He later handed out baseballs with his caricature.

He made a similar claim about television but, really, he was always too “hot” for the cool medium. One of the most astounding things I ever saw on TV – you can get a glimpse of it here – was a Los Angeles late night talk show Lewis did in the mid-‘80s.

It was weird because it came about a year after Lewis’ astounding, dramatic performance as a caustic talk show host in Martin Scorcese’s 1983 feature “The King of Comedy.”

Lewis’s sidekick on the LA show was oddball comedian Charlie Callas. The show was absolute mayhem, with Lewis and Callas doing shtick and offending races yet to be born. At one point Lewis put Chicklets in his mouth and did his “Chinese bit.” It was jaw-dropping then and would have set social media ablaze today.

It’s not how Lewis should be remembered. There is so much joy and laughter in his best films, especially “The Nutty Professor” and “The Bellboy.” He was well paired for several years with former Warner Brothers cartoon director Frank Tashlin., who harnessed Lewis’ manic energy in a ways crafty and creative.

He seemed more a crabby King Lear of comedy in his final year, undressing an interviewer from The Hollywood Reporter in a fascinating, cringe-worthy video. Aging and infirm, he could still cut anybody he felt was wasting his limited time left down to size.

Jerry Seinfeld said it was one of the best things he had ever seen. It wasn’t, but I think I know what he means.

Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)

Name (required)

Email (required) (will not be published)


Type in the verification word shown on the image.

Page: 1 of 1 | Go to page:

10 Comments

Saephanch

I need an advice. I am currently processing a crypto recovery,with an agency called, Email: alliancedigitalrecovery@outlook.com
Whatsapp: +44 7452 247277 and we did some transaction validation. Out of 200k USD which was lost they where able to recover 90% of my lost, and I have only received only 60k USD and its been four days already since we started. I am a bit worried, i will like to know if they took the remaining of my money or if it is actually impossible to recover entirely everything i lost?

Aug 27, 2024 | Reply

providence rheumatology

Reflecting on Jerry Lewis's legacy, his comedic brilliance and humanitarian efforts left an indelible mark. As an icon, his influence spans generations, making us laugh while also contributing significantly to charitable causes. Lewis's legacy endures, a testament to his multifaceted impact on both entertainment and philanthropy.

Jan 12, 2024 | Reply

Indianetzone

Nadar caste was recognized as Shanars till the 19th century. Thereafter they came to be known as Nadars which was derived from the Nandans, the supreme head of this community. The origin of the caste as a social group is anonymous. However historians believe that they are the descendants of prehistoric rulers like Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas. There is not much evidence to support this claim.
https://www.indianetzone.com/50/nadar_caste.htm

Dec 18, 2023 | Reply

Remini Mod Apk

It's valuable information for everyone.I am expecting more information like this.

Oct 13, 2023 | Reply

Igtools

I sincerely appreciate the information and advice you have shared. Thank you for sharing all this wonderful information.

Oct 11, 2023 | Reply

Instagram follower service

Time is money in the world of social media marketing. An SMM panel helps you save both by automating tasks and improving your overall efficiency.

Aug 16, 2023 | Reply

We Buy Houses Pittsburgh

Just sold my Pittsburgh house to 'We Buy Houses Pittsburgh,' and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Highly recommend their services!

Aug 7, 2023 | Reply

word wipe

The topics you share are really meaningful to me, I will regularly monitor your website.

Jun 2, 2023 | Reply

jaeseu

Great work, lucky to find this amazing post.
How I wish I can also write like this very well written and organized.
Can you check mine? Click this

?? ???
?? ???
?? ?? ???
?? ?? ????
??? ?? ???
https://www.j9korea.com

Jan 19, 2023 | Reply

mflux

Best game news https://m-flux.com

Nov 6, 2024

Mac

Lewis indeed never caught on TV. Sinatra couldn't. Dean Martin(the connection to both) did. IMDB lists Martin & Lewis hosting the Colgate Comedy Hour(later Colgate Variety Hour) 184 times from 1950-55,but ,as more folks got TVs,the novelty of live comedy waned,as Ed Sullivan gradually beat the show in the timeslot. The masses liked their comedy in smaller,less manic doses(stand-up comics were a part of the Sullivan's show-they just spoke to the camera). But Lewis did lots of talk shows(it was his Tonight stint as trial host, post-Paar,pre-Carson, that led to the ABC 1963 debacle.
Me?I bought lots of kiddie tickets to see most of his Paramount films. A great one? The low-budget quickie, The Bellboy. Also,I remember one film with one of Jerry's stable of regulars always at a TV and she did whatever the announcer told her to do("Rush right out and buy one today!"-she had her coat on and out the door). A funny idea then and it still rings true.

Aug 22, 2017 | Reply

Mac

An addendum: Interesting that Turner Classics had a TCM Remembers for Jerry Lewis up and running Sun. evening,just hours after the reports of Mr. Lewis passing. Sometimes it takes a few days for TCM to put one of these together.

Aug 22, 2017

Page: 1 of 1 | Go to page:

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

1957: Julie Andrews Stars in 'Cinderella'

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption