orig. Joseph Levitch
born March 16, 1926, Newark, N.J., U.S.
U.S. actor, director, and producer.
In 1946 he developed a nightclub comedy routine with Dean Martin (191795), who played the suave crooner to Lewis's zany clown, and they appeared together in 16 movies, including My Friend Irma (1949) and Pardners (1956), before ending their partnership in 1956. Lewis then directed, produced, and acted in movies such as The Bellboy (1960) and The Nutty Professor (1963). These films, along with his collaborations with director Frank Tashlin, led many critics (especially in Europe) to regard Lewis as the comic heir to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton . Since 1966 Lewis has hosted the U.S. annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.