# Jerry Lewis: still an asshole at 90 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232 "2016-12-20T15:18:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/1 "2016-12-20T15:18:34Z")
If [this](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/watch-7-painfully-awkward-minutes-jerry-lewis-957299) was a comedy bit, it was over my head. I think he’s just being a prick. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/2 "2016-12-20T15:25:11Z")
I don’t see where being “successful in a career” and “a prick” or “an asshole” are mutually exclusive. This is yet another case where I enjoy the creator’s work but don’t particularly like the artist. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/3 "2016-12-20T15:38:52Z")
Eh, perhaps he shouldn’t have agreed to the interview. But, I gotta say, if were 90, and a legend, and some lame kid started asking me those stupid questions, I would probably react the same way. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/4 "2016-12-20T15:50:10Z")
Miserable old goat. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/5 "2016-12-20T15:56:53Z")
I got the feeling he agreed to the interview, and before they started, the interviewer did something to piss him off. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/6 "2016-12-20T16:22:33Z")
I love awkward interviews. I find they are often more revealing than your standard blasé interview full of clichéd questions and glad-handing. I don’t think he comes off as a prick so much as terse. The questions here are pretty basic and I think he can’t be bothered with doing the same interview that he has done 100 times over. Of course the gold-standard for an awkward interview is [Jian Gomeshi and Billy-Bob Thornton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJWS6qyy7bw). ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/7 "2016-12-20T16:23:41Z")
Could somebody summarize? No matter how prickish the guy is, I know if I click that link I’m going to hear “hey laaady…” all day long. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/8 "2016-12-20T16:23:47Z")
He was pissed off right from the beginning because of the huge crew the interviewer brought with him, totally unnecessary these days. And when the interviewer started asking inane questions he let him have it with both barrels. Good for Jerry. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/9 "2016-12-20T16:33:18Z")
I’m torn. On the one hand, much of what’s said above is true - the crew and interviewer really seemed to have stepped on Lewis’ toes beforehand, and he’s giving no slack to inane, boilerplate questions. OTOH, Jer’… this is what being a celebrity is. Being an asshole to the fifty thousandth film crew you’ve faced, and a young, naive interviewer (which they all are, from your perspective) helps no one and accomplishes nothing and you should have refused the interview if that’s how you feel. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/10 "2016-12-20T16:34:41Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Could somebody summarize? No matter how prickish the guy is, I know if I click that link I’m going to hear “hey laaady…” all day long. No “Hey ladiiieee” stuff. Just very terse answers to baseline questions. Interviewer - Is Las Vegas different now than it was when you were first there? \<– keep in mind he was first there 70 years ago? Jerry - No Int - It’s the same? Jerry - Yes Int - Would you say back then it was a dusty little town? Jerry - Dusty little town Int - Would you say it still is? Jerry - No That’s paraphrased but pretty close. The whole seven minutes goes along like that. My favourite bit was: Int - Do you have any favourite stories about Dean or Frank Sinatra or others from back then? Jerry - No Int - Do you have any least favourite stories? Jerry - No. Not for this. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/11 "2016-12-20T16:38:38Z")
“No-- with the GLOY-VEN!” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/12 "2016-12-20T16:47:56Z")
What a dick. I couldn’t watch more than 2 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/13 "2016-12-20T18:01:11Z")
I watched just over a minute and then switched it off. I wasn’t so irritated by Jerry as I was by the reporter and his inane questions. I would probably have been pissed off too in the same situation. The most cringeworthy interview I’ve ever seen was one with \*Titanic \* survivor Eva Hart, who said at one point “Oh, what a silly question!” The interviewer was obviously not a professional reporter, and the whole thing sounded like a listening exercise for an EFL textbook. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/14 "2016-12-20T18:11:47Z")
In defense of the interviewer, you kind of need a little give and take in an interview. Start with a couple easy or quick questions and build from there. Lewis wasn’t giving him anything in the interview, just terse, quick answers. How is an interviewer supposed to build a conversation when the interviewee isn’t cooperative? The interviewer tried a few follow up questions but that didn’t work either. Maybe he did something to set off Lewis before the interview, I dunno. Why would Lewis agree to an interview and then come off all pissy anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/15 "2016-12-20T18:18:56Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > In defense of the interviewer, you kind of need a little give and take in an interview. Start with a couple easy or quick questions and build from there. Lewis wasn’t giving him anything in the interview, just terse, quick answers. How is an interviewer supposed to build a conversation when the interviewee isn’t cooperative? The interviewer tried a few follow up questions but that didn’t work either. > > Maybe he did something to set off Lewis before the interview, I dunno. Why would Lewis agree to an interview and then come off all pissy anyway? Yeah, there could have been something that set him off early. The hostility was very apparent. But I seem to recall reading somewhere that he’s been a dick all his life. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/16 "2016-12-20T18:58:08Z")
The interviewer should have asked him what, IIRC, Larry King asking Tip O’Neill," How does it feel to be so close to meeting The Man? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/17 "2016-12-20T19:30:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > But I seem to recall reading somewhere that he’s been a dick all his life. He spent decades hosting the Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day telethon. Dicks don’t make that kind of charitable effort. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/18 "2016-12-20T19:34:39Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > He spent decades hosting the Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day telethon. Dicks don’t make that kind of charitable effort. Apples and oranges. There are many examples of celebrity types who are one thing while “on” and something else, often nasty, when not on stage. Hosting a telethon that makes him a household name doesn’t preclude being a dick the other 51 weeks of the year. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/19 "2016-12-20T19:55:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, there could have been something that set him off early. The hostility was very apparent. But I seem to recall reading somewhere that he’s been a dick all his life. Growing up, Jerry Lewis was always notorious in my home. My father was a union rep in Chicago in the sixties for [AGVA - The American Guild of Variety Artists](http://www.agvausa.com). A family story was that he had to meet Jerry Lewis’ plane to take him to a performance, and Lewis told my dad that he needed to procure a girl for after the show. My dad explained that he was his union rep, not a pimp. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232/20 "2016-12-20T20:03:29Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Apples and oranges. There are many examples of celebrity types who are one thing while “on” and something else, often nasty, when not on stage. Hosting a telethon that makes him a household name doesn’t preclude being a dick the other 51 weeks of the year. Hosting it for decades and decades (and that wasn’t what made Jerry Lewis a household name), long past (mostly) retiring as an actor and long after he needed to just to remain in the public eye, speaks a little about things that are important to him. (That said, I couldn’t get the video to play in Chrome, Edge, nor IE). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis-still-an-asshole-at-90/775232.md?page=2)