Here you go.
I’m intrigued by the many comments dissing the questions that were asked. To those of you who denigrated the questions posed, may I ask…if you were the interviewer, what would YOU ask? (Remember, the theme is entertainers still working after 90, so pretty much stay consistent with that, although of course that doesn’t mean that every single question has to involve age.)
Like many in this thread, I’m in the “always thought Jerry was a nasty piece of work” camp. I’ve never forgotten his performance as Rupert Pupkin in the movie, “The King of Comedy.” He and Sandra Bernhard play adversaries in that film, and the chemistry between them is so toxic you almost need a gas mask to finish watching it. Their hatred for each other seems to go well beyond what the movie called for.
Sure enough, I guess they really could not stand each other in real life. I don’t know the backstory, but I’m inclined to believe that whatever the source of their mutual revulsion, Jerry started it.
Robert Deniro was Rupert Pupkin. Jerry played “Jerry Langford,” who was clearly supposed to be Johnny Carson.
Damn, that is the second time recently I have fouled up a movie recollection on the SDMB. Do you remember the movie well? I could swear that Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhardt really lit into each other - is that part correct?
(Missed edit window)…yup, I looked up a couple of clips on youtube, and it seems like it was indeed Jerry Lewis who had the nasty relationship with Sandra Bernhard. The name of the kidnapped character was Jerry Langford; Rupert Pupkin was the one who kidnapped him.
You’re assuming facts not in evidence by saying he was high. He just seemed pissed to me. In a recent interview on the Jim Norton/Sam Roberts show on SiriusXM he was asked about that interview. He said he had a simple request, that the band members be all introduced as equals without pointing him out as the movie star. He even claimed that he wouldn’t care if the interviewer brought up acting in the interview as long as they talked about the music first. He felt it was very disrespectful to the band to introduce them in that manner and it was 100% agreed to before the interview. While explaining it he sounded very reasonable and it was a very pleasant and open interview. Of course you can believe he was committing a bit of revisionist history or you can believe he was being genuine.
Yes. Sandra Bernhard played Rupert’s crazy friend who was supposed to watch Jerry Langford while he was tied up. It’s a brilliant movie.
FTR: that’s a different story than what he told before.
I think a biography with the good and the bad would be interesting, usually a celebrity has to pass away before a truthful bio comes out. (I don’t know that anything new could be dug up, who knows.) Till then, there are usually puff pieces with lotsa pictures, or National Inquirer ‘real dirt’ articles, and sometimes a Kitty Kelley expose. A solid definative warts n’ all biography is what I like to read.
I’m torn too but…
Well, if we weren’t talking about what a jerk he is, it’s very likely that we wouldn’t be talking about him at all.
So maybe there’s method to his madness.
That’s what I’ve sometimes wondered myself. We live in an era where celebrities, politicians, and other media figures all have small armies of handlers and spin doctors whose sole purpose is to dull any sharp edges. I’m sure Lewis has them too but much of the time it sure doesn’t seem that way. Either he stopped giving a shit about what people thought about him years ago or he’s always been truly oblivious about how he comes off.
Jerry did a great interview last year. The interviewer came very prepared. He had read Jerry’s book and researched other interviews. His questions were well thought out and he connected with Jerry.
This is by far the most relaxed that I’ve seen Jerry.
Thanks for that link. Although I’m not going to watch the full hour, I did watch the first few minutes to see what the questions were like.
In short: yes, there is a big difference between this interviewer’s approach and the one linked in the OP (not that it excuses Jerry’s unbecoming behavior in the first instance).
This is paraphrased, but here are the first few questions:
[ul]
[li]Tell me about Danny and Ray, your parents. They were in burlesque, they put you on stage when you were 5.[/li]
[li]How often did you travel with your parents?[/li]
[li]You once said, “The audience is nothing more than 800 or 900 mamas and papas saying ‘good boy.’" Do you need that? Do you crave that?[/li]
[li]In your memoir you describe yourself as" a dummy, a misfit, the sorriest kid alive." Yet you still go out and perform – how does that make you the “sorriest kid alive"?[/li]
[li]In 1946, in Atlantic City, you performed with Dean Martin for the first time. How choreographed was that show?[/li][/ul]
Well done!
I used to love watching Jerry Lewis when I was a kid. I think the Nutty Professor was my favorite.
I just watched the interview and I think Jerry Lewis was an ass.
How about an opinion from an industry insider? Ken Levine is a script writer with an impressive resume, writing for MASH, The Simpsons, Cheers, Frasier and many other TV shows. He also was a TV baseball announcer in years past. He also writes a daily show business blog, and weighs in today on the “Jerry Lewis - Asshole or Not” question.