# Jerry Lewis **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 17, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597 "2013-05-17T13:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Coarc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coarc/32/3967_2.png) [@Coarc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coarc)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/1 "2013-05-17T13:03:51Z")
[FONT=“Arial”][/FONT. Forget Jerry’s movies for a minute. Otis us face mimicry does it, comparable only to Fernandel the cherished French tete de gomme. Jerry can do unusual faces, never seen before. Also sings, contorts to good effect, Woody cannot do this. * * * LINK TO COLUMN: [Do the French really love Jerry Lewis? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1349/do-the-french-really-love-jerry-lewis) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/2 "2013-05-17T13:11:28Z")
It’s hard to argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/3 "2013-05-17T13:15:04Z")
Reads like failed spam. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/4 "2013-05-17T13:21:07Z")
I’m guessing he’s comparing Jerry Lewis to other comics. I don’t have a clue as to who Otis is, but Fernandel was France’s top comic actor for decades. Woody is probably Woody Allen. So, something like: “Forget Jerry Lewis’s movies for a minute. Otis’s comic faces are unusual, comparable only to Fernandel the cherished French tete de gomme. Jerry can do unusual faces, never seen before. Also sings, does good physical comedy. Woody Allen cannot do this.” ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/5 "2013-05-17T13:43:52Z")
i’d like to forget Jerry Lewis. maybe this > **[Do the French really love Jerry Lewis?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342501/do-the-french-really-love-jerry-lewis)** ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/6 "2013-06-26T11:15:58Z")
MODERATOR COMMENT: This was “disappeared” because we thought it might be some sort of spam. Having heard from **Coarc** , we understand it was a comment on the Jerry Lewis column (as others noted but I was too dense to see), so it’s restored. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/7 "2013-06-26T13:49:22Z")
Who is Otis? And what is a “head gum”? Is that something like “gummy head” to mean facial contortionist? Jerry Lewis was the Jim Carrey of his generation. And like Jim Carrey, after a while his schtick wore out. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/8 "2013-06-26T14:24:49Z")
I don’t believe Otis is a person. I believe the OP was attempting to say, in an unfamiliar language, “To us his face mimicry does it”–that is, the French find Lewis’s contorted faces funny, irrespective of their lame cinematic context. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/9 "2013-06-26T20:30:40Z")
Thanks, that makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/10 "2013-06-26T23:45:56Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I believe the OP was attempting to say, in an unfamiliar language, “To us his face mimicry does it”–that is, the French find Lewis’s contorted faces funny, irrespective of their lame cinematic context. The French are fucked, then. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/11 "2013-06-27T01:16:19Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > …Fernandel was France’s top comic actor for decades. Oh, THAT guy! The one whose schtick Lewis [del]stole wholesale[/del] based his entire career on. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/12 "2013-06-27T01:50:28Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > … Fernandel was France’s top comic actor for decades. > [@dropzone](#): > > Oh, THAT guy! The one whose schtick Lewis [del]stole wholesale[/del] based his entire career on. right down to the teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/13 "2013-06-28T02:38:50Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > right down to the teeth. I guess. I just watched a few YouTube clips, not impressed. Then again I’m not a big Lewis fan either. I’m guessing Otis is auto-correct for a mis-typed “To us”. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/14 "2013-06-28T02:54:02Z")
In partial support for the OP, I saw part of a Martin and Lewis movie a couple weeks ago and it was pretty funny. However, it differed from that part of his œuvre that I understand to be the most popular in France in that it was neither written nor, more importantly, directed by Lewis. It had better gags and his acting was reined in a bit. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-lewis/658597/15 "2013-06-28T13:29:24Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > And what is a “head gum”? Is that something like “gummy head” to mean facial contortionist? “Rubber face” is probably the most similar English term.