:''For the city in Iran, see Salami, Iran; for the district, see Salami District; for other uses, see Salama and Salameh; for the broader term "Salumi", see Charcuterie.''

Salami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one of a variety of animals. Historically, salami has been popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 10 years, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent supply of fresh meat. Varieties of salami are traditionally made in Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Turkey.

Etymology

The word ''salami'', as currently used in English, is actually the plural form of the Italian ''salame''; it is indifferently used as a singular or plural word in English for cured meats in a European, particularly Italian, style. In Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish it is ''Salam''; in French it is ''saucisson''.

The word originates from the word ''Sale'' (salt) with a termination -''ame'' used in Italian as an indicator of collective nouns; the original meaning was thus ''all kind of salted (meats)''. The Italian tradition of cured meats including several styles, the word ''salame'' soon specialised to indicate only the most popular kind, made with ground, salted and spiced meat forced into animal gut with an elongated and thin shape, then left to undergo some kind of fermentation process.

Ingredients of salami

A traditional ''salame'', with its typical marbled appearance, is made from one or more of the following meats: pork (common in Italian salami), beef (the main ingredient in Kosher salami), and less commonly chopped beef (particularly veal), venison, poultry (mostly turkey because of dietary limitations, but also goose salami is traditional in some areas of Northern Italy), and horse, also swordfish and sometimes shark in southern parts of Japan. Additional ingredients may include:

salt

spices, usually white pepper

garlic

minced fat

wine

various herbs

vinegar

The raw meat mixture is usually allowed to ferment for a day, then the mixture is either stuffed into an edible natural or inedible cellulose casing and hung to cure. Heat treatment to about 40 °C may be used to accelerate further fermentation and start the drying process. Higher temperatures (about 60 °C) are used to stop the fermentation when the desired pH is reached, but the product is not fully cooked (75 °C or higher). The casings are often treated with an edible mold (''Penicillium'') culture as well. The mold is desired as it imparts flavor and prevents spoilage during the curing process.

Varieties of salami

Varieties of salami include: Cacciatore (Cacciatora, Cacciatorini) "Hunter" salami. Italy.

Danish

Milanese

Genovese

Fegatelli

Felino, Province of Parma

Finocchiona, typical of southern Tuscany

Pepperoni

Sopressata, typical of Calabria

Ciauscolo, typical of Marche

Nduja

Saucisson sec (French "dry sausage")

Winter salami (Hungarian Téli Szalámi)

German Salami

Spanish longaniza and salchichón

Catalan fuet (from the Catalan word for "whip"), a very thin and long salami.

Many Old World salami are named after the region or country of their origin. Examples include Arles, Genoa, Hungarian and Milano salame. Many are flavored with garlic. Some types – including a few varieties from Spain, most Hungarian types (Pick salami), and southern Italian styles (such as those from Naples, which in turn originated American pepperoni) include paprika or chili powder. Varieties are also differentiated by the coarseness or fineness of the chopped meat as well as the size and style of the casing used.

In the United States, traditional salami are either imported or referred to as an "Italian Salame", the protected term for salami made in the United States.

Manufacturing process

Though completely uncooked, salami are not "raw" per se; they have been prepared via curing. The term ''salame cotto'' refers to salami cooked or smoked before or after curing and it is typical of Piedmont region in Italy. This is done to impart a specific flavor but not to cook the meat. Before curing, a ''cotto salame'' is still considered raw and is not ready to be eaten.

Salami are cured in warm, humid conditions to encourage growth of the bacteria involved in the fermentation process. Sugars (usually dextrose) are added as a food source for the bacteria during the curing process, although it tends not to be added to horse meat because of the latter's naturally high levels of glycogen. Lactic acid is produced by the bacteria as a waste product, lowering the pH and coagulating and lowering the water-holding capacity of the meat. The acid produced by the bacteria makes the meat an inhospitable environment for other, pathogenic bacteria and imparts a tangy flavor that distinguishes salami from machine-dried pork. The flavor of a salami relies just as much on how these bacteria are cultivated as it does on quality and variety of other ingredients. Originally, the bacteria were introduced into the meat mixture with wine, which contains other types of beneficial bacteria; now, starter cultures are used. The whole process takes about 36 weeks, although some age it more for additional taste, and some can cut it down to about 24 weeks for a sweeter taste.

The drying and curing process is determined by the climate of the curing environment and the size and style of casing. After fermentation, the sausage has to be dried. This changes the casings from being water-permeable to being reasonably airtight. A white covering of either mold or flour helps prevent the photo-oxidation of the meat and rancidity in the fat.

Nitrates or nitrites are added to provide the cured meat color and inhibit growth of harmful bacteria from the genus ''Clostridium''. Salt, acidity, nitrate/nitrite levels and dryness of the fully-cured salami combine to make the uncooked meat safe to consume.

It is important that high quality, fresh ingredients are used; otherwise, deadly microrganisms and toxins can develop.

See also

Bologna sausage

Charcuterie (''Salumi'' in Italian; this term refers to prepared meat products generally. Salami is one example, and is not a variant spelling of "salumi".)

Pastrami

References

Further reading

Jim Bacus "Utilization of Microorganisms in Meat Processing - a handbook for meat plant operators", Research Studies Press

Campbell-Platt, G and Cook, P. (Eds) (1995) "Fermented Meats", Blackie Academic and Professional, Glasgow

Darby W.J et al. "Food: the gift of Osiris", London 1977

Gou P. et al. "Potassium Chloride, Potassium lactate & Glycine as Sodium Chloride substitutes in fermented sausages & in dry cured pork loin", Meat Science vol 42 nol p37-48 1996

External links

DOP Cured Meats

Salumi casalinghi (Italian recipes, ''in Italian'')

Category:Salumi Category:Italian sausages Category:Cold cut Category:Dried meat

ar:سلامي (طعام) br:Salami bg:Салам ca:Salami cs:Salám da:Salami de:Salami et:Salaami es:Salami fr:Salami ko:살라미 hr:Salama it:Salame he:סלמי kk:Салями lb:Salami hu:Szalámi nl:Salami ja:サラミ no:Salami pl:Salami (wędlina) pt:Salame ru:Салями simple:Salami sr:Салама fi:Salami sv:Salami tl:Salami tr:Salam uk:Салямі zh:莎樂美腸

Coordinates	20°52′54″N156°28′3″N
name	Pepe Deluxé
background	group_or_band
origin	Helsinki, Finland
genre	BreakbeatBig beatHip hop
years active	1995–present
label	Catskills RecordsEmperor Norton Records
website	Official website
current members	James SpectrumJA-Jazz
past members	DJ Slow }}

Pepe Deluxé is a Finnish electronic music oriented band which was created by DJ Slow (Vellu Maurola) and JA-Jazz (Tomi Paajanen) in Helsinki, Finland. In 1995, James Spectrum joined the band and they started to experiment with sounds of hip hop, big beat, breakbeat and downtempo. DJ Slow departed the band in 2001 to pursue solo projects.

History

The band's first EP, ''Three Times a Player'' (Tiger) was released in 1998, and it was chosen as the downtempo album of the month by ''Muzik'' magazine in the UK. This led to a recording contract with Brighton's Catskills Records.

The band's first album, ''Super Sound'' was released 1999. Due to clearance problems (the tracks were heavily sampled), they had to do a new version of the album with many of the tracks re-created with cleared samples or with live instruments. The new version of the album was released subsequently in France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, United States, Australia and Germany. The album was noticed by Paul Malmström from Fallon Worldwide advertising agency in New York, and the band was asked to write music for an upcoming Lee Jeans advertisement campaign. Later on, Pepe Deluxé's sound was also noted by another jeans company, Levi's, which chose the track "Before You Leave" for their worldwide advertising campaign in 2001. The track reached #20 in the UK Singles Chart the same year, and it was also used on the end credits for the Channel 4 comedy quiz show, ''Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong''.

During this time, Pepe Deluxé undertook several remixes for Finnish underground bands such as Tom Jones, The Cardigans, and Eminem.

In 2003, the band returned with their first single from their second album ''Beatitude''. "Salami Fever" was composed together with Paul Malmström who had, by this time, become a recurrent collaborator with the band. They also created a video for the single, which was chosen as 'Video of the Decade' by ''Bizarre'' magazine.

In spring 2007, they released the first single, "Pussycat Rock", from their third album ''Spare Time Machine'', the latter of which was released in June 2007. Further singles "Go For Blue" (August) and "Mischief Of Cloud 6" (September 2007) followed.

In October 2007, "Mischief Of Cloud 6" was used at the beginning of an episode of the ABC drama ''Private Practice'', entitled "In Which Addison Finds the Magic".

Discography

Albums

''Super Sound'' (1999)

''Beatitude'' (2003)

''Spare Time Machine'' (2007)

Remixes

Tom Jones & the Cardigans - "Burning Down the House (Pepe Deluxé Mix)" (1999)

Jacknife Lee - "Bursting off the Backbeat (Pepe Deluxé Mix)" (1999)

Bad Meets Evil - "Nuttin' to Do (Pepe Deluxé Dub)" (2001)

References

External links

Official website

Interview with The Age newspaper

Interview with TinyMixTapes.com (March 2009)

PopMatters article (October 2009

Category:Electronic music groups Category:Finnish musicians Category:Club DJs Category:Remixers Category:Finnish people Category:Experimental musical groups

fi:Pepe Deluxé

Coordinates	20°52′54″N156°28′3″N
name	Jerry Lewis
birth name	Joseph Levitch
birth date	March 16, 1926
birth place	Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
occupation	Comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer, national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association
years active	1931–present
other names	The King of ComedyLe Roi du CrazyPicchiatello
spouse	Patti Palmer (1944-1980)SanDee Pitnick (1983-present)
website	jerrylewiscomedy.com
signature	JerryLewis.png }}

Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926) is an American comedian, actor, film producer, screenwriter, film director and singer. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis. In addition to the duo's popular nightclub work, they starred in a successful series of comedy films for Paramount Pictures.

Lewis is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Lewis has won several awards for lifetime achievements from The American Comedy Awards, The Golden Camera, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and The Venice Film Festival, and he has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2005, he received the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors, which is the highest Emmy Award presented. On February 22, 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Lewis the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Early life

He was born Joseph Levitch (some sources say Jerome Levitch) in Newark, New Jersey, to Russian Jewish parents. His father, Daniel Levitch, was a Master of Ceremonies and vaudeville entertainer who used the professional name Danny Lewis, His mother, Rachel ("Rae") Levitch ( Brodsky), was a piano player for a radio station.

Lewis started performing at age five and would often perform alongside his parents in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. By fifteen he had developed his "Record Act", in which he exaggeratedly mimed the lyrics to songs on a phonograph. He used the professional name Joey Lewis, but soon changed it to Jerry Lewis to avoid confusion with comedian Joe E. Lewis and heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis. He graduated from Irvington High School in Irvington, New Jersey.

Career

Teaming with Dean Martin

thumb|With Dean MartinLewis initially gained fame with singer Dean Martin, who served as straight man to Lewis's zany antics in the Martin and Lewis comedy team. They distinguished themselves from the majority of comedy acts of the 1940s by relying on the interaction of the two comics instead of planned skits. In the late 1940s, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, next as stars of their own radio program.

They then made appearances on early live television, debuting first on the June 20, 1948 debut broadcast of ''Toast of the Town'' with Ed Sullivan on the CBS TV Network (later the ''Ed Sullivan Show''), followed on October 3, 1948 by an appearance on the NBC TV series ''Welcome Aboard'', then as the first of a series of hosts of ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' in 1950, and finally as film stars in a string of successes for Paramount Pictures.

However, as Martin's roles in their films became less important, the partnership became strained. Martin's diminished participation became an embarrassment in 1954, when ''Look'' magazine used a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover, but cropped Martin out of the photo. The partnership finally ended on July 24, 1956. Attesting the team's popularity, DC Comics published the best-selling ''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' comic books from 1952 to 1957. The series continued a year after the team broke up as DC Comics then featured Lewis solo, until 1971, in ''The Adventures of Jerry Lewis'' comic books. In this latter series, Lewis was sometimes featured with Superman, Batman, and various other DC Comics heroes and villains.

Both Martin and Lewis went on to successful solo careers, but for years neither would comment on the split, nor consider a reunion. They made at least a couple of public appearances together between the breakup and 1961, but then were not seen together in public until a surprise appearance by Martin on Lewis's Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon in 1976, arranged by Frank Sinatra.

The pair eventually reconciled in the late 1980s after the death of Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin. The two men were seen together on stage in Las Vegas when Lewis pushed out Dean's birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to him. In Lewis's 2005 book ''Dean and Me (A Love Story)'', Lewis wrote of his kinship with Martin, who had died in 1995.

Solo achievements

After the split from Martin, Lewis remained at Paramount and became a major comedy star with his first film as a solo comic, ''The Delicate Delinquent'' (1957). Teaming with director Frank Tashlin, whose background as a Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon director suited Lewis's brand of humor, he starred in five more films, and even appeared uncredited as Itchy McRabbitt in ''Li'l Abner'' (1959).

Lewis tried his hand at releasing an album in the 1950s, having a chart hit with the song "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" (a song largely associated with Al Jolson and later re-popularized by Judy Garland) as well as the song, "It All Depends on You" in 1958. He eventually released his own album titled, ''Jerry Lewis Just Sings''. By the end of his contract with producer Hal B. Wallis, Lewis had several productions of his own under his belt.

His first three efforts, ''The Delicate Delinquent'' (1957), ''Rock-A-Bye Baby'' (1958) and ''The Geisha Boy'' (1958), were all efforts to move away from Wallis, who Lewis felt was hindering his comedy. In 1960, Lewis finished his contract with Wallis with ''Visit to a Small Planet'' (1960), and wrapped up work on his own production, ''Cinderfella''. ''Cinderfella'' was postponed for a Christmas 1960 release, and Paramount, needing a quickie feature film for its summer 1960 schedule, held Lewis to his contract to produce one. Lewis came up with ''The Bellboy''. Using the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami as his setting—and on a small budget, with a very tight shooting schedule, and no script—Lewis shot the film by day and performed at the hotel in the evenings. Bill Richmond collaborated with him on the many sight gags.

In a 2005 interview, Lewis revealed that Paramount were not happy financing a 'silent movie' and withdrew backing. Lewis used his own funds to cover the $950,000 budget. Much to Paramount's dismay, the movie had grossed in excess of $200,000,000 by the time of the interview. During production Lewis developed the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors, which allowed him to review his performance instantly. His techniques and methods, documented in his book and his USC class, enabled him to complete most of his films on time and under budget.

Later, he incorporated videotape, and as more portable and affordable equipment became available, this technique would become an industry standard known as video assist. Lewis followed ''The Bellboy'' by directing several more films which he co-wrote with Richmond, including ''The Ladies Man'' (1961), ''The Errand Boy'' (1961), ''The Patsy'' (1964) and the well-known comedy hit, ''The Nutty Professor'' (1963), which was later successfully remade as a vehicle for Eddie Murphy in 1996 and followed by a sequel in 2000, ''Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' both executive produced by Lewis for Universal Pictures and Image Entertainment.

Lewis occasionally handed directing reins to Frank Tashlin, who directed several of his productions, including ''It's Only Money'' (1962) and ''Who's Minding the Store?'' (1963). In 1965, Lewis directed and (along with Bill Richmond) wrote the comedy film ''The Family Jewels'' about a young heiress who must choose among six uncles, one of whom is up to no good and out to harm the girl's beloved bodyguard who practically raised her. Lewis played all six uncles and the bodyguard.

By 1966, Lewis, now 40, was no longer an angular juvenile and his routines seemed more labored. His box office appeal waned to the point where Paramount Pictures new executives felt no further need for the Lewis comedies. Undaunted, Lewis packed up and went to Columbia Pictures, where he made several more comedies. Lewis taught a film directing class at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for a number of years; his students included Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

In 1968, he screened Spielberg's early film, ''Amblin''' and told his students, "That's what filmmaking is all about." Lewis starred in and directed the unreleased ''The Day the Clown Cried'' in 1972. The film was a drama set in a Nazi concentration camp. Lewis rarely discusses the experience, but once explained why the film has not been released, by suggesting litigation over post-production financial difficulties. However, he admitted during his book tour for ''Dean and Me'' that a major factor for the film's burial is that he is not proud of the effort.

Lewis also appeared in stage musicals. In 1976, he appeared in a revival of ''Hellzapoppin''' with Lynn Redgrave, but it closed on the road before reaching Broadway. In 1994, he made his Broadway debut, as a replacement cast member playing the Devil in a revival of the baseball musical, ''Damn Yankees'', choreographed by future film director Rob Marshall (''Chicago''). Lewis returned to the screen in 1981 with ''Hardly Working'', a film he both directed and starred in.

Despite being panned by the critics, the film did eventually earn $50 million. He followed this up with a critically acclaimed performance in Martin Scorsese's 1983 film, ''The King of Comedy'', in which Lewis plays a late-night TV host plagued by obsessive fans (played by Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard). The role had been based on and originally offered to Johnny Carson. Lewis continued doing work in small films in the 1990s, most notably his supporting roles in 1994's ''Arizona Dream'' and 1995's ''Funny Bones''. He appeared on television on one episode of ''Mad About You'''s first season in 1992, playing an eccentric billionaire. In 2008, Lewis reprised his role as Prof. Kelp in ''The Nutty Professor'', his first CGI animated film and follow-up to his original 1963 film co-starring Drake Bell as his nephew, Harold Kelp.

On television, Lewis starred in three different programs called ''The Jerry Lewis Show''. The first was a two-hour Saturday night variety show on ABC in the fall of 1963. The lavish, big-budget production failed to find an audience and was canceled after 13 weeks. His next show was a one-hour variety show on NBC in 1967-69. A test of a syndicated talk show for Metromedia in 1984 was not continued beyond the scheduled five shows. Lewis and his popular movie characters were animated in the Filmation cartoon series, ''Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down''. First aired on ABC in 1970, it lasted only one season and eighteen episodes. The show starred David Lander (''Laverne & Shirley'') as the voice of the animated Lewis character.

Lewis has long remained popular in Europe: he was consistently praised by some French critics in the influential magazine ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' for his absurd comedy, in part because he had gained respect as an ''auteur'' who had total control over all aspects of his films, comparable to Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock. In March 2006, the French Minister of Culture awarded Lewis the Légion d'honneur, calling him the "French people's favorite clown". Liking Lewis has long been a common stereotype about the French in the minds of many English-speakers, and is often the object of jokes in Anglosphere pop culture.

In 1994, the Columbia Pictures film, ''North'' featured footage of Lewis's classic movies. In June 2006, Lewis first announced plans to write and direct a stage musical adaptation of his 1963 film, ''The Nutty Professor''. In October 2008, in an interview on Melbourne radio, Lewis said he had signed composers Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes to write the show for a Broadway opening in November 2010. In 2009, Lewis traveled to the Cannes Film Festival to announce his return to the silver screen after a 13 year absence for the film ''Max Rose'', his first leading role since Martin Scorsese's ''The King of Comedy''. In early 2011, Lewis had signed a deal with Artificial Intelligence Entertainment and Capital Films to remake the three of his 60s cinema classics ''The Bellboy'', ''Cinderfella'' and ''The Family Jewels''. Lewis will serve as co-executive producer of the films.

On May 16, 2011, it was originally announced by MDA that the 2011 edition of his annual telethon will be Lewis' last as host, after hosting the annual event since 1954, he will continue to serve as the association's national chairman. Soon afterward, however, Lewis denied that he was leaving the telethon at all, but on August 3, 2011, the MDA announced that Lewis resigned as chairman and telethon host, the circumstances leading to his resignation unknown.

Lewis has been criticized by members of the disability rights community. In 1990, he wrote a first-person essay entitled "If I Had Muscular Dystrophy" for ''Parade'' magazine, in which he characterized those with muscular dystrophy as "being half a person". Many in the disabled community viewed his remarks as prejudicial, contributing to the idea that people with disabilities are "childlike, helpless, hopeless, non functioning and noncontributing members of society". Members of the disability rights community object to Lewis receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

In February 2000, Lewis stunned an audience gathered to honor his work at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival by saying he did not like female comics. Lewis said, "I don't like any female comedians. A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me, but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world." He later defended the remark, saying it was taken wildly out of context, and added that he made 11 movies with comic character actress Kathleen Freeman.

During the 2007 Labor Day Telethon, Lewis almost let slip the word "faggot" while live on air. While talking to a cameraman, he joked: "Oh, your family has come to see you. You remember Bart, your oldest son, Jesse, the illiterate fag--no...", at which point he turned away from the camera.

Film portrayal

Lewis was portrayed by Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes (''Will and Grace'') in the 2002 made for television movie ''Martin and Lewis''. The film depicts Lewis' partnership with Dean Martin (played by Jeremy Northam). Hayes met Lewis during shooting of the televised film and went on to receive a Screen Actors Guild Award for best actor.

Personal life

Family

Lewis has been married twice: Patti Palmer (née Esther Calonico), a former singer with Ted Fio Rito; married October 3, 1944, divorced September 1980. SanDee Pitnick; married February 13, 1983; a 32-year-old Las Vegas dancer. They were married in Key Biscayne, Florida; Lewis was 56.

He had six sons and one adopted daughter: Gary Harold Lee Levitch was born on July 31, 1945 to Lewis and Patti Palmer. Gary Levitch's name was subsequently legally changed to Gary Lewis. As a 1960s pop musician, Gary Lewis had a string of hits with his group Gary Lewis & the Playboys.

Ronald Lewis; adopted July 1950 with Patti Palmer

Scott Lewis; born February 1956 to Patti Palmer

Christopher Joseph Lewis; born October 1957 to Patti Palmer

Anthony Lewis; born October 1959 to Patti Palmer

Joseph Lewis; born January 1964 to Patti Palmer, died October 24, 2009 from a narcotics overdose. Danielle Sarah Lewis (daughter); adopted March 1992 with SanDee Pitnick.

Lewis currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Health concerns

thumb|Jerry Lewis, 2005Lewis has suffered years of back pain after an injury that almost left him paralyzed when he did a comedic pratfall from a piano on March 20, 1965 while performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.

He became addicted to the pain killer Percodan, but says he has been off the drug since 1978 and has not taken one since. In April 2002, Lewis had a "Synergy" neurostimulator, developed by Medtronic, implanted in his back, which has helped reduce the discomfort. He is now one of Medtronic's leading spokespeople.

In December 1982, Lewis suffered a serious heart attack and then a second minor heart attack on June 11, 2006, at the end of a cross-country commercial airline flight en route home from New York City. It was discovered that he had pneumonia as well as a severely damaged heart. He underwent a cardiac catheterization and two stents were inserted into one of his coronary arteries, which had become 90% blocked. The surgery resulted in a return of blood flow to his heart and has allowed him to continue his rebound from earlier lung problems. Having the cardiac catheterization also meant canceling several major events from his schedule, but Lewis fully recuperated in a matter of weeks.

In 1999, his Australian tour was cut short when he had to be hospitalized in Darwin with viral meningitis. He was ill for more than five months. It was reported in the Australian press that he had failed to pay his medical bills; however, Lewis maintained that the payment confusion was the fault of his health insurer. The resulting negative publicity caused him to sue his insurer for US$100 million.

Lewis has had prostate cancer, diabetes I, and pulmonary fibrosis, and has had at least two heart attacks. A third heart attack, claimed to have been sustained while filming ''Cinderfella'' in 1960, has not been confirmed officially. Prednisone treatment in the early 2000s for pulmonary fibrosis resulted in weight gain and a noticeable change in his appearance.

In September 2001, he was unable to perform at a planned charity event produced by comedian Steven Alan Green at the London Palladium. (Green's take on the event was turned into a one-person show, ''I Eat People Like You For Breakfast'', which Green performed at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival.) Some months thereafter, Lewis began an arduous, months-long therapy which weaned him off prednisone and enabled him to return to work.

Charity work

Throughout his career, Lewis has supported fundraising for research into muscular dystrophy. From the early 1950s until 2011, he served as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

Lewis began hosting telethons to benefit MDA in 1952. From 1966 to 2010 he hosted the annual ''Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon'', since renamed the ''MDA Labor Day Telethon''. It has raised over $2.6 billion. On August 3, 2011, it was announced that Lewis would no longer host any further telethons.

Honors and awards

;1950s

1952 – Winner of the special Photoplay Award 1952 – Nominee for Best Comedian or Comedienne 1954 – Winner for the Most Cooperative Actor, Golden Apple Award

;1960s

1965 – Winner, Golden Laurel, Special Award – Family Comedy King

;1970s

1977 – Nominee, the Nobel Peace Prize, by US Representative Les Aspin. Aspin noted that in 11 years, the ''MDA Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon'' had raised more than $95 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

;1980s

1983 – Nominee, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''The King of Comedy'', British Academy Film Awards

;1990s

1997 – Winner, Lifetime Achievement Award, American Comedy Awards

;2000s

2004 – Winner, Career Achievement Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association

2005 – Winner, Governors Award, Primetime Emmy Awards 2006 – Winner, Satellite Award for Outstanding Guest Star on TV's ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''

2009 – Induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame

2009 – Winner, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 81st Academy Awards

;2010s

2010 - Received Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Chapman University during the 2010 MDA Telethon.

2011 – Recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor

Bibliography

''The Total Film-Maker'' by Jerry Lewis. New York: Random House, 1971, ISBN 0-394-46757-4

''Jerry Lewis: In Person'' by Jerry Lewis with Herb Gluck. New York: Atheneum, 1982, ISBN 0-689-11290-4

''Dean & Me (A Love Story)'' by Jerry Lewis with James Kaplan. New York: Doubleday, 2005, ISBN 0-7679-2086-4

In popular culture

In ''Back to the Future'', Dr. Emmett L. Brown mentions Jerry Lewis as the supposed Vice President of the United States in 1985 after Marty McFly mentions Ronald Reagan is President in 1985.

Voice actor Hank Azaria cites Lewis as an inspiration for his character Professor Frink from ''The Simpsons''. In a 2003 episode, Lewis actually voiced the character of Frink's father.

A plotline of an episode of ''Seinfeld'' revolved around Jerry searching for his cufflinks which had been worn by Jerry Lewis in the film ''Cinderfella''. He plans to wear them to a party Lewis is attending, using them as a conversation starter.

Before Tom Lehrer introduces the song "National Brotherhood Week", he mentions the non-existent "Make Fun of the Handicapped Week", that Frank Fontaine and Jerry Lewis are in charge of as you Know." (Source: "That was the Year that Was" Tom Lehrer. 1965.)

See also

Jerry Lewis filmography and television appearances

MDA Labor Day Telethon

Martin and Lewis

References

Further reading

''Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself): The Story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' by Arthur Marx, New York, NY: Hawthorn Books, 1974, ISBN 978-0801524301

''The Jerry Lewis Films'' by James L. Neibaur and Ted Okuda (Lewis is quoted throughout). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1994, ISBN 0-89950-961-4

''King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis'' by Shawn Anthony Levy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-312-13248-4

''That Kid: The Story of Jerry Lewis'' by Richard Gehman. New York: Avon Books, 1964.

External links

Jerry Lewis interview for the Archive of American Television

Official Jerry Lewis Website

Drum Solo Battle (1955) with Buddy Rich at DrummerWorld

;Videos

2009 Oscars Jean Hersholt Award

Colgate Comedy Hour, 1950s

Scene from ''The Bellboy''

With drummer Buddy Rich, 1965

Typewriter scene on Colgate Hour

Category:1926 births Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American television personalities Category:Cancer survivors Category:Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Category:Decca Records artists Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:Liberty Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Irvington, New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Jewish activists

an:Jerry Lewis bg:Джери Люис ca:Jerry Lewis cs:Jerry Lewis da:Jerry Lewis de:Jerry Lewis es:Jerry Lewis fa:جری لوئیس fr:Jerry Lewis is:Jerry Lewis it:Jerry Lewis he:ג'רי לואיס nl:Jerry Lewis ja:ジェリー・ルイス pl:Jerry Lewis pt:Jerry Lewis ro:Jerry Lewis ru:Джерри Льюис sq:Jerry Lewis simple:Jerry Lewis sl:Jerry Lewis fi:Jerry Lewis sv:Jerry Lewis ta:ஜெர்ரி லுவிஸ் tr:Jerry Lewis