First filmmaker to develop and use video-assist device on location.
For his 80th birthday in 2006, he was given a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor by France, given the honorary title of "Legion Commander." He apologized for not speaking French at the ceremony but said that "even if the French people cannot hear my language, they have always heard my heart."
Had open heart surgery in 1983.
Has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star for movies is at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. His star for television is at 6150 Hollywood Blvd.
He and Dean Martin recorded a radio spot endorsing a product,"Tuck Tape" , and noticing the tape was still rolling, decided to improvise additional radio spots, with Jerry slipping profanities into his dialog. The unedited master recording was surreptitiously taken from the studio and made into a "bootleg" record that sold briskly among collectors.
He and Dean Martin were the world's top box-office earners from 1950-56. Lewis, on his own, also ruled as #1 movie draw in 1957, 1959, and 1961 to 1964!
He is known as a clothes horse. He gives away suits rather than having them cleaned and refuses to wear a pair of socks more than once.
He once played first base in an exhibition game for 5 innings for the Houston Astros .
He taught a class in film at the University of California.
He was a big fan of The Catcher in the Rye and strongly identified with the main character Holden Caulfield. He planned to direct a movie version but failed to aquire the rights from the book's reclusive author J.D. Salinger.
He was elected into the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to Arts and Entertainment and charity.
He was nominated in the inaugural 2007 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to entertainment and to charity.
He was presented the French Legion of Honor in 1984 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.
His classic character "Julius Kelp" from The Nutty Professor (1963) was cleverly parodied by Joe Piscopo in 1984, on Joe's self-titled HBO TV Special.
His film class students included Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
His idol is Al Jolson.
His recording "Jerry Lewis Just Sings" (American Decca: 1956) was a best-seller, securing a place in the Top 20 on the Billboard Album Charts, launching a Top 10 single and a recording career. Biographer Arthur Marx once likened his singing to "the croaking of a parched parrot"; however, it is believed that this referred only to the singing voice of his many comic characters.
In 1956, in an attempt to dispel rumors of their impending breakup, Dean Martin and Jerry performed "Side by Side" (We Ain't Got A Barrel of Money) on one of the last of their many appearances on their variety show, NBC-TVs "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950).
In 1969, Lewis announced an ambitious project of franchising a chain of Jerry Lewis Cinemas. A firm believer in family entertainment, he said that the one inviolate rule of the chain would be that nothing other than family-oriented films would be shown. The theaters were to be state-of-the-art, easy to operate, and franchised to individuals who could meet the chain's investment requirements. However, changing taste in popular entertainment and management problems caused the project to collapse within just a few years. Several lawsuits between Lewis and his associates were settled out of court.
In 1995, he became the highest paid performer in Broadway history for his role as the Devil in "Damn Yankees".