By Alex Scordelis
August 26, 2016
Jerry Lewis reflects fondly on his comedy partner Dean Martin.
Photo: Brad Barket/Invision/AP
It would be understandable if Jerry Lewis quietly retired to his home in Las Vegas. But although the star of "The Nutty Professor," "The Bellboy" and other comedy classics turned 90 in March, he has other plans.
On Sept. 2, Lewis returns to the big screen in "Max Rose," his first starring role in more than 20 years. In the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel recently, he sat down with The Post for a look at his storied career.
Dressed in a red V-neck sweater, a cane in hand, Lewis is still as quick with a quip as he was when he headlined the Copacabana in the 1940s, and he raves about his new movie. "I got the 'Max Rose' script, and I fell in love with it," he says. "It just hit me. It was something that needed to be made."
Lewis plays the title character, a retired jazz musician on a quest to determine if his recently deceased wife was faithful to him. For casual fans who only know Lewis for his zany, "Hey, lady!"-shrieking roles, it might come as a surprise to see him tackle such a dramatic role. "To ask a pratfall comedian, a dishes-in-the-face comic like me, to lay back and bring none of that stuff to the script because it doesn't call for it? That's tough," he says.
While his on-screen persona is off-the-wall, in person Lewis projects a grandfatherly air and is in a reflective mood. A former film instructor at USC, he speaks academically about comedy.
"The connection between pathos and broad comedy is very tight," he says of his dramatic turn in "Max Rose." "But you do far more work in a comedy scene than you do in a straight scene. It's much harder."