title: Yao Ming

text: Yao was nominated by a member of the Chinese media for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game. He would have been eligible for induction as early as 2012, but Yao felt it was too soon and requested that the Hall of Fame delay consideration of the nomination. The Hall granted Yao's request, and said it was Yao's decision when the process would be restarted.


title: Yao Ming

text: On September 9, 2016, Yao was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with 4-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. Continuing with the honours, on February 3, 2017, Yao's Number 11 jersey was retired by the Houston Rockets.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao first played for China in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and he was dubbed, together with teammates Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer, "the Walking Great Wall". During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yao carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony, which he said was a "long dream come true". He then vowed to abstain from shaving his beard for half a year unless the Chinese national team made it into the quarter-finals of the 2004 Olympics. After Yao scored 39 points in a win against New Zealand, China lost 58–83, 57–82, and 52–89 against Spain, Argentina and Italy respectively. In the final group game, however, a 67–66 win over the reigning 2002 FIBA World Champions Serbia and Montenegro moved them into the quarterfinals. Yao scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds, and he hit two free throws with 28 seconds left that proved to be the winning margin. He averaged 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9% from the field.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao led the Chinese national team to three consecutive FIBA Asia Cup gold medals, winning the 2001 FIBA Asian Championship, the 2003 FIBA Asian Championship, and the 2005 FIBA Asian Championship. He was also named the MVP of all three tournaments.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao's injury at the end of the 2005–06 NBA season required a full six months of rest, threatening his participation in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. However, he recovered before the start of the tournament, and in the last game of the preliminary round, he had 36 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Slovenia to lead China into the Round of 16. In the first knockout round, however, China was defeated by eventual finalist Greece. Yao's final averages were 25.3 points, the most in the tournament, and 9.0 rebounds a game, which was fourth overall.


title: Yao Ming

text: After having surgery to repair his fractured foot, Yao stated if he could not play in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, "It would be the biggest loss in my career to right now." He returned to play with the Chinese national team on July 17, 2008. On August 6, Yao carried the Olympic flame into Tiananmen Square, as part of the Olympic torch relay. He also carried the Chinese flag and led his country's delegation during the opening ceremony. Yao scored the first basket of the game, a three-pointer, in China's opening 2008 Olympics Basketball Tournament game against the eventual gold medal-winning United States.


title: Yao Ming

text: "I was just really happy to make that shot", Yao said after the Americans' 101–70 victory. "It was the first score in our Olympic campaign here at home and I'll always remember it. It represents that we can keep our heads up in the face of really tough odds."


title: Yao Ming

text: Following an overtime defeat to Spain, Yao scored 30 points in a win over Angola, and 25 points in a three-point win against Germany, which clinched China's place in the quarterfinals. However, China lost to Lithuania in the quarterfinals by 26 points, eliminating them from the tournament. Yao's 19 points a game were the second-highest in the Olympics, and his averages of 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game were third overall.


title: Yao Ming

text: After Yao announced that he would enter the 2002 NBA draft, he told one American journalist that he had been studying English for two years, and that he liked the movie "Star Wars" but disliked hip hop. He was sometimes accompanied during interviews in Shanghai by one of his parents, whose basketball careers were derailed by the 1966–76 Cultural Revolution, and who came to his Shanghai Sharks games on bicycles.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao met Chinese female basketball player Ye Li when he was 17 years old. Ye was not fond of Yao at first, but finally accepted him after he gave her the team pins he had collected during the 2000 Summer Olympics. She is the only woman he has ever dated. Their relationship became public when they appeared together during the 2004 Olympics closing ceremony. On August 6, 2007, Yao and Ye married in a ceremony attended by close friends and family and closed to the media. On May 21, 2010, the couple's daughter Yao Qinlei (whose English name is Amy) was born in Houston, Texas.


title: Yao Ming

text: In 2004, Yao co-wrote an autobiography with ESPN sportswriter Ric Bucher, entitled "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds". In the same year, he was also the subject of a documentary film, "The Year of the Yao", which focuses on his NBA rookie year. The film is narrated by his friend and interpreter, Colin Pine. In 2005, former "Newsweek" writer Brook Larmer published a book entitled "Operation Yao Ming", in which he said that Yao's parents were convinced to marry each other so that they would produce a dominant athlete, and that during Yao's childhood, he was given special treatment to help him become a great basketball player. In a 2015 AMA post on Reddit, Yao stated that this was not true and that he started playing basketball for fun at age 9. In 2009, Yao provided the voice for a character of a Chinese animated film, "The Magic Aster", released on June 19.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao enrolled at the Antai College of Economics & Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2011. He took a tailored degree program with mostly one-on-one lectures to avoid being a distraction on campus. Yao completed his studies in July 2018, graduating with a degree in economics after 7 years of study.


title: Yao Ming

text: In 2016, Yao opened a winery called Yao Family Wines in Napa Valley, California, which serves Cabernet Sauvignon blends and "the kind of rich-but-balanced luxury reds he'd come to enjoy in Houston steakhouses." American wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. of "The Wine Advocate" gave Yao's wine a ranking of 96 points and wrote: "I am aware of all the arguments that major celebrities lending their names to wines is generally a formula for mediocrity, but... the two Cabernets are actually brilliant, and the reserve bottling ranks alongside just about anything made in Napa."


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao is one of China's most recognizable athletes, along with Liu Xiang. As of 2009, he had led Forbes' Chinese celebrities list in income and popularity for six straight years, earning US$51 million (CN¥357 million) in 2008. A major part of his income comes from his sponsorship deals, as he is under contract with several major companies to endorse their products. He was signed by Nike until the end of his rookie season. When Nike decided not to renew his contract, he signed with Reebok. He also had a deal with Pepsi, and he successfully sued Coca-Cola in 2003 when they used his image on their bottles while promoting the national team. He eventually signed with Coca-Cola for the 2008 Olympics. His other deals include partnerships with Visa, Apple, Garmin, and McDonald's.


title: Yao Ming

text: On July 16, 2009, Yao bought his former club team, the Shanghai Sharks, which were on the verge of not being able to play the next season of the Chinese Basketball Association because of financial troubles.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao has also participated in many charity events during his career, including the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program. In the NBA's offseason in 2003, Yao hosted a telethon, which raised US$300,000 to help stop the spread of SARS. In September 2007, he held an auction that raised US$965,000 (CN¥6.75 million), and competed in a charity basketball match to raise money for underprivileged children in China. He was joined by fellow NBA stars Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, and Baron Davis, and Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Yao donated $2 million to relief work and created the Yao Ming Foundation to help rebuild schools destroyed in the earthquake.


title: Yao Ming

text: Yao has also been a dedicated supporter of Special Olympics. He serves as Global Ambassador and member of the International Board of Directors.


title: Yao Ming

text: In August 2012, Yao started filming a documentary about the northern white rhinoceros. He is also an ambassador for elephant conservation. In 2014, he was also part of the documentary "The End of the Wild" about elephant conservation. Yao has filmed a number of public service announcements for elephant and rhino conservation for the "Say No" campaign with partners African Wildlife Foundation and WildAid.


title: Yao Ming

text: On March 3, 2013, Yao attended the First Session of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as one of its 2,200 members. He was a member of the CPPCC from 2013 to 2018. While he is involved in Chinese politics, he is not a member of the Chinese Communist Party, although he has been awarded the Proletarian Award by the party for his spreading of literacy and socialist ideologies.


title: Chris Paul

text: Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time. He has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists five times and steals a record six times. He has also been selected to twelve NBA All-Star teams, eleven All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He also served as the president of the National Basketball Players Association from August 2013 to August 2021. Among the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Jordan Brand and State Farm.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul was a McDonald's All-American in high school and attended Wake Forest University for two years of college basketball, where he helped the Demon Deacons achieve their first-ever number-one ranking. He was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, where he developed into one of the league's best players, finishing second in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2008. During the 2011 off-season, the Hornets organized a deal to send Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the transaction was controversially voided by the NBA. He was instead dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers later that year. Led by Paul's playmaking, the Clippers developed a reputation for their fast-paced offense and spectacular alley-oop dunks, earning them the nickname "Lob City". In 2017, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, where he helped the team win a franchise-record 65 games in his debut season. He played one more season in Houston before being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a package for Russell Westbrook in 2019. With the Thunder looking to rebuild, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2020, where he reached the NBA Finals for the first time in his career in 2021 losing to the Milwaukee Bucks. The following season, he helped the team win a franchise-record 64 games.


title: Chris Paul

text: Chris Paul was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Charles Edward Paul and Robin Jones. He grew up in Lewisville with his older brother, Charles "C.J." Paul. His family gave him the nickname "CP3" because he, his father, and his brother all share the same initials. A former athlete himself, Charles Sr. taught his sons basketball and football and coached them in various youth leagues throughout their childhoods. Growing up, the Paul brothers spent their summers working at a service station owned by their grandfather Nathaniel Jones; Paul attributes many life lessons to his grandfather and has described him as his "best friend".


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul attended West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina. During his freshman and sophomore seasons, he played on the junior varsity team. For his junior year, he averaged 25 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.4 steals per game, helping West Forsyth reach the state semifinals. Over the ensuing summer, he led the Winston-Salem-based Kappa Magic to the National U-17 AAU title, earning tournament MVP honors in the process. During his senior season, Paul received national attention for scoring 61 points in a game; his 61-year-old grandfather was murdered earlier that year and Paul honored him by scoring one point for each year of his life. Paul finished the season with averages of 30.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and 6 steals per game, leading West Forsyth to a 27–3 record and the Class 4A Eastern Regional finals. He was ultimately named a McDonald's All-American, first-team "Parade" All-American, and North Carolina's Mr. Basketball by "The Charlotte Observer".


title: Chris Paul

text: As a freshman at Wake Forest University, Paul averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.7 steals per game, setting school freshman records for three-point percentage, free throws, free throw percentage, assists, and steals in the process. Behind his play, the Demon Deacons qualified for the NCAA tournament, losing in the Sweet Sixteen to St. Joseph's. At the conclusion of the season, Paul was named ACC Rookie of the Year and Third Team All-ACC.


title: Chris Paul

text: For two weeks early in Paul's sophomore season, Wake Forest was ranked number one in the nation for the first time in school history. On January 15, 2005, Paul registered 26 points and 8 assists in a victory over rival North Carolina, and on February 3, he scored 23 points in a win against rival Duke. In the final game of the year, Paul punched NC State guard Julius Hodge in the groin and received a one-game suspension from the ACC Tournament, an incident that marred Paul's image for a short time. The Demon Deacons again qualified for the NCAA tournament but suffered a second round upset at the hands of West Virginia. With final averages of 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, Paul was eventually named First Team Consensus All-America, and with a 3.21 grade point average (GPA), he was also named to ESPN's Academic All-America Team. On April 15, 2005, he announced he would be hiring an agent and turning professional. On March 2, 2011, Wake Forest retired his jersey. In 2021, Paul was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets played most of their games in Oklahoma City during Paul's first two seasons with the team. Paul finished his debut season leading all rookies in total points, assists, steals, and double-doubles, and became only the second rookie in NBA history to lead the league in total steals. With final averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year, falling just one vote shy of winning the award unanimously. The only other rookie to receive a first place vote was Deron Williams, with whom Paul enjoyed a brief rivalry early in their careers.


title: Chris Paul

text: At the 2007 All-Star Weekend, Paul set new Rookie Challenge records with 17 assists and 9 steals. For his sophomore season, he increased his scoring and passing averages to 17.3 points and 8.9 assists per game, but played in only 64 games due to injury.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game in 2007–08, playing in front of his home fans in New Orleans. Behind his leadership, the Hornets were near the top of the Western Conference standings all year, temporarily occupying first place on March 17 following a win against the Chicago Bulls. New Orleans finished the season with a franchise-record 56 wins and the second seed in the West. Paul led the NBA with 11.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game to go along with 21.1 points per game, finishing second in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting and being named to his first All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. In his playoff debut, he scored 35 points against the Dallas Mavericks. In Game 2, he set a franchise playoff record with 17 assists. The Hornets defeated the Mavericks in five games, with Paul registering 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 15 assists in the final game. Their run came to an end in the next round, where they were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs.


title: Chris Paul

text: Prior to the start of the 2008–09 season, Paul signed a contract extension with the Hornets worth $68 million. On December 17, 2008, he set the NBA record for consecutive games with a steal at 106. On several occasions, he came within a few steals of recording a quadruple-double, including a 27-point, 10-rebound, 15-assist, and 7-steal game against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 26, 2009. His final averages were 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. Despite Paul's individual accomplishments, New Orleans' record fell from the year before and they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets.


title: Chris Paul

text: After a slow start to the 2009–10 season, the Hornets fired coach Byron Scott. Paul stirred up controversy when he announced his displeasure with the move, commenting that team management should have "consulted with me and asked how I felt before it happened." In early February 2010, Paul tore cartilage in his left knee and was sidelined for over a month by surgery, forcing him to miss the All-Star Game. In total, he played in only 45 games and his averages dropped to 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 10.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. Without Paul, the Hornets struggled, missing the playoffs.


title: Chris Paul

text: In 2010–11, Paul had another injury scare, suffering a concussion on March 6 after colliding with Cavaliers guard Ramon Sessions and being carried off the court on a stretcher. He returned two games later, registering 33 points and 15 assists against the Sacramento Kings. With the luxury of Paul playing a full season, the Hornets qualified for the playoffs and were matched up with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. In Game 1, Paul contributed 33 points, 14 assists, and 4 steals, and in Game 4, he registered 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists. In response to Paul's performances, Lakers beat writer Dave McMenamin declared that Paul was having a "historically great series". Nevertheless, New Orleans were eliminated in six games, and ownership, fearing that Paul would leave the franchise via free agency, began actively pursuing a trade that would provide the team equitable compensation in return for his services.


title: Chris Paul

text: On December 8, 2011, the Hornets agreed to a three-team trade sending Paul to the Lakers. The NBA, who owned the Hornets at the time, nullified the deal because commissioner David Stern claimed that New Orleans would be better off by keeping Paul. The teams involved in the transaction attempted to lobby the league to reverse its ruling and reconstruct the deal to no avail. On December 12, the Hornets agreed to a trade sending Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers, but the deal broke down after the NBA added additional demands to the original terms. Two days later, the teams finally completed the trade, sending Paul and two future second-round draft picks to the Clippers in return for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, and the Minnesota Timberwolves' unprotected first round pick in the 2012 draft, which was used to draft Austin Rivers. Upon the deal's completion, Paul announced that he would opt into the final year of his contract and remain in Los Angeles for at least two more seasons.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul's arrival to Los Angeles rejuvenated the Clippers franchise, with teammate Blake Griffin later commenting, "It put us on the map." Early in Paul's debut season, the team developed a reputation for their fast-paced offense and spectacular alley-oop dunks, usually from Paul to Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, earning them the nickname "Lob City". Paul finished the year averaging 19.8 points, 9.1 assists, and 2.5 steals per game, becoming the first Clipper to be named to the All-NBA First Team since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s. Behind his play and the emergence of Griffin as an All-NBA performer, Los Angeles qualified for the playoffs, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals.


title: Chris Paul

text: At the 2013 All-Star Game, Paul led the West to victory with a 20-point and 15 assist performance, earning his first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award. He finished the season averaging 16.9 points, 9.7 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, helping the Clippers to a franchise-record 56 wins. Seeded fourth in the West entering the playoffs, Los Angeles were defeated in the first round by the Memphis Grizzlies. Shortly after their early postseason exit, the Clippers announced they would not renew coach Vinny Del Negro's contract and rumors arose of Paul forcing Del Negro out. Los Angeles later denied any player involvement in the coaching decision.


title: Chris Paul

text: Prior to the start of the 2013–14 season, Paul re-signed with the Clippers for five years on a contract worth approximately $107 million. Despite a shoulder injury that sidelined him for over a month, Los Angeles set another new franchise record for wins with 57. His final averages were 19.1 points, 10.7 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. In Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs, he hit a career postseason-high eight three-pointers to help the Clippers take an early series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Game 5 and with the series tied 2–2, he made a string of late mistakes leading to an eventual Thunder victory, later commenting, "It's me ... Everything that happened at the end is on me." Oklahoma City eventually eliminated Los Angeles in six games.


title: Chris Paul

text: In 2014–15, Paul played in all 82 games for the first time in his career, averaging 19.1 points and a league-high 10.2 assists per game. In Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, he hit a go-ahead shot with a second left to lift the Clippers over the Spurs despite a hamstring injury. The injury forced him to miss the first two games of the next series versus the Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles eventually lost in seven games despite holding a 3–1 series lead. The defeat marked ten consecutive seasons and seven consecutive playoff appearances without an NBA Conference Finals appearance for Paul.


title: Chris Paul

text: In January of the 2015–16 season, Paul led the Clippers on a ten-game winning streak despite missing Griffin and Jordan at various points due to injury. For the third straight year, he finished the season with averages of over 19 points, 10 assists, and 2 steals per game. To begin the postseason, the Clippers drew a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, taking a 2–1 lead to start the series. In Game 4, Paul broke his hand and was ruled out indefinitely. Without Paul, as well as Griffin, who also injured himself in Game 4, Los Angeles eventually lost the series in six games.


title: Chris Paul

text: In 2016–17, Paul missed 21 regular season games due to rest or injury, and averaged 18.1 points, 9.2 assists, and 5 rebounds in just over 31 minutes per game. At season's end, Paul was not rewarded with an All-NBA honor, marking just the second time he failed to make an All-NBA team since 2008 and the first time in his six years as a Clipper. In the playoffs, Los Angeles was eliminated after their first round series against the Utah Jazz, with Paul averaging 25.3 points, 9.9 assists, 5 rebounds per game over seven games.


title: Chris Paul

text: On June 28, 2017, Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Lou Williams, Kyle Wiltjer, a future first round pick, and cash considerations. The Clippers ultimately decided to trade Paul because they were unwilling to offer him the contract extension that he was seeking and they did not want to lose him for nothing once he became a free agent. Paul, who was interested in playing alongside superstar guard James Harden, opted into the final year of his existing contract to facilitate the trade. Some analysts were initially skeptical of the trade due to the perceived redundancy of Paul and Harden's playing ball-dominating playing styles, leading to questions over how they would adjust to each other.


title: Chris Paul

text: On October 17, Paul debuted for the Rockets in their season-opening win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors. He scored only four points on 2-for-9 shooting and sat on the bench down the stretch while the Rockets made their final push. It was later revealed that he was playing through a knee injury, and he subsequently missed the next 14 games, returning to the lineup on November 16 against the Phoenix Suns. With Paul healthy, Houston quickly established themselves as a championship contender, boasting the league's top-ranked offense in addition to a top-ten defense. Their success was primarily driven by Paul and Harden, who assumed playmaking duties while role players such as Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, and P. J. Tucker provided floor spacing with three-point shooting. On December 15, Paul registered 28 points, eight assists, and seven steals against the Spurs to lead the Rockets to their 12th straight victory. On January 26, 2018, he scored a season-high 38 points in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Rockets eventually finished the 2017–18 season with a franchise-record 65 wins and the best record in the NBA, which included Harden winning the MVP Award and the team setting a league record for three-point attempts. Paul's final averages were 18.6 points, 7.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.


title: Chris Paul

text: In the first round of the playoffs, Houston eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves, earning them a matchup with the Utah Jazz in the second round. In Game 5 of the series, Paul scored a career playoff-high 41 points along with eight three-pointers, 10 assists, and seven rebounds en route to a series-clinching victory over the Jazz. With the win, Paul advanced to the NBA Conference Finals for the first time in his career, where the Warriors awaited. Going into Game 5, the series was tied 2–2 before Paul helped lead Houston to victory by scoring seven fourth quarter points that powered a 10–5 run and gave the Rockets a lead that they never relinquished. However, Paul injured his hamstring late in the game, and with him out for the remainder of the series, Houston was eliminated from the postseason with back-to-back losses.


title: Chris Paul

text: On July 8, Paul signed a four-year, $160 million maximum contract extension with the Rockets. On October 20, shortly after the start of the 2018–19 season, he was involved in an on-court altercation with Rajon Rondo of the Lakers, which resulted in a two-game suspension and a fine. On December 20, he suffered a left hamstring strain against the Miami Heat, which caused him to miss 17 consecutive games. On February 23, he recorded 23 points and a season-high 17 assists in a win over the Warriors. Late in the season, Paul found himself in the midst of a slump and Houston dropped down to the third seed in the conference, which prompted some analysts to wonder if Paul had moved into a new, less effective phase of his career. In the conference semifinals, the Rockets again found themselves matched up with Golden State, but could not close out the series despite the Warriors' primary scorer, Kevin Durant, missing the final two games.


title: Chris Paul

text: On July 16, 2019, the Rockets traded Paul, two first-round draft picks, and two second-round pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook. For the first time in years, Paul found himself on a young, rebuilding team without championship aspirations. Despite speculation that the Thunder would try to move on from Paul immediately, he embraced his role as a veteran leader of the team, which earned him praise from coach Billy Donovan. Paul debuted for Oklahoma City in a loss to the Utah Jazz on October 23, registering 22 points and 8 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. On January 30, he was selected to his 10th All-Star nod, and first since 2016, being named a Western Conference reserve. On February 11, Paul scored a season-high 31 points in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Following a break in the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunder eventually finished as the fifth seed in the conference, earning them a matchup with Paul's old team, the Houston Rockets, in the first round of the playoffs. Trailing 3–2 going into Game 6, Paul scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to lead Oklahoma City to a series-tying victory. Although the Thunder would ultimately lose Game 7 and be eliminated from the postseason, "Sports Illustrated" deemed Paul's tenure with the team a success and opined that he had reestablished himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA.


title: Chris Paul

text: On November 16, 2020, the Thunder traded Paul and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 protected first round pick. On February 1, 2021, Paul dropped a season-high 34 points, along with nine rebounds and nine assists, in a close 109–108 win over the Dallas Mavericks. On February 19, he put up a season-high 19 assists while also scoring 15 points in a 132–114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On February 23, Paul was selected to his 11th All-Star appearance, second in a row, as a Western Conference reserve. With Devin Booker being named a replacement All-Star a day later, Paul and Booker were the first Suns duo since Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in 2010 to be named All-Stars. On March 21, Paul logged his first triple-double of the season with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists in a 111–94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the sixth player in NBA history to record 10,000 career assists.


title: Chris Paul

text: In Game 2 of the Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets, Paul recorded 17 points, 15 assists, and 0 turnovers in a 123–98 victory. This was Paul's third playoff game with at least 15 points, 15 assists, and 0 turnovers, the most in NBA history. In Game 4, Paul scored 37 points on a 74 percent shooting (14-of-19) alongside seven assists in a 125–118 victory, leading the Suns to a 4–0 series sweep over the Nuggets for their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2010. On June 16, Paul was indefinitely sidelined as he entered the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Paul endured an eight-day isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, which caused him to miss the first two games of the Western Conference Finals. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Clippers, Paul tied a playoff career-high 41 points, while putting up eight assists, in a 130–103 victory to close out the series, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career and the Suns' first appearance since 1993. During the game Paul scored 31 out of his 41 points in the second half, becoming just the third player in the last 25 years to score at least 30 points in the second half of a series-clinching game. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, Paul put up 32 points, 16 of those in the third quarter, along with nine assists, in a 118–105 win. The Suns jumped to a 2–0 lead in the series before losing in six games. Paul became the first player in NBA playoff history to lose four series in which his team led 2–0. After the Finals ended, he had wrist surgery.


title: Chris Paul

text: On August 7, 2021, Paul signed a four-year contract extension with the Suns worth up to $120 million. On October 22, Paul recorded 23 points and 14 assists in a 115–105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first player in league history to record 20,000 points and 10,000 assists in their career. On November 2, Paul put up 14 points and 18 assists in a 112–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, moving past Mark Jackson and Steve Nash for third place on the NBA all-time career assists list. On December 2, Paul put up 12 points and 12 assists in a 114–103 win over the Detroit Pistons, leading the Suns to their franchise-record 18th win in a row. On January 24, 2022, Paul scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out 14 assists in a 115–109 win against the Utah Jazz. On January 28, Paul logged his 18th career triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists in a 134–124 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The following game, Paul had a season-high 19 assists with 20 points and eight rebounds in a 115–110 win against the San Antonio Spurs.


title: Chris Paul

text: On February 3, Paul recorded 18 points, 12 assists, and three steals in a 124–115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks who snapped Phoenix's 11-game winning streak. This was Paul's 50th career game with 10 assists or more with no turnovers—the most such games in NBA history. Before the game, he was named a reserve for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. On February 10, Paul tied his season-high 19 assists with 17 points and seven rebounds as he led the Suns to a 131–107 victory against the Bucks in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals. Paul finished with his 500th career double-double. He is just the fourth guard in NBA history to accomplish that feat. On February 16, Paul broke his right thumb in a game against the Houston Rockets, just before the All-Star break. On March 24, Paul returned from a broken right wrist to help the Suns wrap up the top seed in the NBA playoffs with a 140–130 victory over the Denver Nuggets. He finished the game with 17 points and 13 assists. On April 1, Paul passed Gary Payton for fourth on the all-time steals list. On April 5, after a Phoenix’s 121–110 win over the Lakers, Paul became the first player in NBA history to be part of four teams to set a franchise record for victories in a single season.


title: Chris Paul

text: In Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Paul scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter along with seven rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals on 12-of-16 shooting from the field in a 110–99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He also became the oldest player in NBA history to put up at least 30 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. In Game 3, Paul scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter along with 14 assists to lead the Suns to a 114–111 win. In Game 6, he closed the series with 33 points along with eight assists and five rebounds on 14-of-14 shooting, which set the record for the most field goals in a game without a miss in NBA playoffs history. On May 2, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Paul moved past Tony Parker for fifth all-time in career playoff assists in a 121–114 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The Suns jumped to a 2–0 lead in the series before losing in seven games. Paul became the first player in NBA playoff history to lose five series in which his team led 2–0.


title: Chris Paul

text: On October 23, 2022, Paul recorded seven points, eight rebounds and eleven assists in an 112–95 win over his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers, with whom he played for six seasons and is the franchise's career assists leader. He joined John Stockton and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history with 11,000 assists. Paul also became the first player in the league with 20,000 points and 11,000 assists. On October 30, Paul posted a season-high 15 assists along with 10 points and 0 turnovers in a 124–109 win over his former team, the Houston Rockets.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul made his debut for the United States national team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. He finished the competition with a tournament-high 44 assists, helping Team USA win the bronze medal in the process. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he played a key role off the bench, scoring 13 points in a gold medal game victory against Spain. In addition to the gold medal, Team USA also finished the competition with a perfect 8–0 record. Paul was promoted to the starting point guard position for the 2012 Olympics in London, averaging 8.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game en route to another gold medal and undefeated tournament.


title: Chris Paul

text: Standing tall and weighing , Paul exclusively plays the point guard position. His career averages are 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He has earned All-NBA honors 11 times (2008, 2009, 2011–2016, 2020, 2021, 2022), All-Defensive honors nine times (2008, 2009, 2011–2017), and led the NBA in steals a record six times (2008, 2009, 2011–2014) and in assists five times (2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2022). In 2013, he was ranked as the third-best player in the league by ESPN and "Sports Illustrated". In his 2014 NBA preview, ESPN's Kevin Pelton called Paul the league's best point guard, adding, "a title he's held throughout his career when healthy."


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul prefers playing in the half court versus playing up-tempo. He creates scoring opportunities by constantly changing speeds; upon beating his defender one-on-one or shedding him in the pick-and-roll, he will often slow down and box him out, denying him from regaining front side position and forcing the defense to help at all times. His ability to penetrate deep into the paint leads to easy shots for his teammates, and in 2013, he was second in the league in assisted three-pointers. As a playmaker, he is noted for his consistently high assist-to-turnover ratio, averaging just 2.4 turnovers per game over his career. A deft midrange shooter, he is especially proficient from the right elbow, leading the league in shooting percentage from that area in 2015. On defense, he aggravates opponents with active hands and high effort, and has been ranked as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul is regularly ranked as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world by "Forbes". Some of the companies that he has done business with include Nike and State Farm. For a State Farm ad campaign, he portrayed a fictional twin brother named Cliff Paul. Paul was also the cover athlete for the video game "NBA 2K8".


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul was selected president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) on August 21, 2013, after having served on the executive committee for four years. He was a key figure in the banning of Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the NBA following racist remarks Sterling made in 2014. In one interview, Paul mentioned a possible boycott if Sterling continued to own the team. Paul also played a significant role in the election of Michele Roberts as the Executive Director of the Players Association, giving a strong recommendation to the executive committee responsible for filling the position. On August 7, 2021, Paul's tenure as president ended when CJ McCollum was elected to the position.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul married his college sweetheart, Jada Crawley, on September 10, 2011. Together they have two children, a son born in May 2009 and a daughter born in August 2012. On November 11, 2011, Paul appeared with his family on "Family Feud".


title: Chris Paul

text: In a 2008 interview, Paul revealed that he is a Christian and attends church every Sunday whenever possible. In another interview, Paul commented, "I am so thankful that my parents raised me and C.J. to depend on God's guidance and our faith in Him, and to always be thankful for what we receive." He is an avid bowler and owns a franchise in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) League called L.A.X. He has hosted and participated in numerous celebrity and youth bowling events as the head of the CP3 Foundation, which benefits programs in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina, as well as charities in Winston-Salem. In 2018, Paul purchased a minority ownership stake in the Winston-Salem Dash, a minor league baseball team located in his hometown.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul's brother, C.J., played college basketball at Hampton University and University of South Carolina Upstate. In 2004, they played against each other when Wake Forest had a preseason exhibition with USC-Upstate. C.J. now works as Chris's personal manager. Paul is also close friends with American football player Reggie Bush; the two once lived in the One River Place complex in the New Orleans Central Business District while Bush was playing for the New Orleans Saints. They also shared a personal chef.


title: Chris Paul

text: Paul has been a vegan since 2019 and is a brand ambassador for Beyond Meat. Paul is also in partnership with Gopuff, with the intentions to expand the latter's selection of plant-based foods and products, particularly those made and distributed by black- and brown-owned businesses.


title: Chris Paul

text: In December 2022, Chris Paul graduated from Winston-Salem State University with his bachelor's degree in communications.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nicknamed "The King of Comedy". Starting in 1946, he teamed with singer Dean Martin to form the famous Martin and Lewis, then in 1956, went on as a solo act on stage, top-grossing movie star, a staple on television and filmmaker.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He starred in 60 films, directed 13 movies and was an early and prominent user of video assist, which allows real-time review of how a scene looks on camera. During his years as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Lewis supported fundraising for muscular dystrophy research and hosted "The Jerry Lewis Telethon", which raised $2.6 billion.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family. His parents were Daniel "Danny" Levitch (1902–1980), a master of ceremonies and vaudevillian who performed under the stage name Danny Lewis, whose parents immigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire to New York, and Rachael "Rae" Levitch (née Brodsky; 1903–1983), a WOR radio pianist and Danny's music director, from Warsaw. Reports about his birth name are conflicting; in Lewis's 1982 autobiography, he claimed his birth name was Joseph, after his maternal grandfather, but his birth certificate, the 1930 U. S. Census, and the 1940 U. S. Census all named him as Jerome.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Reports about the hospital where he was born conflict as well; biographer Shawn Levy claims Lewis was born at Clinton Private Hospital and others report it as Newark Beth Israel Hospital. Other aspects of his early life conflict with accounts made by family members, burial records, and vital records.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In his teenage years, Lewis was known for pulling pranks in his neighborhood, including sneaking into kitchens to steal fried chicken and pies. He dropped out of Irvington High School in the tenth grade. Lewis said that he ceased using the names Joseph and Joey as an adult to avoid being confused with Joe E. Lewis and Joe Louis.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: By age 15, Lewis had developed his "Record Act", miming lyrics to songs while a phonograph played offstage. He landed a gig at a burlesque house in Buffalo, but his performance fell flat and he was unable to book any more shows. To make ends meet, Lewis worked as a soda jerk and a theater usher for Suzanne Pleshette's father Gene at the Paramount Theatre as well as at Loew's Capitol Theatre, both in New York City.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: A veteran burlesque comedian, Max Coleman, who had worked with Lewis's father years before, persuaded him to try again. Irving Kaye, a Borscht Belt comedian, saw Lewis's mime act at Brown's Hotel in Loch Sheldrake, New York, the following summer, and the audience was so enthusiastic that Kaye became Lewis's manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1945, Lewis was 19 when he met 27-year-old singer Dean Martin at the Glass Hat Club in New York City, where the two performed until they debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club as Martin and Lewis on July 25, 1946. The duo gained attention as a double act with Martin serving as the straight man to Lewis's zany antics. The inclusion of ad-libbed improvisational segments in their planned routines added a unique quality to their act and separated them from previous comedy duos.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Martin and Lewis quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, then as stars of their radio program "The Martin and Lewis Show". The two made their television debut on CBS' "Toast of the Town" (later renamed as "The Ed Sullivan Show") June 20, 1948. This was followed by an appearance on "Welcome Aboard" on October 3, 1948, and by a guest stint on "Texaco Star Theater" in 1949.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1950, they signed with NBC to be one of a series of weekly rotating hosts of "The Colgate Comedy Hour", a live Sunday evening broadcast. Lewis, writer for the team's nightclub act, hired Norman Lear and Ed Simmons as regular writers for their "Comedy Hour" material. Their "Comedy Hour" shows consisted of stand-up dialogue, song and dance from their nightclub act and movies, backed by Dick Stabile's big band, slapstick and satirical sketch comedy, Martin's solo songs, and Lewis's solo pantomimes or physical numbers.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Martin and Lewis often broke character, ad-libbing and breaking the fourth wall. While not completely capturing the orchestrated mayhem of their nightclub act, the "Comedy Hour" displayed charismatic energy between the team and established their popularity nationwide. By 1951, with an appearance at the Paramount Theatre in New York, they were a hit. The duo began their film careers at Paramount Pictures as ensemble players, in "My Friend Irma" (1949) and its sequel "My Friend Irma Goes West" (1950).


title: Jerry Lewis

text: They then starred in their own series of 14 new films, "At War with the Army" (1950), "That's My Boy" (1951), "Sailor Beware" (1952), "Jumping Jacks" (1952), "The Stooge" (1952), "Scared Stiff" (1953), "The Caddy" (1953), "Money from Home" (1953), "Living It Up" (1954), "3 Ring Circus" (1954), "You're Never Too Young" (1955), "Artists and Models" (1955), "Pardners" (1956) and "Hollywood or Bust" (1956), all produced by Hal B. Wallis and appeared on Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's Olympic Fund Telethon.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Martin and Lewis cameoed in Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's film "Road to Bali" (1952), then Hope and Crosby would do the same in "Scared Stiff" a year later. Attesting to the duo's popularity, DC Comics published "The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis" from 1952 to 1957. The team appeared on "What's My Line?" in 1954, the 27th annual Academy Awards in 1955, "The Steve Allen Show" and "The Today Show" in 1956.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Their films were popular with audiences and were financial successes for Paramount. In later years, both Lewis and Martin admitted frustration with Wallis for his formulaic and trite film choices, restricting them to narrow, repetitive roles. As Martin's roles in their films became less important over time and Lewis received the majority of critical acclaim, the partnership came under strain. Martin's participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when "Look" magazine published a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: After their final nightclub act on July 24, 1956, both Lewis and Martin went on to have successful solo careers, but neither would comment on the split nor consider a reunion. They were occasionally seen at the same public events and even reunited on stage for 15 minutes to do their old act together in 1960 at The Sands hotel.Dean surprised Jerry on his appearance on "The Eddie Fisher Show" on September 30, 1958, and they appeared on TV together at the 1959 Academy Awards closing. They reunited several times publicly, and sometimes privately according to interviews they gave to magazines.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Twenty years after their breakup, Frank Sinatra surprised Lewis by bringing Martin onstage during the Jerry Lewis Telethon in September 1976. In 1989, Lewis returned the gesture, attending Martin's 72nd birthday.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: After ending his partnership with Martin in 1956, Lewis and his wife Patty took a vacation in Las Vegas to consider the direction of his career. He felt his life was in a crisis state: "I was unable to put one foot in front of the other with any confidence. I was completely unnerved to be alone". While there, he received an urgent request from his friend Sid Luft, who was Judy Garland's husband and manager, saying that she couldn't perform that night in Las Vegas because of strep throat, and asking Lewis to fill in.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis had not sung alone on stage since he was five years old, twenty-five years before. He delivered jokes and clowned with the audience while Garland sat off-stage, watching. He then sang a rendition of a song he'd learned as a child, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" along with "Come Rain or Come Shine". Lewis recalled, "When I was done, the place exploded. I walked off the stage knowing I could make it on my own".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: At his wife's urging, Lewis used his own money to record the songs on a single. Decca Records heard it, liked it and insisted he record an album for them. The single of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby" went to No. 10 and the album "Jerry Lewis Just Sings" went to No. 3 on the "Billboard" charts, staying near the top for four months and selling a million and a half copies.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: With the success of that album, he recorded the additional albums "More Jerry Lewis" (an EP of songs from this release was released as "Somebody Loves Me"), and "Jerry Lewis Sings Big Songs for Little People" (later reissued with fewer tracks as "Jerry Lewis Sings for Children"). Non-album singles were released, and "It All Depends On You" hit the charts in April and May 1957, but peaked at only No. 68. Further singles were recorded and released by Lewis into the mid-1960s.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: But these were not Lewis's first forays into recording, nor his first appearance on the hit charts. During his partnership with Martin, they made several recordings together, charting at No. 22 in 1948 with the 1920s "That Certain Party" and later mostly re-recording songs highlighted in their films. Also during the time of their partnership, but without Martin, he recorded numerous novelty-comedy numbers for adults as well as records specifically intended for the children's market.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In late 1956, Lewis began performing regularly at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which marked a turning point in his life and career. The Sands signed him for five years to perform six weeks each year and paid him the same amount they had paid Martin and Lewis as a team. The critics gave him positive reviews: "Jerry was wonderful. He has proved that he can be a success by himself," wrote one. He continued with club performances in Miami, New York, Chicago and Washington.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Live performances became a staple of Lewis' career and over the years he performed at casinos, theaters, and state fairs. In February 1957, Lewis followed Garland at the Palace Theater in New York and Martin called on the phone during this period to wish him the best of luck. "I've never been happier," said Lewis. "I have peace of mind for the first time."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis established himself as a solo act on TV starting with the first of six appearances on "What's My Line?" from 1956 to 1966 and then guest starred on "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show". He appeared on both "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" and "The Ed Sullivan Show" and beginning in January 1957, in a number of solo TV specials for NBC. He starred in his adaptation of "The Jazz Singer" for "Startime". Lewis hosted the Academy Awards three times, in 1956, 1957 and the 31st Academy Awards in 1959, which ran twenty minutes short, forcing Lewis to improvise to fill time. DC Comics published a new comic book series titled "The Adventures of Jerry Lewis", running from 1957 to 1971.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis remained at Paramount and started off with his first solo effort "The Delicate Delinquent" (1957) then starred in his next film "The Sad Sack" (1957). Frank Tashlin, whose background as a "Looney Tunes" cartoon director suited Lewis's brand of humor, came on board. Lewis did new films with him, first with "Rock-A-Bye Baby" (1958) and then "The Geisha Boy" (1958). Billy Wilder asked Lewis to play the lead role of an uptight jazz musician named Jerry, who winds up on the run from the mob in "Some Like It Hot", but he turned the role down.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis then appeared in "Don't Give Up The Ship" (1959) and made a cameo appearance in "Li'l Abner" (1959). A 1959 contract between Paramount and Jerry Lewis Productions specified a payment of $10 million plus 60% of the profits for 14 films over seven years.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: This contract made Lewis the highest paid individual Hollywood talent to date and was unprecedented in that he had unlimited creative control, including final cut and the return of film rights after 30 years. Lewis's clout and box office were so strong (his films had already earned Paramount $100 million in rentals) that Barney Balaban, head of production at Paramount at that time, told the press, "If Jerry wants to burn down the studio I'll give him the match!"


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis had finished his film contract with Wallis with "Visit to a Small Planet" (1960) and wrapped up production on his own film "Cinderfella" (1960), directed by Tashlin and was postponed for a Christmas 1960 release. Paramount Pictures, needing a quickie movie for its summer 1960 schedule, held Lewis to his contract to produce one. As a result, he made his debut as film director of "The Bellboy" (1960), which he also starred in.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Using the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami as his setting — on a small budget, with a very tight shooting schedule — Lewis shot the film during the day and performed at the hotel in the evenings. Bill Richmond collaborated with him on many of the sight gags. Lewis later revealed that Paramount was not happy about financing a "silent movie" and withdrew backing. Lewis used his own funds to cover the movie's $950,000 budget. Meanwhile, he directed an unsold pilot for "Permanent Waves".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis continued to direct more films that he had co-written with Richmond, including "The Ladies Man" (1961), where Lewis constructed a three-story dollhouse-like set spanning two sound stages, with the set equipped with state of the art lighting and sound, eliminating the need for boom mics in each room and his next movie "The Errand Boy" (1961), was one of the earliest films about movie-making, using all of the Paramount backlot and offices.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis appeared in "The Wacky World of Jerry Lewis", "Celebrity Golf", "The Garry Moore Show" and Tashlin's "It's Only Money" (1962), then guest hosted "The Tonight Show" during the transition from Jack Paar to Johnny Carson in 1962 and his appearance on the show scored the highest ratings thus far in late night, surpassing other guest hosts and Paar. The three major networks began a bidding war, wooing Lewis for his own talk show, which debuted the following year.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis then directed, co-wrote and starred in the smash hit "The Nutty Professor" (1963). A parody of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", it featured him as Professor Kelp, a socially inept scientist who invents a serum that turns him into a handsome but obnoxious ladies man. It is often considered to be Lewis's best film. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004. The film inspired a franchise, which has included a 1996 remake starring Eddie Murphy in the title role and a stage musical adaptation.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1963, he had cameo roles in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and Tashlin's "Who's Minding the Store?". He also hosted "The Jerry Lewis Show", a lavish 13-week, big-budget show which aired on ABC from September to December in 1963.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis next starred in "The Patsy" (1964), his satire about the Hollywood star-making industry, "The Disorderly Orderly" (1964), his final collaboration with Tashlin, appeared in a cameo on "The Joey Bishop Show" and "The Family Jewels" (1965) 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. All six uncles and the bodyguard were played by Lewis.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1965, Lewis was interviewed on "The David Susskind Show", then starred in "Boeing Boeing" (1965), his last film for Paramount, based on the French stage play, in which he received a Golden Globe nomination; an episode of "Ben Casey", an early dramatic role; "The Andy Williams Show;" and "Hullabaloo" with his son Gary Lewis. In 1966, after 17 years, and with no explanation, Lewis left Paramount and signed with Columbia Pictures where he tried to reinvent himself with more serious roles.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He went on to star in "Three on a Couch" (1966), "The Merv Griffin Show", "Way...Way Out" (1966), "The Sammy Davis Jr. Show", "Batman", "Laugh In", "Password", a pilot for "Sheriff Who", a new version of "The Jerry Lewis Show", this time as a one-hour variety show for NBC, which ran from 1967 to 1969, "The Big Mouth" (1967), "Run for Your Life" and "The Danny Thomas Hour".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis appeared in "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River" (1968), "Playboy After Dark" (surprising friend Sammy Davis Jr.), "Hook, Line & Sinker" (1969), "Jimmy Durante's The Lennon Sisters Hour", "The Red Skelton Show" and "The Jack Benny Birthday Special" and contributed to some scripts for Filmation's animated series "Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down", appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show" and directed an episode of "The Bold Ones".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis guested on "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour", "The Hollywood Palace", "The Engelbert Humperdinck Show", "The Irv Kupcinet Show", "The Linkletter Show", "The Real Tom Kennedy Show" and "A Christmas Night with the Stars", directed "One More Time" (1970), in which he played his first (and only) off-screen voice as a bandleader, starred in "Which Way to the Front?" (1970) and appeared on "The Carol Burnett Show", "The Rolf Harris Show" and "The Kraft Music Hall".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis directed and appeared in the partly unreleased "The Day the Clown Cried" (1972), a drama set in a Nazi concentration camp. The film was rarely discussed by Lewis, but he said that litigation over post-production finances and copyright prevented its completion and theatrical release. During his book tour for "Dean and Me", he also said a factor for the film's burial was that he was not proud of the effort.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis explained his reason for choosing the project and the emotional difficulty of the subject matter in an interview with an Australian documentary film crew. A 31-minute edited compilation of the film's scenes was compiled by Lewis fan Kay Brown/Donazify, and went viral on the internet in 2016, after the footage was shown on the German television station ARD, in the documentary Der Clown. It was later put on DVD and shown at Deutsches Filminstitute. The film was the earliest attempt by an American film director to address the subject of The Holocaust. Significant speculation continues to surround the film. Following this, Lewis took a break from the movie business for several years.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis appeared as guest on "Good Morning America", "The Dick Cavett Show", "NBC Follies", "Celebrity Sportsman", "Cher", "Dinah!" and "Tony Orlando and Dawn". Lewis surprised Sinatra and Martin after walking onto the Aladdin stage in Las Vegas during their show and exchanged jokes for several minutes. He then starred in a revival of "Hellzapoppin" with Lynn Redgrave, but closed on the road before reaching Broadway. In 1979, he guest hosted as ringmaster of "Circus of the Stars".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis guest starred on "Pink Lady" in 1980, then made a comeback to the big screen in "Hardly Working" (1981), after an 11-year absence from film. Despite being panned by critics, it eventually earned $50 million. In 1982 and 1983, Lewis appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" and in "The King of Comedy", as a late-night TV host, plagued by two obsessive fans, in which he received wide critical acclaim and a BAFTA nomination for this serious dramatic role.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis then starred in "Saturday Night Live", "Star Search", "Cracking Up" (1983), "Slapstick (Of Another Kind)" (1984), "To Catch a Cop" (1984) and "How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave" (1984), the latter two films from France which had their distribution under Lewis's control and stated that they would never be released in American movie theaters and on home media. He then was a guest on an episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He then hosted a new syndicated version of "The Jerry Lewis Show", this time as a talk show for Metromedia, which was not continued beyond the scheduled five shows. In 1985, Lewis directed an episode of "Brothers", appeared at the first Comic Relief in 1986, where he was the only performer to receive a standing ovation, was interviewed on "Classic Treasures" and starred in the ABC television movie "Fight for Life" (1987).


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1987, Lewis performed a second double act with Davis Jr. at Bally's in Las Vegas, then after learning of the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin, he attended his funeral, which led to a more substantial reconciliation with Martin. In 1988, Lewis hosted "America's All-Time Favorite Movies", then was interviewed by Howard Cosell on "Speaking of Everything." He then starred in five episodes of "Wiseguy".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: The filming schedule of the show forced Lewis to miss the Museum of the Moving Image's opening with a retrospective of his work. In 1989, Lewis joined Martin on stage, for what would be Martin's final live performance, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Lewis wheeled out a cake on Martin's 72nd birthday, sang "Happy Birthday" to him and joked, "Why we broke up, I'll never know". He next appeared in "Cookie" (1989).


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis handled two years directing episodes of "Super Force" and "Good Grief" in 1990 and 1991, then star in "Mr. Saturday Night" (1992), "The Arsenio Hall Show", "The Whoopi Goldberg Show" and "Inside The Comedy Mind". A three-part retrospective "Martin & Lewis: Their Golden Age of Comedy", aired on The Disney Channel in 1992, using previously unseen kinescopes from Lewis's personal archive, highlighted his years as part of a team with Martin and as a soloist.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: After guest spots on "Mad About You" and "Larry King Live" and film appearances in "Arizona Dream" (1993) and "Funny Bones" (1995), Lewis made his Broadway debut, as a replacement cast member playing the devil, in a revival of "Damn Yankees" and was reportedly paid the highest sum in Broadway history at the time for performing in both the national and London runs of the musical. He missed only three shows in more than four years, one of those occasions being the funeral of Martin, his comedy partner of ten years.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis appeared on "Inside the Actors Studio" in 1996, the 12th annual American Comedy Awards in 1998, "The Martin Short Show", "Russell Gilbert Live", "The Simpsons", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "Live with Kelly", "", the song "Time After Time" with Deana Martin on her album "Memories Are Made of This" and "" (2009).


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He made his last appearances for the 81st Academy Awards, "Till Luck Do Us Part 2" (2013), "The Talk", "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo", "The Trust" (2016), his final film "Max Rose" (2016), "WTF with Marc Maron" and "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: During the 1960 production of "The Bellboy", Lewis pioneered the technique of using video cameras and multiple closed circuit monitors, which allowed him to review his performance instantly. This was necessary since he was acting as well as directing. His techniques and methods of filmmaking, documented in his book and his USC class, enabled him to complete most of his films on time and under budget since reshoots could take place immediately instead of waiting for the dailies.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: "Man in Motion", a featurette for "Three on a Couch", features the video system, named "Jerry's Noisy Toy" and shows Lewis receiving the Golden Light Technical Achievement award for its development. Lewis stated he worked with the head of Sony to produce the prototype. While he initiated its practice and use, and was instrumental in its development, he did not hold a patent. This practice is now commonplace in filmmaking.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Starting in 1967, Lewis taught a film directing class at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for a number of years. His students included George Lucas, whose friend Steven Spielberg sometimes sat in on classes. Lewis screened Spielberg's early film "Amblin'" and told his students, "That's what filmmaking is all about." The class covered all topics related to filmmaking, including pre and post production, marketing and distribution and filming comedy with rhythm and timing.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: His 1971 book "The Total Film Maker", was based on 480 hours of his class lectures. Also, Lewis traveled to medical schools for seminars on laughter and healing with Dr. Clifford Kuhn and also did corporate and college lectures, motivational speaking and promoted the pain-treatment company Medtronic.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: While Lewis was popular in France for his duo films with Dean Martin and his solo comedy films, his reputation and stature increased after the Paramount contract, when he began to exert total control over all aspects of his films. His involvement in directing, writing, editing and art direction coincided with the rise of auteur theory in French intellectual film criticism and the French New Wave movement. He earned consistent praise from French critics in the influential magazines "Cahiers du Cinéma" and "Positif", where he was hailed as an ingenious auteur.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: His singular "mise-en-scène", and skill behind the camera, were aligned with Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock and Satyajit Ray. Appreciated too, was the complexity of his also being in front of the camera. The new French criticism viewed cinema as an art form unto itself, and comedy as part of this art. Lewis is then fitted into a historical context and seen as not only worthy of critique, but as an innovator and satirist of his time. Jean-Pierre Coursodon states in a 1975 "Film Comment" article, "The merit of the French critics, auteurist excesses notwithstanding, was their willingness to look at what Lewis was doing as a filmmaker for what it was, rather than with some preconception of what film comedy should be."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Not yet curricula at universities or art schools, film studies and film theory were avant-garde in early 1960s America. Mainstream movie reviewers such as Pauline Kael, were dismissive of auteur theory, and others, seeing only absurdist comedy, criticized Lewis for his ambition and "castigated him for his self-indulgence" and egotism. Despite this criticism often being held by American film critics, admiration for Lewis and his comedy continued to grow in France.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Appreciation of Lewis became a misunderstood stereotype about "the French", and it was often the object of jokes in American pop culture. "That Americans can't see Jerry Lewis's genius is bewildering," says N. T. Binh, a French film magazine critic. Such bewilderment was the basis of the book "Why the French Love Jerry Lewis". In response to the lingering perception that French audiences adored him, Lewis stated in interviews he was more popular in Germany, Japan and Australia.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: As a humanitarian, philanthropist and "number one volunteer", Lewis supported fundraising for research into muscular dystrophy. In 1951, he and Martin made their first appeal for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (simply known as MDA and formerly as the Muscular Dystrophy Associations of America and MDAA) in early December on the finale of "The Colgate Comedy Hour". In 1952, after another appeal, Lewis hosted New York area telethons until 1959 and in 1954, fought Rocky Marciano in a boxing bout for MDA's fund drive.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: After being named national chairman in 1956, Lewis began hosting and emceeing "The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon" in 1966 and aired every Labor Day weekend for six decades. Ed McMahon, announcer of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and host of "Star Search", began his involvement in the telethon in 1968, before coanchoring with Lewis from 1973 to 2008. The show originated from different locations including New York, Las Vegas and Hollywood, becoming the most successful fundraising event in the history of television. The songs "Smile" (by Charlie Chaplin), "What the World Needs Now Is Love" (by Jackie DeShannon) and "You'll Never Walk Alone" (by Rodgers and Hammerstein) have been long associated with the telethon.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: It was the first to: raise over $1 million, in 1966; be shown entirely in color, in 1967; become a networked telethon, in 1968; go coast-to-coast, in 1970; be seen outside the continental U.S., in 1972. It: raised the largest sum ever in a single event for humanitarian purposes, in 1974; had the greatest amount ever pledged to a televised charitable event, in 1980 (from the "Guinness Book of World Records"); was the first to be seen by 100 million people, in 1985; celebrated its 25th anniversary, in 1990; saw its highest pledge in history, in 1992; and was the first seen worldwide via internet simulcast, in 1998.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: By 1990, societal views of disabled individuals and the telethon format had shifted. Lewis' and the telethon's methods were criticized by disabled-rights activists who believed the show was "designed to evoke pity rather than empower the disabled". The activists said the telethon perpetuated prejudices and stereotypes, that Lewis treated those he claimed to be helping with little respect, and that he used offensive language when describing them.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis rebutted the criticism and defended his methods saying, "If you don't tug at their heartstrings, then you're on the air for nothing."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In December 1996, Lewis and MDA were recognized by the American Medical Association with Lifetime Achievement awards for significant and lasting contributions to the health and welfare of humanity. Lewis received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 1977, a Governors Award in 2005 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2009, in recognition of his fight and efforts with MDA. His motto summed up the philosophy behind his years of devotion to MDA: "I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: 2010 would be Lewis' final hosted telethon. On August 3, 2011, MDA announced that Lewis would no longer host its telethons and that he was no longer associated with MDA. A tribute to Lewis was held during the 2011 telethon (which originally was to be his final show bearing his name with MDA). In May 2015, MDA said it was discontinuing its telethon in view of "the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In early 2016, at MDA's brand relaunch event at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Lewis broke a five-year silence during a special taped message for the organization on its website, marking his first (and as it turned out, his final) appearance in support of MDA since his final telethon in 2010 and the end of his tenure as national chairman in 2011. MDA's website states, "Jerry's love, passion and brilliance are woven throughout this organization, which he helped build from the ground up, courted sponsors for MDA, appeared at openings of MDA care and research centers, addressed meetings of civic organizations, volunteers and the MDA Board of Directors, successfully lobbied Congress for federal neuromuscular disease research funds, made countless phone calls and visits to families served by MDA.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis opened a camera shop in 1950. In 1969, he agreed to lend his name to "Jerry Lewis Cinemas", offered by National Cinema Corporation as a franchise business opportunity for those interested in theatrical movie exhibition. Jerry Lewis Cinemas stated that their theaters could be operated by a staff of as few as two with the aid of automation and support provided by the franchiser in booking film and other aspects of film exhibition. A forerunner of the smaller rooms typical of later multi-screen complexes, a Jerry Lewis Cinema was billed in franchising ads as a "mini-theatre" with a seating capacity of between 200 and 350.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In addition to Lewis's name, each Jerry Lewis Cinema bore a sign with a cartoon logo of Lewis in profile. Initially 158 territories were franchised, with a buy-in fee of $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the territory, for what was called an "individual exhibitor". For $50,000, Jerry Lewis Cinemas offered an opportunity known as an "area directorship", in which investors controlled franchising opportunities in a territory as well as their own cinemas. The success of the chain was hampered by a policy of only booking second-run, family-friendly films. Eventually the policy was changed, and the Jerry Lewis Cinemas were allowed to show more competitive movies. But after a decade the chain failed and both Lewis and National Cinema Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1980.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1973, Lewis appeared on the 1st annual 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation telethon, hosted by Davis Jr. and Monty Hall. In 1990, Lewis wrote and directed a short film for UNICEF's "How Are The Children?" anthology exploring the rights of children worldwide. The eight-minute segment, titled "Boy", was about a young white child in a black world and being subjected to quiet, insidious racism, and outright racist bullying.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 2010, Lewis met with seven-year-old Lochie Graham, who shared his idea for "Jerry's House", a place for vulnerable and traumatized children. Lewis and Graham entered into a joint partnership for an Australian and a U.S.-based charity and began raising funds to build the facility in Melbourne. On September 12, 2016, Lewis lent his name and star power to Criss Angel's HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis kept a low political profile for many years, having taken advice reportedly given to him by President John F. Kennedy, who told him, "Don't get into anything political. Don't do that because they will usurp your energy." Nevertheless, he campaigned and performed on behalf of both JFK and Robert F. Kennedy, and was a supporter of the civil rights movement. For his 1957 NBC special, Lewis held his ground when southern affiliates objected to his friendship with Sammy Davis, Jr. In a 1971 "Movie Mirror" magazine article, Lewis spoke out against the Vietnam War when his son Gary returned from service traumatized. He vowed to leave the country rather than send another of his sons.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis observed that political speeches should not be at the Oscars. He stated, "I think we are the most dedicated industry in the world. And I think that we have to present ourselves that night as hard-working, caring and important people to the industry. We need to get more self-respect as an industry". In a 2004 interview with "The Guardian", Lewis was asked what he was least proud of, to which he answered, "Politics".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He mocked citizens' lack of pride in their country, stating, "President Bush is my president. I will not say anything negative about the president of the United States. I don't do that. And I don't allow my children to do that. Likewise when I come to England don't you do any jokes about 'Mum' to me. That is the Queen of England, you moron. Do you know how tough a job it is to be the Queen of England?"


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In a December 2015 interview on EWTN's "World Over" with Raymond Arroyo, Lewis expressed opposition to the United States letting in Syrian refugees, saying, "No one has worked harder for the human condition than I have, but they're not part of the human condition if 11 guys in that group of 10,000 are ISIS. How can I take that chance?" In the same interview, he criticized President Barack Obama for not being prepared for ISIS, while expressing support for Donald Trump, saying he would make a good president because he was a good "showman". He also added that he admired Ronald Reagan's presidency.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1998, at the Aspen U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, when asked which women comics he admired, Lewis answered, "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."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He went on to praise Lucille Ball as "brilliant" and said Carol Burnett is "the greatest female entrepreneur of comedy". On other occasions Lewis expressed admiration for female comedians Totie Fields, Phyllis Diller, Kathleen Freeman, Elayne Boosler, Whoopi Goldberg and Tina Fey. During the 2007 MDA Telethon, Lewis used the slur "fag" in a joke, for which he apologized. Lewis used the same word the following year on Australian television.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis wed Patti Palmer (née Esther Grace Calonico; 1921–2021), a singer with Ted Fio Rito, on October 3, 1944. They had six sons together; five biological: Gary (born 1945), Scott (born 1956), Christopher (born 1957), Anthony (born 1959) and Joseph (1964–2009); and one adopted: Ronald (born 1949). It was an interfaith marriage; Lewis was Jewish and Palmer was Catholic.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He openly pursued relationships with other women and gave unapologetic interviews about his infidelity, revealing his affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich to "People" in 2011. Palmer filed for divorce from Lewis in 1980, after 35 years of marriage, citing Lewis's extravagant spending and infidelity on his part, and it was finalized in 1983. All of Lewis's children and grandchildren from his marriage to Palmer were excluded from inheriting any part of his estate. His eldest son, Gary, publicly called his father a "mean and evil person" and said that Lewis never showed him or his siblings any love or care.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis's second wife was Sandra "SanDee" Pitnick, a University of North Carolina School of the Arts professionally trained ballerina and stewardess, who met Lewis after winning a bit part in a dancing scene on his film "Hardly Working". They wed on February 13, 1983 in Key Biscayne, Florida, adopted a daughter, Danielle (born 1992), and were married for 34 years until Lewis' death.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In February 1994, a man named Gary Benson was revealed to have been stalking Lewis and his family. Benson subsequently served four years in prison.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In February 2022, "Vanity Fair" reported that several of Lewis' co-stars from the 1960s had come forward to share experiences of sexual assault, harassment, and verbal abuse. Those whose accounts were made public included Karen Sharpe, Hope Holiday, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Lainie Kazan.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis suffered from a number of chronic health problems, illnesses and addictions related both to aging and a back injury sustained in a comedic pratfall. The fall has been stated as being either from a piano while performing at the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip on March 20, 1965, or during an appearance on "The Andy Williams Show". In its aftermath, Lewis became addicted to the painkiller Percodan for thirteen years. He said he had been off the drug since 1978. In April 2002, Lewis had a Medtronic "Synergy" neurostimulator implanted in his back, which helped reduce the discomfort. He was one of the company's leading spokesmen.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis suffered numerous heart problems throughout his life; he revealed in the 2011 documentary "Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis" that he suffered his first heart attack at age 34 while filming "Cinderfella" in 1960. In December 1982, at age 56, he suffered his second heart attack. Two months later, in February 1983, Lewis underwent open-heart double-bypass surgery. En route to San Diego from New York City on a cross-country commercial airline flight on June 11, 2006, Lewis suffered his third heart attack at age 80. It was discovered that he had pneumonia, as well as a severely damaged heart. He underwent a cardiac catheterization days after the heart attack, and two stents were inserted into one of his coronary arteries, which was 90 percent blocked. The surgery resulted in increased blood flow to his heart and allowed him to continue his rebound from earlier lung problems. Having the cardiac catheterization required him to cancel several major events from his schedule, but Lewis fully recuperated in a matter of weeks.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 1999, Lewis's 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.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In addition to his decades-long heart problems, Lewis had prostate cancer, type 1 diabetes, and pulmonary fibrosis. In the late 1990s, Lewis was treated with prednisone for pulmonary fibrosis, which caused considerable weight gain and a startling change in his appearance. In September 2001, Lewis was unable to perform at a planned London charity event at the London Palladium. He was the headlining act, and was introduced, but did not appear onstage. He had suddenly become unwell, apparently with cardiac problems.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: He was subsequently taken to hospital. Some months thereafter, Lewis began an arduous, months-long therapy that weaned him off prednisone, and he lost much of the weight gained while on the drug. The treatment enabled him to return to work. On June 12, 2012, he was treated and released from a hospital after collapsing from hypoglycemia at a New York Friars Club event. This forced him to cancel a show in Sydney. In an October 2016 interview with "Inside Edition", Lewis acknowledged that he might not star in any more films, given his advanced age, while admitting, through tears, that he was afraid of dying, as it would leave his wife and daughter alone. In June 2017, Lewis was hospitalized at a Las Vegas hospital for a urinary tract infection.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91. The cause was end-stage cardiac disease and peripheral artery disease. Lewis was cremated. In his will, Lewis left his estate to his second wife of 34 years, SanDee Pitnick, and their daughter, and explicitly disinherited his children from his first marriage and their children.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis "single-handedly created a style of humor that was half anarchy, half excruciation. Even comics who never took a pratfall in their careers owe something to the self-deprecation Jerry introduced into American show business."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis's comedy style was physically uninhibited, expressive, and potentially volatile. He was known especially for his distinctive voice, facial expressions, pratfalls, and physical stunts. His improvisations and ad-libbing, especially in nightclubs and early television were revolutionary among performers. It was "marked by a raw, edgy energy that would distinguish him within the comedy landscape". Will Sloan, of "Flavorwire" wrote, "In the late '40s and early '50s, nobody had ever seen a comedian as wild as Jerry Lewis." Placed in the context of the conservative era, his antics were radical and liberating, paving the way for future comedians Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, Paul Reubens, and Jim Carrey. Carrey wrote: "Through his comedy, Jerry would stretch the boundaries of reality so far that it was an act of anarchy ... I learned from Jerry", and "I am because he was".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Acting the bumbling 'everyman', Lewis used tightly choreographed, sophisticated sight gags, physical routines, verbal double-talk and malapropisms. "You cannot help but notice Lewis's incredible sense of control in regards to performing—they may have looked at times like the ravings of a madman but his best work had a genuine grace and finesse behind it that would put most comedic performers of any era to shame." They are "choreographed as exactly as any ballet, each movement and gesture coming on natural beats and conforming to the overall rhythmic form which is headed to a spectacular finale: absolute catastrophe."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Although Lewis made it no secret that he was Jewish, he was criticized for hiding his Jewish heritage. In several of his films — both with Martin and solo — Lewis's Jewish identity is hinted at in passing, and was never made a defining characteristic of his onscreen persona. Aside from the 1959 television movie "The Jazz Singer" and the unreleased 1972 film "The Day the Clown Cried", Lewis never appeared in a film or film role that had any ties to his Jewish heritage. When asked about this lack of Jewish portrayal in a 1984 interview, Lewis stated, "I never hid it, but I wouldn't announce it and I wouldn't exploit it. Plus the fact it had no room in the visual direction I was taking in my work."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis's physical movements in films received some criticism because he was perceived as imitating or mocking those with a physical disability. Through the years, the disability that has been attached to his comedic persona has not been physical, but mental. Neuroticism and schizophrenia have been a part of Lewis's persona since his partnership with Dean Martin; however, it was in his solo career that these disabilities became important to the plots of his films and the characters. In films such as "The Ladies Man" (1961), "The Disorderly Orderly" (1964), "The Patsy" (1964) and "Cracking Up" (1983), there is either neuroticism, schizophrenia, or both that drive the plot. Lewis was able to explore and dissect the psychological side of his persona, which provided a depth to the character and the films that was not present in his previous efforts.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, "Lewis was a major force in American popular culture." Widely acknowledged as a comic genius, Lewis influenced generations of comedians, comedy writers, performers and film makers. As Lewis was often referred to as the bridge from Vaudeville to modern comedy, Carl Reiner wrote after Lewis's death, "All comedians watch other comedians, and every generation of comedians going back to those who watched Jerry on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" were influenced by Jerry. They say that mankind goes back to the first guy ... which everyone tries to copy. In comedy that guy was Jerry Lewis."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis's films, especially his self-directed films, have warranted steady reappraisal. Richard Brody of "The New Yorker" said Lewis was "one of the most original, inventive, ... profound directors of the time" and "one of the most skilled and original comic performers, verbal and physical, ever to appear on screen". Dave Kehr, a film critic and film curator for the Museum of Modern Art, wrote in "The New York Times" of Lewis's "fierce creativity" and "the extreme formal sophistication of his direction". Kehr wrote that Lewis was "one of the great American filmmakers".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: "Lewis was an explosive experimenter with a dazzling skill, and an audacious, innovatory flair for the technique of the cinema. He knew how to frame and present his own adrenaline-fuelled, instinctive physical comedy for the camera."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis was at the forefront in the transition to independent filmmaking, which came to be known as New Hollywood in the late 1960s. Writing for the "Los Angeles Times" in 2005, screenwriter David Weddle lauded Lewis's audacity in 1959 "daring to declare his independence from the studio system". Lewis came along to a studio system in which the industry was regularly stratified between players and coaches. The studios tightly controlled the process and they wanted their people directing. Yet Lewis regularly led, often flouting the power structure to do so.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Steven Zeitchik of the LA Times wrote of Lewis, "Control over material was smart business, and it was also good art. Neither the entrepreneur nor the auteur were common types among actors in mid-20th century Hollywood. But there Lewis was, at a time of strict studio control, doing both."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: No other comedic star, with the exceptions of Chaplin and Keaton in the silent era, dared to direct himself. "Not only would Lewis's efforts as a director pave the way for the likes of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen, but it would reveal him to be uncommonly skilled in that area as well." "Most screen comedies until that time were not especially cinematic—they tended to plop down the camera where it could best capture the action and that was it. Lewis, on the other hand, was interested in exploring the possibilities of the medium by utilizing the tools he had at his disposal in formally innovative and oftentimes hilarious ways." "In Lewis's work the way the scene is photographed is an integral part of the joke. His purposeful selection of lenses, for example, expands and contracts space to generate laughs that aren't necessarily inherent in the material, and he often achieves his biggest effects via what he leaves off screen, not just visually but structurally."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: As a director, Lewis advanced the genre of film comedy with innovations in the areas of fragmented narrative, experimental use of music and sound technology, and near surrealist use of color and art direction. This prompted his peer, filmmaker Jean Luc Godard to proclaim, "Jerry Lewis ... is the only one in Hollywood doing something different, the only one who isn't falling in with the established categories, the norms, the principles. ... Lewis is the only one today who's making courageous films. He's been able to do it because of his personal genius". Jim Hemphill for "American Cinematheque" wrote, "They are films of ambitious visual and narrative experimentation, provocative and sometimes conflicted commentaries on masculinity in post-war America, and unsettling self-critiques and analyses of the performer's neuroses."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Intensely personal and original, Lewis's films were groundbreaking in their use of dark humor for psychological exploration. Justin Chang of the "Los Angeles Times" said, "The idea of comedians getting under the skin and tapping into their deepest, darkest selves is no longer especially novel, but it was far from a universally accepted notion when Lewis first took the spotlight. Few comedians before him had so brazenly turned arrested development into art, or held up such a warped fun house mirror to American identity in its loudest, ugliest, vulgarest excesses. Fewer still had advanced the still-radical notion that comedy doesn't always have to be funny, just fearless, in order to strike a nerve".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Before 1960, Hollywood comedies were screwball or farce. Lewis, from his earliest 'home movies, such as "How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border", made in his playhouse in the early 1950s, was one of the first to introduce satire as a full-length film. This "sharp-eyed" satire continued in his mature work, commenting on the cult of celebrity, the machinery of 'fame', and "the dilemma of being true to oneself while also fitting into polite society". Stephen Dalton in "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, Lewis had "an agreeably bitter streak, offering self-lacerating insights into celebrity culture which now look strikingly modern. Even post-modern in places." Speaking of "The King of Comedy", "More contemporary satirists like Garry Shandling, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais owe at least some of their self-deconstructing chops to Lewis's generously unappetizing turn in Scorsese's cult classic."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Lewis was an early master of deconstruction to enhance comedy. From the first "Comedy Hour"s he exposed the artifice of on-stage performance by acknowledging the lens, sets, malfunctioning props, failed jokes, and tricks of production. As Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote: Lewis had "the impulse to deconstruct and even demolish the fictional "givens" of any particular sketch, including those that he might have dreamed up himself, a kind of perpetual auto-destruction that becomes an essential part of his filmmaking as he steadily gains more control over the writing and direction of his features." His self directed films abound in behind-the-scene reveals, demystifying movie-making. Daniel Fairfax writes in "Deconstructing Jerry: Lewis as a Director", "Lewis deconstructs the very functioning of the joke itself". ... quoting Chris Fujiwara, ""The Patsy" is a film so radical that it makes comedy out of the situation of a comedian who isn't funny." The final scene of "The Patsy" is famous for revealing to the audience the movie as a movie, and Lewis as actor/director. Lewis wrote in "The Total Filmmaker", his belief in breaking the fourth wall, actors looking directly into the camera, despite industry norms.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard, both of whom starred with Lewis in "The King of Comedy", reflected on his death. Bernhard said: "It was one of the great experiences of my career, he was tough but one of a kind". De Niro said: "Jerry was a pioneer in comedy and film. And he was a friend. I was fortunate to have seen him a few times over the past couple of years. Even at 91, he didn't miss a beat ... or a punchline. You'll be missed." There was also a New York Friars Club roast in honor of Lewis with Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer. Martin Scorsese recalls working with him on "The King of Comedy", "It was like watching a virtuoso pianist at the keyboard". Lewis was the subject of a documentary "Jerry Lewis: Method to the Madness".


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Peter Chelsom, director of "Funny Bones" wrote, "Working with him was a masterclass in comic acting – and in charm. From the outset he was generous." "There's a very thin line between a talent for being funny and being a great actor. Jerry Lewis epitomized that. Jerry embodied the term "funny bones": a way of differentiating between comedians who "tell" funny and those who "are" funny." Director Daniel Noah recalling his relationship with Lewis during production of "Max Rose" wrote, "He was kind and loving and patient and limitlessly generous with his genius. He was unbelievably complicated and shockingly self-aware."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Actor and comedian Jeffrey Tambor wrote after Lewis's death, "You invented the whole thing. Thank you doesn't even get close."


title: Jerry Lewis

text: There have been numerous retrospectives of Lewis's films in the U.S. and abroad, most notably "Jerry Lewis: A Film and Television Retrospective" at Museum of the Moving Image, the 2013 Viennale, the 2016 Melbourne International Film Festival, "The Innovator: Jerry Lewis at Paramount", at American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and "Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90", at MOMA.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: In 2017, Lewis with others inaugurated and founded Legionnaires of Laughter and Legacy Awards, and the first Legacy Award held in Downtown, New York. On August 21, 2017, multiple hotel marquees on the Las Vegas Strip honored Lewis with a coordinated video display of images of his career as a Las Vegas performer and resident. From 1949, as part of Martin and Lewis, and from 1956 as a solo, Lewis was a casino showroom headliner, playing numerous dates over the decades. Las Vegas was also the home of his annual Labor Day MDA telethon.


title: Jerry Lewis

text: Between 1952 and 1971, DC Comics published a 124-issue comic book series with Lewis as one (later, the only) main protagonist, titled "The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis". In "The Simpsons", the character of Professor Frink is based on Lewis's Julius Kelp from "The Nutty Professor." Lewis himself would later voice the character's father in the episode "Treehouse of Horror XIV". In "Family Guy," Peter recreates Lewis's 'chairman of the board' scene from "The Errand Boy". Comedian, actor and friend of Lewis, Martin Short, satirized him on the series "SCTV" in the sketches "The Nutty Lab Assistant", "Martin Scorsese presents Jerry Lewis Live on the Champs Elysees!", "The Tender Fella", and "Scenes From an Idiots Marriage", as well as on "Saturday Night Live"s "Celebrity Jeopardy!".