Trivia of Jerry Lewis

Trivia of Jerry Lewis (16 March 1926 - 20 August 2017)

*Some have said that if Lewis hadn't pursued a career in show business, he would have been a professional baseball player for the Dodgers. He played with the team a few times at charity events and was apparently very good.

*Said his favorite Martin and Lewis film was The Stooge (1951) , he said "...it came closest to capturing what Dean and I had as a team".Also claimed to have never seen Hollywood or Bust (1956), the last film he made with his partner, Dean Martin, saying this was much too painful for him to watch.

*Was best friends with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. They starred in Lewis' home movies after Curtis complained about the roles he was being offered by his studio.

*He was offered the role of Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by his friend Billy Wilder. He declined because he didn't want to dress in drag. Of course, the role eventually went to Jack Lemmon and he received an Oscar nomination for his performance. Lewis says that Lemmon would send him chocolates every year to thank him and he regretted not taking the role.

*He was known as a clothes horse. He gave away suits rather than having them cleaned and refused to wear a pair of socks more than once.

*He was first filmmaker to develop and use video-assist device on location.Jerry Lewis first used video assist on his film The Bellboy in 1960.

*While filming Cinderfella (1960), he suffered a mild heart attack immediately after running up the stairs and was in an oxygen tent at Mount Sinai hospital 30 minutes later. He ran up 66 steps in eight seconds.