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An Evening With Jerry Lewis: Live From Las Vegas on PBS in March

By April MacIntyre Feb 8, 2013, 15:55 GMT

Jerry Lewis - "An Evening with Jerry Lewis - Live from Las Vegas!" at the Orleans Hotel and Casino - November 18, 2012 - The Orleans Showroom at the Orleans Hotel and Casino - Las Vegas, NV, USA © PRN / PRPhotos.com

Jerry Lewis: Philanthropist, comedian, director, inventor, producer, writer, actor and all around American genius.  His work helped to create the modern day video assist and his dancing was as good as any of the greats from the heyday of Hollywood.

Evidence "A":

AN EVENING WITH JERRY LEWIS: LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS Premieres on PBS March 2013

- The Legendary Performer Live on Stage in Las Vegas -

From PBS

Taped in the Showroom at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in November 2012, An Evening with Jerry Lewis: Live from Las Vegas presents the legendary performer live on stage, telling stories of his eight-decade career through narrative and musical performances, with video montages from his television and film appearances - including rare, never-before-seen clips from his personal and private vaults. Scheduled as a tribute to his 87th birthday in March, An Evening with Jerry Lewis: Live from Las Vegas is part of special programming premiering on PBS stations beginning March 2, 2013 (check local listings).

During the course of the hour, Lewis tells jokes and reminisces about his life from his earliest days working with his father, a vaudeville entertainer who taught him song, dance and pantomime skills, to his first solo gig "Record Act," in which he exaggeratedly mimed the lyrics to songs on a phonograph. But everything changed when he met a young crooner named Dean Martin in Atlantic City and together they became the most popular comedy duo in entertainment history.

Between the years of 1950-1955 Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin took America by storm. Everything they touched turned golden: hit films, a top-rated Sunday night television show and sold-out live performances in theaters nationwide. Many of the greatest hits from their nightclub act, TV appearances and movies are highlighted on screen as Jerry tells stories through words and song of those magical days. He discusses famous skits from the television show, some of which produced national catchphrases including "Melvin?," "Don't lick it," "I like it, I like it" and "Hey Laady."

For ten years Martin and Lewis ruled the world and left behind a lifetime of laughs. But after 16 successful films, over two dozen top rated television shows and thousands of sold-out performances, on July 25, 1956 - ten years to the day of their first show together - Martin and Lewis broke up.

Lewis returned to television in 1957 after his first solo film, The Delicate Delinquent. He produced and starred in 15 one-hour specials that featured the trademark comedy of Jerry's vaudeville work before Dean.

Highlights include more never-before-seen clips from his movies including Ladies Man and The Nutty Professor as well as Jerry's other solo projects and home movies, followed by a special montage with Jerry providing narration for "bloopers and out-takes" from some of his most famous movies, several with Dean Martin.

The special also includes the now-famous appearance by Dean Martin on Jerry Lewis's annual Muscular Dystrophy telethon in 1976. Introduced by Frank Sinatra, the reunion was the first time both men had seen each other in twenty years.

During an audience Q&A, a trademark feature of his concerts that has impressed audiences worldwide for decades, Jerry demonstrates his improvisational genius. Surprise guests from the audience include stars Steve Lawrence and Tim Conway.

PBS special programming invites viewers to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. Viewer contributions are an important source of funding, making PBS programs possible. PBS and public television stations offer all Americans from every walk of life the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content.