[lbo-talk] Jerry Lewis as worst-case scenario[wasRe:PrivateHateMail Gang Up]

Dennis Perrin dperrin at comcast.net
Sat Sep 10 15:35:34 PDT 2005



>I have very fond memories of the days when Dennis Perrin used to live in
>NYC and we'd hang out together at FAIR parties and/or bars. Now and then,
>though, the Jerry Lewis question would arise, and I always wondered how the
>hell Dennis could love him so. Funny to see it popping up again a decade
>later.
>
> Doug

I, too, have fond memories of hanging with Doug, who could party till the wee hours (that still true, D?).

Final statement about Lewis: it's true that I respect his better work on strictly comedic/artistic grounds. He was a major American comedian, regardless of who he is as a person. But there's a lot of his work that I don't like at all; I'm hardly an uncritical admirer. Still, some of his work broke new ground or otherwise built on other, major comics. I'm a student of comedy. To ignore Lewis's contribution would be ridiculous.

As for Marta, whom I deeply respect, she can feel anyway she wants to about Lewis the comic/man. My beef with her on this is an aesthetic one, but not one I'm going to the mat with. And as for Lewis's MDA involvement, well, I always found it creepy and strange and somewhat exploitative. (The telethon itself had for years been a kitsch fest for many comedians.) I dunno how many disabled activists would champion Lewis on this front, but my guess is quite few. When it comes to MDA, I'll cede ground to Marta.

Dennis



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