Loved this book. Levy tackles the erratic genius Jerry Lewis, who owned the 50s (and its sibling, the early 60s) as few other entertainters before him. After a few years of struggle and a horrible childhood (had no idea his parents were in the biz) he teamed with Dean Martin and became a smash - they rode post war America and became a sensation on film, radio, TV and stage.
Levy offers some excellent analysis of the appeal of their humour and their talents, putting it in context of the time. He also places as much emphasis on tv and stage as the films, which is important since the former are more ephemeral. (It seems TV captured their appeal better, in a way).
The duo blasted their way through a series of hugely popular films, none of which really is regarded as anything near a classic. Eventually they split, something which seems inevitable considering their differing abilities and fact that they didn't really need each other. Lewis continued his amazing popularity, and branched into directing - some of those films are regarded as classics - well The Nutty Professor anyway and bits of the others.
Levy correctly pinpoints the turn of the tide for Lewis around 1963 with the high water mark of The Nutty Professor followed by the failure of his TV show. 1963 was kind of the real dawn of the "60s" (the official end of the 1950s) and Lewis soon found himself on the downward slope - he did try to change his image but the public never really bought it. This combined with a large ego and a back injury which saw him develop problems.
Lewis was so admirable in many ways - brilliant comic, started directing when people treated him as a joke, practically inventing the video assist, writing a very good book on directing - but such a prick as well - an uncontrollable monster, too often settled for good enough, horrible to his family - it's hard to admire him. He is fascinating.
The 1970s to 90s make depressing reading at times - he even copped it for his charity work (an ethically fascinating topic in the book) - but he had enough good moments to make it not too wrist slashing: a fine performance in King of Comedy and Wise guy (Lewis didn't work nearly enough with other top line talent), a Broadway hit in Damn Yankees (something that fortunately allows the book to end on something of a high). Rich material for several films: Jerry and Dean, Jerry and Patti (his first wife), Jerry and the MDA. Marvellous.
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