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. 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.
Lewis was born on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family. While nicknamed 'The King of Comedy' in the United States, Lewis was also known as 'Le Roi du Crazy' in France. Lewis performed in concert stages, nightclubs, theaters, music recordings and starred in 118 film and television productions throughout his career. Since becoming national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in 1956, he dedicated his life to the cause, for which he received several accolades, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Lewis focused on muscular dystrophy activism, after his film career stalled. He was one of the most popular and biggest movie stars from the 1940s to the 1960s and an early and prominent user of video assist. Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian-actor, filmmaker, singer, humanitarian and entertainer.
