In a piece in the Wall Street Journal Tevi Troy pens a tribute to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. July 25 was the anniversary of the beginning of their partnership as well as its end:
The two were a study in contrasts. Martin was a singer, traditionally handsome, Italian, a classic straight man. Lewis was a rubber-faced, hyperkinetic Jewish comedian who seemed as if he couldn’t stand still for a moment. Their act played off these contrasts, with Martin trying to get through a song or a bit and Lewis constantly interrupting and exasperating him, doing a medley of voices, imitations and emotions while Martin tried to maintain his considerable cool. Lewis felt that their contrasts broadened their appeal. As Lewis put it, “Who were Dean’s fans? Men, women, the Italians. Who were Jerry’s fans? Women, Jews, kids. Who were Martin and Lewis’s fans? All of them.â€
concluding:
But the presidential meetings and the subsequent successes wouldn’t have ever occurred without their legendary partnership. Lewis thought so, telling People magazine in 1995 that “I don’t think we would have ever been heard of without the other.†July 25 is both the anniversary of their partnership and its breakup—their last show was at the Copacabana in 1956. The team lasted only one decade, but what a decade it was.
I loved Martin & Lewis as a team; I didn’t have much use for either one of them independently. I found Dean’s acting gigs mostly lacklustre and Lewis’s too frenetic. There are exceptions. Dean Martin’s performance in Rio Bravo was good and I’m glad we have the document of Martin and Ricky Nelson singing a duet. A lot of people liked The Nutty Professor but I liked The Bellboy.
Seven years after Rio Bravo they made El Dorado and plugged Robert Mitchum into Martin’s role with almost the same script.
But man, what a life, performing Vegas in it’s heyday.
I would compare Lewis to Jim Carey ten , (20?) years ago, so manic you almost can’t stand him, but Carey never found his Martin.
I’ve written about the Rio Bravo-El Dorado thing before. It didn’t start off to be using the same script but the director and screenwriter were the same and the director kept saying “Do you remember that scene…—we need something like that” and little by little El Dorado became what was essentially a remake of Rio Bravo.
“I loved Martin & Lewis…..”
I prefer Amos and Andy. I can name that reference in 3-2………..
I found Amos & Andy distasteful nearly 70 years ago when it was in first run on TV. I definitely didn’t watch it in rerun.
It was a reference to a line in the movie Pulp Fiction. Did Mia Wallace want a vanilla shake or chocolate shake. Quentin Tarantino was clearly making a statement similar to your sentiment.