The acting duo dominated the box office in the '50s, but their friendship ended at the peak of success.
Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were one of the most successful comedy duos in Hollywood, but they separated at their most successful moment. Which was the reason?
Martin began his career as a singer in the '40s and soon met a young and promising comedian: Jerry Lewis. They soon became good friends and began working together as a comedy duo. From the bars, they went to television and were a resounding success.
It didn't take long for Hollywood to summon them. In 1949 they filmed their first movie: “My Friend Irma.” Between that year and 1956 they shot 17 films, releasing up to four films in a single year.
In less than a decade, they became a prolific and successful duo loved by the public. The films were comedies that included songs in which Jerry Lewis pretended not to sing very well. Lewis also hid his height, slouching to look smaller.
But the real differences did not arise from height or voice. While Dean Martin simply wanted to go on set and do his thing, Lewis became increasingly passionate about his film work, seeking to improve the jokes and get involved in filmmaking.
Friction arose from these different visions. Jerry Lewis continued to learn and began to believe that he was the reason for the films' success, something that was partly true, as time would show.
In 1956 they filmed “Loco por Anita”, a film after which they decided to separate. Dean Martin went on to film a huge number of films as an actor, record albums, and host his own television show.
Jerry Lewis, for his part, began producing his own comedies in 1957. In 1960, he debuted as a director and screenwriter in “The Bellboy” and three years later he excelled both in front of and behind the camera with his most memorable film: “The Professor.” crackpot".
They crossed paths on stage in 1960 and had a cordial relationship, but it was not until 1976 that they met again. 20 years had passed since their separation as a comic duo and the end of their friendship when Frank Sinatra took Dean Martin as a surprise to a telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis.
There were no hard feelings, but emotion, especially on the part of Lewis. The moment was recorded in front of the cameras and the director later defined that meeting as a “shock”:
The next day he wrote a letter to Dean Martin, but he never answered: his tough character did not get along well with sentimental letters. Although they never became the friends they had once been, from that moment on they resumed contact until Martin died in 1995.
A few years earlier, in 1989, Lewis had gone on stage during a show by his friend to celebrate his birthday. There he said a phrase that made clear the vague reasons that separated them: “Why are we fighting? I will never know".
