August 14, 1999

ON JERRY LEWIS AND THE WILLINGNESS TO EMBRACE NEW CHALLENGES

One of the distinguishing characteristics of Jerry Lewis' career has been his willingness to tackle new and sometimes daunting challenges.

By the time he was in his 20s, Jerry had established himself as one of the century's most popular comedians. He conquered the worlds of film and television with the help of his partner, Dean Martin. In their live appearances at such famous venues as the Paramount Theater in New York, Martin and Lewis attracted the kind of frenzied fan following that's associated with acts like Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

And although Jerry's first claim to fame in the business was as a performer, his insatiable curiosity about the workings of the film industry inevitably drew him to goings-on behind the scenes. He soaked up everything he could learn about the cinema art. Not long after his traumatic breakup with Dean Martin in 1956, Jerry began writing, directing and producing films as well as starring in them.

As a result, his creative film work has placed him in the cinema hierarchy on a par with greats such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. On Sept. 11, shortly after the 1999 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, Jerry is scheduled to fly to Italy to receive the Venice International Film Festival's career Golden Lion award as "an extraordinary example of the total filmmaker."

His film artistry has been widely acknowledged, but that hasn't stopped Jerry from excelling in other areas also.

For instance, although Jerry isn't often thought of as a recording artist, he was able to prove that like his former partner he could be a hit song stylist. Jerry's runaway hit rendition of "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby" sold nearly 4 million copies.

Although comedy remains Jerry's greatest love, the rave reviews he received in 1981 for his role in Martin Scorcese's "The King of Comedy" demolished any doubts as to Jerry's ability as a dramatic actor.

One goal that remained elusive for many years was his dream of becoming a star on Broadway. Jerry's performer father, Danny Lewis, had performed there, and told Jerry that, no matter what else he accomplished, he'd never know the true savor of success until he too had played on the Great White Way.

For Jerry, the goal was finally fulfilled when he starred in the smash 1995 Broadway production of "Damn Yankees." Reviewers proclaimed the show a triumph for Jerry, who at last could honestly say he knew what his dad was talking about.

Other performers amass honors and achievements, but few have been willing to test themselves in unproven areas as consistently and as successfully as Jerry has. Maybe that has something to do with why Jerry wholeheartedly gave himself to the cause of the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the 1950s. At the time, as MDA initially began to fund research into neuromuscular diseases, doctors knew little or nothing about what caused these progressive and often fatal muscle-wasting disorders. Fortunately, Jerry and the founders of MDA had faith that, given enough time, MDA research would yield telling results.

In the ensuing decades, in his role as MDA's national chairman and Telethon star, Jerry has remained a guiding spirit and inspiration to all of us who work to fulfill MDA's mission.

One of Jerry's proudest moments occurred in 1986 when he announced to the world that MDA-funded researchers had discovered the gene that, when defective, causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy. As a result of this momentous discovery, a paradigm shift occurred in the way the medical community viewed neuromuscular diseases. Diseases once deemed "incurable" now had to be thought of diseases for which cures had not yet been found.

Since that milestone event, we've continued to make progress uncovering the genetic causes of dozens of neuromuscular diseases -- and MDA-funded researchers continue to cultivate revolutionary new experimental treatment modalities such as gene therapy.

Jerry's championing of MDA's cause through his role as Telethon star and his year-round work as MDA's number-one volunteer has helped make all this progress possible.

Jerry continues to believe that no challenge, however daunting, is insurmountable. It's that philosophy that's accounted for Jerry's performing success and MDA's heartening research progress. It's that philosophy, and Jerry's inspiring leadership, that will continue to energize our efforts until Jerry's dream of a world without neuromuscular disease is at last fulfilled.

With every good wish . . .

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