Trashing Jerry Lewis
Is there a single person on the planet who could actually make me feel sorry for that walking train-wreck, Lindsay Lohan? Well, as it turns out, there is!
Just before his 60th Muscular Dystrophy Telethon this weekend, 84 year-old Jerry Lewis discussed Lindsay Lohan specifically and some of his fellow craftspeople generically on the syndicated teevee gossipfest Inside Edition. “I think they need a fucking spanking and a reprimand,” Jerry Lewis said.
Wow, Jerry.
So you want to spank a 24 year-old woman, huh? Well, I understand a lot of old geezers feel that way.
Okay, so you’ve got a father complex. But exactly what sort of father do you want to be? One who beats his kids?
Zeroing in on Lohan, Jerry Lewis went on to rant “I’d smack her in the mouth if I saw her. I’d smack her in the mouth and be arrested for abusing a woman.” Gee, Jerry, ya think? By the way, you’d also go down for assault and battery. And probably hate crime. “I would say ‘you deserve this and nothing else.’ Whack! And then if she’s not satisfied, I’d put her over my knee and spank her.”
If she’s not satisfied?
Is that how you satisfy women, you sad pathetic has been?
Hokey smokes, Jerry! And to think Mel Gibson got his badass self in trouble while you get to go on teevee and act condescendingly toward your children.
Lohan’s got enough of her own problems, and Jerry, so do you.
cut the guy some slack. He has a medical condition.
oh, and Mike, your contribution to helping finding cures is…? nada…
See if you can find a copy of “The Comedians’ Children” by Theodore Sturgeon (1958), for an early reaction to Lewis’s telethons.
cut the guy some slack. He has a medical condition. oh, and Mike, your contribution to helping finding cures is…? nada…
See if you can find a copy of "The Comedians' Children" by Theodore Sturgeon (1958), for an early reaction to Lewis's telethons.
Ms. Lohan is the poster child for the young star with too much too soon and no one around to whisper in her ear and say “remember, thou art mortal”. Or to say to her, “no, you may not have a drink, or that car, or that lost weekend”, and if all else fails, to send her to her room until she learns to be with people.
Jerry has an overinflated sense of self and considers himself far more a comedy genius that he is. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut on occasion, and he found one here. His choice of terms if several decades out of date, but the point is clear – with a bit of guidance and dare I say discipline, she might not be the colossal joke she is right now.
I recall a studio executive writing her a letter (which was either intended to be open, or became so later) wich basically said if you don’t sort yourself out you’re gonna end up on reality television or a pine box. And they came out AGAINST him. Imagine what she might have been doing now if she’d read the letter and thought “Geez, he’s got a point”.
There’s an interesting parallel here between his choice of “spanking” and your choice of the term “book burners” at MDW. Both fall in the realm of “well, you know what I mean” and people choosing to obsess on the words that offend them and say “no, I don’t, explain yourself”.
No, I mean “book burners.” It’s well known enough to be used as a metaphor.
In my world, nobody goes on television and threatens violence to anyone unless, maybe, he or she was just convicted of your child’s murder. In Jerry’s world, it’s okay to threaten violence to a pathetic, wasted self-destructor who has lost everything she had and now is faced with the choice of rebuilding from the ground up or returning to her self-destruct program. Her choice; being spanked or smacking her in the mouth ain’t gonna change that.
Mr. or Ms. Anonymous: His medical condition has nothing to do with his asshole condition. As for what cures I’ve worked on, let me ask you this: How many Vietnam POWs have you helped release? How many runaway kids have you helped escape all sorts of violence, both on the street and domestic? How many kids have you helped with their drug problems? How many Head Start programs did you help build or save?
Say hi to Jerry for me. Loved him in King of Comedy and Wiseguy.
The only thing I love of Jerry Lewis is the Simpsons’ Professor Frink… and Martin Short’s impression of Jerry Lewis. That aside, I find the guy to be a bit pompous, and not the least bit funny anymore… if he ever was at all.
As far Ms. Lohan… she’s no victim… she’s just another teen given the world on a string, who chose to celebrate excess. I think she, and many other child-teen-tween-stars need no threat of violence… they need the world to stop paying attention to their outbursts. Let them fade from the public eye, and be considered the poor trash in need of help that they really are. Everyone deserves a second, third, and fourth chance… and L-Lo is no exception.
Marc, his work is excellent in both King of Comedy and the Wiseguy story-arc. Like night and day; you wouldn’t believe it’s the same guy as the comedian.
Coincidentally, The Pasty was on Turner last night and I tried to watch it. A spectacular cast — Peter Lorre in his last performance (he looks like he ate a half-dozen Joel Cairos), Keenan Wynn, Everett Slone, Phil Harris, Hans Conried, Scatman Crothers, tons of cameos. Only two problems: Jerry was at least 15 years too old and therefore his character was annoying and not funny, and 1964 is a bit too late to be doing the whole “see how stupid rock’n’roll is” storyline. Anyway, I made it though about half of the movie.
Ms. Lohan is the poster child for the young star with too much too soon and no one around to whisper in her ear and say "remember, thou art mortal". Or to say to her, "no, you may not have a drink, or that car, or that lost weekend", and if all else fails, to send her to her room until she learns to be with people.Jerry has an overinflated sense of self and considers himself far more a comedy genius that he is. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut on occasion, and he found one here. His choice of terms if several decades out of date, but the point is clear – with a bit of guidance and dare I say discipline, she might not be the colossal joke she is right now.I recall a studio executive writing her a letter (which was either intended to be open, or became so later) wich basically said if you don't sort yourself out you're gonna end up on reality television or a pine box. And they came out AGAINST him. Imagine what she might have been doing now if she'd read the letter and thought "Geez, he's got a point".There's an interesting parallel here between his choice of "spanking" and your choice of the term "book burners" at MDW. Both fall in the realm of "well, you know what I mean" and people choosing to obsess on the words that offend them and say "no, I don't, explain yourself".
No, I mean "book burners." It's well known enough to be used as a metaphor.In my world, nobody goes on television and threatens violence to anyone unless, maybe, he or she was just convicted of your child's murder. In Jerry's world, it's okay to threaten violence to a pathetic, wasted self-destructor who has lost everything she had and now is faced with the choice of rebuilding from the ground up or returning to her self-destruct program. Her choice; being spanked or smacking her in the mouth ain't gonna change that.
Mr. or Ms. Anonymous: His medical condition has nothing to do with his asshole condition. As for what cures I've worked on, let me ask you this: How many Vietnam POWs have you helped release? How many runaway kids have you helped escape all sorts of violence, both on the street and domestic? How many kids have you helped with their drug problems? How many Head Start programs did you help build or save?Say hi to Jerry for me. Loved him in King of Comedy and Wiseguy.
The only thing I love of Jerry Lewis is the Simpsons' Professor Frink… and Martin Short's impression of Jerry Lewis. That aside, I find the guy to be a bit pompous, and not the least bit funny anymore… if he ever was at all.As far Ms. Lohan… she's no victim… she's just another teen given the world on a string, who chose to celebrate excess. I think she, and many other child-teen-tween-stars need no threat of violence… they need the world to stop paying attention to their outbursts. Let them fade from the public eye, and be considered the poor trash in need of help that they really are. Everyone deserves a second, third, and fourth chance… and L-Lo is no exception.
Marc, his work is excellent in both King of Comedy and the Wiseguy story-arc. Like night and day; you wouldn't believe it's the same guy as the comedian.Coincidentally, The Pasty was on Turner last night and I tried to watch it. A spectacular cast — Peter Lorre in his last performance (he looks like he ate a half-dozen Joel Cairos), Keenan Wynn, Everett Slone, Phil Harris, Hans Conried, Scatman Crothers, tons of cameos. Only two problems: Jerry was at least 15 years too old and therefore his character was annoying and not funny, and 1964 is a bit too late to be doing the whole "see how stupid rock'n'roll is" storyline. Anyway, I made it though about half of the movie.
Jerry must’ve read Bing Crosby’s book on raising children.
@Vinnie: the studio exec was James Robinson @ Morgan Creek. You can find the scathing letter online.
@ Mike Gold: Wiseguy and King of Comedy are the only things I’ve ever liked him in, too. I’ve always thought it was because there were stronger personalities involved who could keep the inner Jerry in check and stop him every time he whipped out the big plastic teeth.
Jerry must've read Bing Crosby's book on raising children.@Vinnie: the studio exec was James Robinson @ Morgan Creek. You can find the scathing letter online.@ Mike Gold: Wiseguy and King of Comedy are the only things I've ever liked him in, too. I've always thought it was because there were stronger personalities involved who could keep the inner Jerry in check and stop him every time he whipped out the big plastic teeth.
Jerry Lewis: guilty of liberal thoughtcrime.
Jerry Lewis: guilty of liberal thoughtcrime.