He once played first base in an exhibition game for 5 innings for the Houston Astros .

In 1956, In an attempt to distill rumors of their impending breakup, Dean Martin and Jerry performed "Side by Side"(We Ain`t Got A Barell of Money) on one of the last of their many appearances on NBC TVs Colgate Comedy Hour.

As a young Catskill comic recorded "I Love A Murder Mystery", a speaking novelty record, in the early 1940s.

Lewis always wore tiny lady`s sized wristwatches, usually made by Cartier. They are easy to spot in all of his films.

Patti Palmer was his first wife`s stage name. Her birth name was Esther Calonico. When Jerry Lewis first met her in Detroit in August 1944, she was a singer with Ted Fio Rito and his Orchestra. Shortly thereafter she joined Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra.

Was one of the co-hosts of what may have been the only Academy Awards ceremony that actually ended earlier than expected, by almost twenty minutes - The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959) (TV). He and several other celebrities gallantly tried everything they could to improvise and fill the extra time. NBC mercifully cut the broadcast short to air a short film about target shooting until the next scheduled program began, which in most cases was the local news.

He was elected into the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to Arts and Entertainment and charity.

His idol is Al Jolson.

He was nominated in the inaugural 2007 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to entertainment and to charity.

Appointed Honorary Ambassador of Peace for the Harvey Ball Foundation along with Brooke Shields, Jackie Chan, A.V.T. Shankardass, Prince Albert of Monaco, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Phil Collins, Jimmy Buffett, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, Heather Mills, Yoko Ono, Patch Adams, Sergei Khrushchev and Winnie Mandela.

Suffered a mild heart attack on the flight home to San Diego on June 11, 2006.

Jerry suffered a minor heart attack on June 11, 2006 which caused him to postpone his comeback in Las Vegas

Lewis changes white sweatsocks several times a day, always putting on a brand-new pair, and he gives the used ones to charity.

For his 80th birthday in 2006, he was given a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor by France, given the honorary title of "Legion Commander." He apologized for not speaking French at the ceremony but said that "even if the French people cannot hear my language, they have always heard my heart."

He and Dean Martin recorded a radio spot promoting their film The Caddy (1953), and noticing the tape was still rolling, decided to improvise additional radio spots, with Jerry slipping profanities into his dialog. The unedited master recording was surreptitiously taken from the studio and made into a "bootleg" record that sold briskly among collectors.

Is portrayed by Sean Hayes in Martin and Lewis (2002) (TV)

Collapsed at a London show in September 2002.

Society of Operating Cameramen, (SOC) Honorary Member(1981) Lewis was honored for his contribution and development the first "Video Assist" for the motion picture camera in 1966. This allowed him to view his performance while directing himself in his films. This is used extensively today in filmmaking, known as "Video Village."

145 IQ.

Pronounced clinically dead from a massive heart attack in December 1982, after completing The King of Comedy (1982) with Robert De Niro.

Was offered the role of Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by his friend Billy Wilder. He declined because he didn`t want to dress in drag. The part, of course, eventually went to Jack Lemmon and he received an Oscar nomination for his performance. Lewis says that Lemmon would send him chocolates every year to thank him and he now regrets not taking the role.

Was close friends with comic Lenny Bruce.

Was best friends with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. They starred in Lewis` home movies after Curtis complained about the parts he was being offered by his studio.

Some have said that if Lewis hadn`t pursued a career in show business, he would have been a professional baseball player for the Dodgers. He played with the team a few times at charity events and was apparently very good.

Says his favorite Martin & Lewis film is The Stooge (1952) because "...it came closest to capturing what Dean and I had as a team".

Norman Lear (creator of "All in the Family" (1971)) co-wrote many of Martin & Lewis` "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950) shows.

Encouraged Christopher Walken to act. Walken met Lewis while he was on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950) and Lewis suggested to the young boy that he pursue a career in show business.

Contrary to belief, the 1976 MDA telethon was not the first reconciliation of the legendary comedy team. In 1958,they appeared spontaneously on ABC TVs "Joey Bishop Show" and then ran off through the audience. In 1960, four years after they split, Martin & Lewis briefly reunited. Both were performing their own separate acts at the Sands hotel in Las Vegas, a club they frequently played while they were together. Lewis caught Martin`s closing act and Martin introduced his former partner to the audience, bringing him on stage. For about fifteen minutes, they joked a bit and sang a duet of "Come Back to Me". Unfortunately, the reunion was only a one time thing. Later when Lewis was too exhausted to perform his act, Martin generously replaced him.

Claims to have never seen Hollywood or Bust (1956), the last film he made with his partner, Dean Martin, saying it`s much too painful for him to watch.

Besides Dean Martin, Lewis says the closest friend he ever had was Sammy Davis Jr. Davis would call Lewis in tears at times because of the racial slurs people would say to him about his relationship with Swedish actress May Britt.

Although critics usually referred to him as "the little guy" throughout his career, Lewis was about the same height or slightly shorter than Dean Martin (both were a little under 6 feet tall). To try to make himself look more diminutive next to his partner, Lewis frequently hunched and also shaved a few inches off the heels of his shoes and added them to Martin`s.

On March 20, 1965, suffered a serious back injury while performing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, resulting in chronic pain. He became addicted to the prescription painkiller Percodan, but says he has been off the medication since 1978. He now uses an implant device that dulls nerve impulses and can be controlled by a hand-held remote control.

His recording "Jerry Lewis Just Sings" (American Decca: 1956) was a best-seller, securing a place in the Top 20 on the Billboard Album Charts, launching a Top 10 single and a recording career. Biographer Arthur Marx once likened his singing to "the croaking of a parched parrot"; however, it is believed that this referred only to the singing voice of his many comic characters.

Came upon his long-time theme song, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody)," by accident. In 1956 he had to cover for an indisposed Judy Garland at a performance in Las Vegas, which included singing several of her songs. His performance of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby," using Garland`s arrangement, went over so well with the audience that Lewis has used it as his theme song ever since.He had a #10 hit recording with the song in 1957 and launched a recording career.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 586-593. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Was voted the 50th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Although he is at the bottom of this list, perhaps a bit shockingly, Charles Chaplin didn`t even make the list.

Sammy Davis Jr. called him the "greatest white faker" as a dancer.

Was teamed up with Dean Martin from 1946-56.

Father of six sons with his first marriage and a daughter with his second.

Wrote, produced, and acted in the film The Day the Clown Cried (1972) which, because of legal difficulties, has not been released as of this date (March 2009). The film is a tale of a clown in Auschwitz during WWII.

13 October 2003 - Entered a Las Vegas hospital to kick steroids used in the treatment of his pulmonary fibrosis.

Starred with Dean Martin on NBC Radio`s "The Martin and Lewis Show" (1949-1953). They first appeared together in the films My Friend Irma (1949) and My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). The Martin & Lewis comedy team were one of a series of rotating hosts of TV`s "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950).

The character Professor John Frink in "The Simpsons" (1989) is based on his role of Professor Kelp in The Nutty Professor (1963). He also did the voice of Professor John Frink, Sr in episode Treehouse of Horror XIV, segment Finkenstein. Also some of Krusty the Clown`s off-stage antics are based on him.

In 1969, Lewis announced an ambitious project of franchising a chain of Jerry Lewis Cinemas. A firm believer in family entertainment, he said that the one inviolate rule of the chain would be that nothing other than family-oriented films would be shown. The theaters were to be state-of-the-art, easy to operate, and franchised to individuals who could meet the chain`s investment requirements. However, changing taste in popular entertainment and management problems caused the project to collapse within just a few years. Several lawsuits between Lewis and his associates were settled out of court.

Children with Patti Palmer : Gary (b. 1945), Ronald (b. 1949), Scott (b. 1956), Christopher (b. 1957), Anthony (b. 1959)and Joseph (b. 1964). With SanDee Pitrick a daughter Danielle (b. 1992).

He was a big fan of The Catcher in the Rye and strongly identified with the main character Holden Caulfield. He planned to direct a movie version but failed to aquire the rights from the book`s reclusive author J.D. Salinger.

First filmmaker to develop and use video-assist device on location.

Wrote 10 scripts in 10 years.

Nominated for Nobel Prize for his 50 years raising money to fight muscular dystrophy.

He and Dean Martin were the world`s top box-office earners from 1950-56. Lewis, on his own, also ruled as #1 movie draw in 1957, 1959, and 1961 to 1964!

Born at 12:15 pm EST.

Claims he was thrown out of high school for punching out his principal who had offended him with an anti-Semitic remark, and then went directly into vaudeville. An episode of "Seinfeld" (1990) makes use of plot point based on Lewis` (alleged) real-life stratagem of secretly leaving an audiotape recorder running in a briefcase he intentionally leaves behind him in meetings to see what some people may be saying about him.

Jerry is 5’10 ˝” tall.

When Jerry was in Italy, the Italians had a nickname for him it was "Le Roi du Crazy Picchiatello".

Jerry was married to Patti Palmer on October 3, 1944 and they divorced in October 1982.

Jerry had 6 children with Palmer.

Jerry`s trademark in the business is Rapid one-take directing. Geeky, spastic on-screen comedy. Laaa-dy and Theme song: Rock-a-Bye Your Baby (With a Dixie Melody).

Jerry`s birth place was Newark, New Jersey.

Jerry teamed up Dean Martin from 1946 until 1956.

Jerry is sometimes credited for his work as Martin & Lewis.

Jerry claims to have been thrown out of high school for punching the principal who supposedly offended him with Anti-Semitic remarks.

Jerry had open heart surgery in 1983.

Jerry was very sick in 1992 and underwent surgery for prostate cancer.

Jerry adopted his last name Lewis from his actor-father’s stage name.

Jerry has some very strange quirks about him. He gives away his suits instead of having them cleaned and will never wear a pair of socks twice.

Jerry was honored by the French Legion of Honor in 1984 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977

Jerry was the highest paid performer in history in his role as the devil in the Broadway hit Damn Yankees.

Jerry`s father was actor Danny Lewis.

Jerry`s oldest son put together a band and made it big on the music charts. The band was Gary Lewis and the Playboys. They are best known for their hit song "This Diamond Ring."

Jerry ran the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon every year for 50 years, and he has raised more than $2 billion in the fight against muscular dystrophy

Jerry was the first filmmaker to develop and use the video-assist on location device.

Jerry was a big fan of the book by J.D.Salinger`s Catcher in the Rye. He wanted to direct a movie version of the book, but never got Salinger to give him permission.

Jerry suffers from Diabetes and Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Jerry went to school with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas

Jerry postponed a live performance after suffering a heart attack on June 12, 2006. Jerry was due to perform for the Orleans hotel-casino in Las Vegas in July.

Jerry first started recording prank telephone calls in the 1950`s.

Jerry is featured in comic books published by DC Comics "The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis" from 1952-57. After Jerry & Dean broke up, DC featured Jerry solo, until 1971, in "The Adventures of Jerry Lewis".

He has 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; one for motion pictures at 6801 Hollywood Blvd and one for television.

Jerry has been performing since he was five years old.