Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis – The Real Kings of Comedy
Most people need a little more laughter in their life. Finding comedy in the little things is one of the most important ways I've ever found to maintain sanity when the world around us seems to be going quickly mad. Life is hard enough when you have a sense of humor; I can only imagine it would be unbearable without one.
In April 1949, two relative unknowns took to radio microphones and launched one of the most successful broadcast partnerships in history. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had started performing together only three years prior, and hadn't gained any popularity beyond the East coast. But in 10 too-short years of partnership, they became one of the most famous comedy duos of all time.
The broadcast comedy of yesteryear is quite different from much of the comedy popular today. Martin and Lewis performed in a time when nary a swearword was permitted, and any risqué comedy had to be eliminated or subtle. But edgy or not, funny is funny, and Martin and Lewis have held up to the test of time.
Whether you're straight-laced like Martin or more zany like Lewis, these quotes from those two talented men will tickle your funny bone today, just as they did for audiences over 70 years ago:
- "I have some very personal feelings about politics, but I don't get into it because I do comedy already." - Jerry Lewis
- "I'd hate to be a teetotaler. Imagine getting up in the morning and knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day." - Dean Martin
- "I get paid for what most kids get punished for." - Jerry Lewis
- "I call it a wonderful job, working in pictures. And if any actor tells you it's tough, tell 'em they're full of beans. . . .To become half a success in what you do, you have to enjoy it or else you become a griper. The good Lord gave me a talent and I'll use it until I run dry." - Dean Martin
- "I have always said that I cannot allow the child within me to die. It's kept me alive." - Jerry Lewis
- "You might as well like yourself; just think about all the time you're gonna have to spend with you." - Jerry Lewis
- "Milton Berle is an inspiration to every young person that wants to get into show business. Hard work, perseverance, and discipline: all the things you need...when you have no talent." - Dean Martin
- "It'll keep you alive for another 10 years if you get yourself a laugh once a day: either provoke it, or look around in the wildest laboratory in the world, the public." - Jerry Lewis
- "I've had great success being a total idiot." - Jerry Lewis
- "You may catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but you'll get them to work harder if you use a flyswatter." - Jerry Lewis
- "When your opponent's sittin' there holdin' all the aces, there's only one thing to do: kick over the table." - Dean Martin
