Before the Rat Pack, the string of hit songs and the stellar movie career, Dean Martin had already spent ten years partnering Jerry Lewis in one of the most successful double acts of show business history.
In this wise-cracking yet candid memoir, Lewis recalls with crystal clarity the highs and lows of his relationship with Dean - from their first meeting on a New York street corner, to early improvised performances in the mob owned nightclubs of the era, and the giddy days of Hollywood super-stardom, when it seemed the couples' high-rolling lifestyle would last for ever. It didn't. On July 24th 1956, Dean and Jerry split and the two men did not speak to one another for 20 years.
Jerry Lewis is one of the few surviving Hollywood legends from the period, whose tales reveal much about Dean Martin's craftsmanship and enigmatic charm. After the split with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis was the creator and star of a series of hugely successful movie comedies, such as 'The Bell Boy' (1960) and his masterpiece 'The Nutty Professor' (1963). He has been widely hailed as one of the greatest director-comedians of the twentieth century and has received numerous honours, including appointment to the 'Legion D'Honneur'. James Kaplan has written novels, essays, and reviews, as well as over a hundred major profiles for many magazines, including "The New Yorker", "Vanity Fair", and "Esquire". He lives in Westchester, New York, with his wife and three sons.
