By: Henry Clarkson
This morning we learned of the death of legendary comedian Jerry Lewis and I think I speak for the entire world when I say that if this was 1997, I would have been really bummed out when I heard the news.
Think about it. If Jerry Lewis had passed away at the age of 72 instead of 92 we would have mainly focused on his hilarious performances with Dean Martin, instead of the fact that he repeatedly and unapologetically claimed that there was no such thing as a funny woman.
When the news broke, the video everyone went to watch would probably have been him as the Nutty Professor, instead of that insane Hollywood Reporter interview where he basically tells the guy to fuck off for seven minutes straight.
And instead of seeing tweets about how he treated other comedians horribly, and threatened to use his mob ties to intimidate people, we probably would have gotten to watch an Entertainment Tonight retrospective on how much money he raised for people with muscular dystrophy.
But, as the old saying goes, you either die the hero or you live long enough to become Jerry Lewis.
So on behalf of 1997 me I say Rest In Peace Jerry Lewis. You are a true hero to everyone in comedy, and you leave behind a legacy, not of brutal racism, but of laughter.
Now if you’ll excuse I’m going to go think about the fact that Bill Cosby would probably have gotten a state funeral if he died more than 5 years ago.
