Thursday, August 1, 2013

THE KING OF COMEDY AS A STAR OF DAVID - JERRY LEWIS IN THE JAZZ SINGER - NBC-TV - CIRCA 10/13/59



Nobody could ever accuse Jerry Lewis of comedic cowardice.

His life and career are a testament to the risks and rewards of working in the Funny Business.

At what may have been the zenith of his career in the late 1950's, when he was globally adored by children and adults, coveted by Paramount Pictures, where the films he produced and in which he starred broke box office records,when he was in high demand by nightclubs and television networks, he decided that it was time to take a dramatic star turn on NBC-TV'S LINCOLN MERCURY STAR TIME.

Lewis, along with video veterans,  producer Ernest D. Glucksman ,Director Ralph Nelson and writer Oliver Crawford crafted an updated version of the classic Al Jolson film, the first talking picture, THE JAZZ SINGER  for the anthology series.

Co-starring with Anna Maria Alberghetti, Molly Picon, Eduard Franz , Joey Faye and Del Moore, Lewis brought his own  unique talents to a modernized telling of the Sampson Raphaelson story of a performer who faces a moral choice between his Father and his Faith or Stardom and Success.



It was recorded at NBC Burbank on 2 inch, COLOR  videotape and manually edited. The production design and detailed sets seem to stand the test of time. You judge the performances.

Here , from the Joao Antônio Franz dos Santos YOU TUBE site, is THE JAZZ SINGER.

Enjoy!!!





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