Encore Channel’s Jerry Lewis Documentary Celebrates the Comedy Legend’s Artistry
Jerry Lewis has worn a multiplicity of hats over his eight decades in the entertainment business. In the Encore channels documentary Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis, filmmaker Gregg Barson takes us on a journey through it all: from Lewiss early years with Dean Martin to his solo career as an actor, filmmaker, and comedy legend.
For Barson, the documentary was a labor of love, a celebration of the life of a man hes admired since childhood. To be able to create the film with its subjects blessing was something for which Barson was exceedingly grateful.
During our conversation, Barson couldnt hide his excitement about fulfilling his dream of working with and honoring one of his longstanding heroes something many filmmakers never get to do. Barsons filmmaking career began in 2004 with his Phyllis Diller documentary Goodnight, We Love You. The project, ironically, would be instrumental in getting him to meet Jerry Lewis.
That night I was shooting her final concert, one of my camera guys said Jerry Lewis was in the room. I looked in the monitor and I saw Jerry Lewis and his party sitting at a table. I was kind of obsessing about it but knew I had to work. So I finished the show and my wife said, Go say hi to Jerry. Hes your idol. So I went into the casino and he was at the blackjack table. He had this huge stack of cash in front of him and everyones screaming. It was a bizarre scene.
His son noticed me and said, Do you want to say hi to Dad? And I said, Well, lets wait til he wins. His son nudged me forward and Jerry took my hand. I gave him my business card and that was it. The next day I get back to Los Angeles and Jerry Lewis phoned me. I couldnt believe it. We talked for like 20 minutes. I couldnt quite fathom it. For the whole summer we had a phone conversation relationship. We hit it off. I went to his yacht in San Diego, went out to dinner with him and a group of people and I couldnt believe my good fortune. I said lets keep in touch and he had no problem with that.
A few years later Barson asked Lewis if he would consent to being filmed for a documentary. Lewis said, Get in line, kid. Theres 12 or 14 people in front of you, to which Barson replied, Yeah, but theyre not me. Lewis was impressed by the response and by Barsons confidence. Thats the kind of conviction you have to have, Lewis told him. That reminds me of me. It was the turning point and from then on, Barson knew he had a shot at getting Lewis to cooperate with the making of the film.
A year later, Barson saw a sign advertising Lewis playing a live show in Palm Springs and made his request again. When the chemistrys right, Lewis said, well do it. A couple of months later, after his seven year long quest, Lewis gave his okay for Barson to begin shooting his film.
It wouldnt have happened if I wasnt just like a dog with a bone. I would not let go of it. I wouldnt. I couldnt because I couldnt think of anyone elses [story] I wanted to do.
The end result is a film that is remarkably upbeat and positive, focusing more on Lewiss comedic genius and his skills as a filmmaker than his illnesses and tales of arrogance and ego that have plagued his latter years. So many people want to take pot shots at legends, Barson said. But I like to do uplifting, happy types of movies. I wasnt doing an expose on someones dirty laundry.
The almost manic devotion of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin fans back in
the 50s was something many people who didnt live through it might not
be aware of. Barsons film includes amazing footage of people crowding
the streets below the comedy duos hotel window to get a glimpse of the
stars. Why did Martin and Lewis inspire such adoration? Its shocking
to people when they see that, Barson agreed. In the early 50s and
late 40s, after World War II, everyone was happy to be alive, first of
all. These two guys were young, attractive, and carefree. You could feel
they were having so much fun together. It was almost like they were
unabashedly in love with each other and in love with what they were
doing. All those things came together.
Except for the famous reunion of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis on the MDA telethon, Barson didnt otherwise touch upon Lewiss annual charity event. I just [included] the reunion with Martin and Lewis because that was always the highlight of the telethon for me. I admire all the stuff that hes done. Hes raised almost two billion dollars. You wont see that ever again. Whos going to do that? I admired it but I didnt want it to be part of my movie because it was more about the showbiz part and his filmmaking, acting, directing. To me, he was funny on those shows and a great host but that was more of a different Jerry, another side of him. That was more of what he did in his personal life. It wasnt about the artistry of Jerry Lewis.
Did Lewis have a say as to what did and what didnt go into the final cut of the film? Throughout the whole process and from very early on I thought it was best to get a gauge on what his reaction would be. I would cut a segment or pieces of a segment and fly them by him so he could screen some stuff. He is the great filmmaker and I didnt want him to think I was butchering his baby. There were a lot of clips and I would mash them up to make them all fresh and relevant, which they were and still are. But Im trying to give them to an audience from todays perspective. I wanted to make sure he was comfortable with the way I treated his stuff. Once he saw what I did with it and the style, he loved it.
He did give me input on things like his performance onstage or jokes. Even like a spotlight in the concert show I shot. Hed notice everything about every facet of show business. He was concerned more about his own performance in concert as opposed to what I was doing with making the movie, which I thought was great. Thats what he should focus on because thats what he knows best.
Overall, making a film about a filmmaker could be very intimidating, especially when its Jerry Lewis, who knows more about it than you do or probably ever will. But it ended up working beautifully because he was really pleased with the movie.
What would Barson like viewers to take away from this very personal film, this celebration of an iconic artists influence on the likes Eddie Murphy, Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarentino (who are interviewed in the film), as well as anyone who loves and appreciate Lewiss artistry? I want them to think about how from todays perspective that theres nobody like him and there probably couldnt be again because of his background. Who has a career where their mom and dad were the last of the vaudevillians? He learned from them and he learned from all of his heroes before that, like Chaplin. It was just a time and place that he was alive and that he experienced all these things. Then he went into stand-up in the 40s, made movie after movie with Dean Martin. Hes almost like the Forrest Gump of comedy. Hes been everywhere. Hes lived it all. In the movie, Richard Belzer says, He bridges old Hollywood and now. Jerrys lived it all.
Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis premiered December 17 on the Encore channel.
