The Silver Screen Oasis

LawrenceA wrote: ↑January 2nd, 2023, 2:27 pm Harry Langdon, Larry Semon, Laurel & Hardy, Eddie Cantor, Hugh Herbert, Joe E. Brown, Edgar Kennedy, Amos & Andy, Abbott & Costello, Danny Kaye, Three Stooges, Bowery Boys, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Phil Silvers, Sid Caesar, Ernest, Pauly Shore, Kevin Hart, Larry the Cable Guy, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Jackie Gleason, Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers, Chris Farley, David Spade, Pete Davidson, Jeff Foxworthy, Roseanne Barr
I'm sure there are a lot more, but those are who I thought of off the top of my head.

Geez, you just don't like ANYBODY do you? Maybe you just don't care for comedy.

Dargo wrote: ↑January 3rd, 2023, 3:25 pm

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 3rd, 2023, 1:11 pm
To me The Bellboy is one of the best all-carried-by-one-person comedies ever. But hey, I'm a fan of Jerry Lewis, while clearly many people are turned off by his antics.

Yeah, I have to admit here James that there are a few scenes in this particular Jerry Lewis flick that I recall having made me LOL and/or chuckle a bit, and that I probably should or could have picked and used another of his lesser efforts in order to play off LH's and Lawrence's "childhood trauma" stories.

(...and especially considering that there ARE so many of those "lesser efforts" of his that I could have picked from)

LOL

And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

TikiSoo wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 6:49 am
Geez, you just don't like ANYBODY do you? Maybe you just don't care for comedy.

There are plenty that I like. I enjoy much of the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Mae West, Peter Sellers, Monty Python, and so on. And I like a lot of stand-up comedy/comedians.

But comedy is low on my priority list, and I tend not to like a lot of the more mainstream comedy films and especially television. And I detest that 50s-60s trend in which it was felt the height of comedy was for everyone to yell a lot, or the inclusion of "funny" sound effects or wacky musical cues. I prefer verbal comedy, and the deconstruction of tropes and format, as opposed to slapstick, shouting and mugging.

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 10:34 am

Dargo wrote: ↑January 3rd, 2023, 3:25 pm

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 3rd, 2023, 1:11 pm
To me The Bellboy is one of the best all-carried-by-one-person comedies ever. But hey, I'm a fan of Jerry Lewis, while clearly many people are turned off by his antics.

Yeah, I have to admit here James that there are a few scenes in this particular Jerry Lewis flick that I recall having made me LOL and/or chuckle a bit, and that I probably should or could have picked and used another of his lesser efforts in order to play off LH's and Lawrence's "childhood trauma" stories.

(...and especially considering that there ARE so many of those "lesser efforts" of his that I could have picked from)

LOL

And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 10:34 am And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

However and on the flip-side of this sort of thing, I'll now mentioned the name of Jay Leno.

Personally, I've never thought him all that funny (was always a David Letterman watcher back when these two were opposite each other during their late night hosting days) however during the dozen or so times I've enteracted with Leno during motorcycle meets in SoCal, he couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating to the people who'd walk up to us while we were talking motorcycles and want his autograph or to take a selfie with him.

(...and then on the flip-side of THIS, I could tell you folks the story about the time I witnessed Arnold Schwarzenegger at a little roadside motorcycle hangout up in the Santa Monica Mountains being nearly as big a jerk with his fans as was Jerry Lewis in the above story, but because he isn't a comedian and with this thread being about comedians, I won't)

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 10:34 am

Dargo wrote: ↑January 3rd, 2023, 3:25 pm

Yeah, I have to admit here James that there are a few scenes in this particular Jerry Lewis flick that I recall having made me LOL and/or chuckle a bit, and that I probably should or could have picked and used another of his lesser efforts in order to play off LH's and Lawrence's "childhood trauma" stories.

(...and especially considering that there ARE so many of those "lesser efforts" of his that I could have picked from)

LOL

And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

My understanding is that Lewis only made that comment to Rupert Pupkin.

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 3:04 pm

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 10:34 am
And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

My understanding is that Lewis only made that comment to Rupert Pupkin.

As it's been many years since I've watched the film James, I can not say for certain if your understanding of this would be true or not. However and in the meantime, and until Feinberg here returns to this thread to report what his source was for this supposed Jerry Lewis quote, I will say that I couldn't find this being listed in the Quotes page (usually the most memorable dialogue spoken in a film) of the The King of Comedy IMDb webpage.

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 3:04 pm

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 10:34 am
And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

My understanding is that Lewis only made that comment to Rupert Pupkin.

I don’t recall if I saw the film so I will take your word for it.

Regarding Jerry Lewis, I feel that I respond to him more at some points than at others. The Bellboy really is inspired, Cinderfella is kind of cute, I enjoyed Hollywood or Bust a great deal. But I wasn't the biggest fan of The Nutty Professor, and his nasal delivery can really grate , especially his repeated cry in Artists and Models.


But I still far prefer Lewis to the likes of Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey, both OK in dramatic roles, but both largely unbearable in comedy (I did like Sandler's The Wedding Singer, but that was largely due to Drew Barrymore, who does have good comic chops)

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 3:04 pm

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 10:34 am
And what a swell guy ...
“I made me. My talent, my tenacity, my courage. My no fear of risk and my natural inclination to stay alive. You have nothing to do with any of it. You’re just a timid little soul that’s a parasite on life. Now get out of my face.”
- Jerry Lewis to a fan who was upset that Lewis would not give her an autograph.

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

My understanding is that Lewis only made that comment to Rupert Pupkin.

I know that was a joke but just some background on the quote. It was the 'Quote of the Day' in the Globe and Mail many years ago. I thought it was rather funny that Lewis blurted all that out and I kept the quote.
Another autograph story that a friend told me: He spotted Jack Palance in downtown Toronto and went up to him and asked him for his autograph. Palance turned to him and just said "F off." I thought that was rather funny too and somewhat of a great story.

Feinberg wrote: ↑January 5th, 2023, 8:00 am

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 3:04 pm

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm

That’s certainly full of himself but I also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber. I wouldn’t expect Jerry Lewis to be obligated to autograph things for everyone but he should have been a bit nicer about it.

My understanding is that Lewis only made that comment to Rupert Pupkin.

I know that was a joke but just some background on the quote. It was the 'Quote of the Day' in the Globe and Mail many years ago. I thought it was rather funny that Lewis blurted all that out and I kept the quote.
Another autograph story that a friend told me: He spotted Jack Palance in downtown Toronto and went up to him and asked him for his autograph. Palance turned to him and just said "F off." I thought that was rather funny too and somewhat of a great story.

What type of person an actor, comic, musician, or entertainer is has little to know impact on how I judge (value), what they do in their craft. I try to apply this POV towards those I don't really view as "great" in their craft (e.g. John Wayne), as well as those that I do feel are at the top of their craft.

So if one's point is "but this person is really an ass", I'm not disputing that. I just don't care.

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm . . . also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber . . .

Exactly!

I once saw Ralph Bellamy grocery shopping. The man couldn't walk two feet without someone who recognized him accosting him.

That said, Hollywood actors, actresses, and celebrities "signed up" for fame and stardom, or at least recognition.

Regarding autograph hounds, frankly, I don't get the mania for autographs.

EP Millstone wrote: ↑January 5th, 2023, 3:08 pm

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 2:19 pm . . . also imagine it must be obnoxious to be harassed by people every place you go especially when you are a famous person of that caliber . . .

Exactly!

I once saw Ralph Bellamy grocery shopping. The man couldn't walk two feet without someone who recognized him accosting him.

That said, Hollywood actors, actresses, and celebrities "signed up" for fame and stardom, or at least recognition.

Regarding autograph hounds, frankly, I don't get the mania for autographs.

I don't understand the obsession with autographs when they can be forged very easily with little effort. Watch Alain Delon do that in Purple Noon.

LostHorizons wrote: ↑January 4th, 2023, 1:15 am You could add Larry Semon to the long list of silent comedians I hate.

Word--among the many achievements of Underworld (1927) is a Semon performance that does NOT make me want to kick him in the...ahem.

Also, El Brendel. Tolerable in silents (particularly Wings), but when sound came in....

Snitz Edwards - he's gross looking and I hate his weird facial expressions.