- Title: USA: Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to legendary comedian Jerry Lewis
- Date: 1st October 2010
- Summary: TARANTINO AND LEWIS SITTING IN CLUB (SOUNDBITE) (English) JERRY LEWIS, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN, SAYING: "It's a lovely, it's a lovely thing. There's no way to explain when those in the business say to you, 'Bravo'. It's just that simple." LEWIS SITTING WITH TARANTINO AND BELZER (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUENTIN TARANTINO, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "If you look at other comedians like Danny Kaye or Bob Hope and the films they did, a lot of it was relying on verbal comedy and vocal tricks. Now he's the master of verbal tricks as well, but he concentrated, more than any other comedian in the sound era, to do visual comedy and do entire sequences built around visual and those movies could play anywhere in the world and be seen and be funny and have people fall in love with Jerry Lewis, no matter if his voice was Spanish, if it was Italian, if it was Japanese, it didn't matter. They always got Jerry Lewis." CAMERA CREW AND PHOTOGRAPHER TARANTINO SITTING WITH BELZER (SOUNDBITE) (English) JERRY LEWIS, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN, SAYING: "I'm sorry to hear about, why you have to go away, that's unfortunate." (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUENTIN TARANTINO, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "Oh, I, ah, it's, but I'm happy to be here with you." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JERRY LEWIS, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN, SAYING: "I was so disappointed." ROMAN SPEAKING TO TARANTINO (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUENTIN TARANTINO, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "That's going to be great, that's going to be fantastic." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JERRY LEWIS, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN, SAYING: "Yeah, we're going to do it right." LEWIS SITTING WITH TARANTINO AND BELZER
- Embargoed: 16th October 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA8G2T7MPLHAZ5VV8KRHR43ZTBA
- Story Text: Legendary actor and comedian Jerry Lewis was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by New York's famous Friars Comedy Club on Wednesday (September 29).
The 84-year-old was recognised for his contribution to film and television, and his humanitarian work.
Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino accompanied Lewis on the night, and the pair laughed and joked together throughout the low-key ceremony.
Accepting his award, Lewis appeared genuinely touched and joked that he hoped to beat fellow actor and comedian George Burns's record of living to 100.
"It's just an incredible gift. It's a gift of recognition and something that you feel very very close to your heart and I'm honoured and to do a lot of jokes would make sense because it's not the time. Let me just say that I'm infinitely grateful and I plan to live another 16 years so I beat Burns," Lewis said.
The performer has his work cut out for him. He's currently preparing for the new Broadway adaptation of his 1963 film 'The Nutty Professor', which he plans to direct. Lewis is also due to begin shooting 'Max Rose' alongside actress Liv Tyler - his first lead role in more than 25 years.
The entertainer indicated he had no intention of slowing down.
"I'm doing everything right. I'm eating well, I'm going to sleep early, I'm doing all the stuff that's necessary to make 101. I just put my daughter in college, so I have to wait four years for that to work, and then I'm going to have her meet a very nice young man and then she's going to get married, I'm going to walk down the isle with her, and then I'm going to be in the hospital to see the baby. So that's my plan for the next 16 years and I hope you all join me," Lewis told the gathering.
Shortly before the ceremony, Lewis shared a drink at the bar with Tarantino and Law and Order star Richard Belzer. As the trio laughed and joked, Lewis told reporters he was honoured to be recognised for his work.
"It's a lovely, it's a lovely thing. There's no way to explain when those in the business say to you, 'Bravo'. It's just that simple", Lewis explained.
Tarantino said that Lewis was one-of-a-kind.
"If you look at other comedians like Danny Kaye or Bob Hope and the films they did, a lot of it was relying on verbal comedy and vocal tricks. Now he's the master of verbal tricks as well, but he concentrated, more than any other comedian in the sound era, to do visual comedy and do entire sequences built around visual and those movies could play anywhere in the world and be seen and be funny and have people fall in love with Jerry Lewis, no matter if his voice was Spanish, if it was Italian, if it was Japanese, it didn't matter. They always got Jerry Lewis," Tarantino said.
Tarantino's public appearance followed the death on Tuesday (September 28) of his longtime film editor, Sally Menke. The 56-year-old is believed to have died whilst hiking in a Los Angeles park. A planned roast for Tarantino at the Friars Club scheduled for Friday (Oct 1) was canceled out of respect for the director's loss.
Lewis expressed his condolences as the men sat at the bar.
"I'm sorry to hear about, why you have to go away, that's unfortunate," Lewis said.
"Oh, I, ah, it's, but I'm happy to be here with you," Tarantino replied.
"I was so disappointed," Lewis added.
Both Tarantino and Lewis said they looked forward to the event being rescheduled.
"That's going to be great, that's going to be fantastic," Tarantino said.
"Yeah, we're going to do it right," Lewis added.
The Friars Club frequently roasts singers, comedians and actors. The 'Pulp Fiction', 'Kill Billl' and 'Reservoir Dogs' director will be honoured next month as one of the most celebrated filmmakers of his generation. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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