The Crooner and The Clown Cry "Ciao!" - The Spark of Yahoo!
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From the page: "The Crooner and The Clown Cry "Ciao!"
By Helene Labriet-Gross
Thu, July 24, 2008
Before there was a Rat Pack, a "Rio Bravo," or an "Everybody Loves Somebody," Dean Martin was known to America as Jerry Lewis' partner and straight man in a series of hilarious duets, movies, and television shows.
For exactly a decade -- starting on July 24, 1946 and ending on the same date in 1956 -- the pair was America's favorite entertainers. The team-up began when the two were booked at Atlantic City's 500 Club. The audience was ice cold, so instead of sticking to the prepared material, Lewis pretended to be a waiter, noisily interrupting Martin's act. The singer improvised back, and the crowd was soon in hysterics. The act became the hottest in show business, and the duo never looked back. Their recipe for success never failed: Dino would sing -- or try to -- while Lewis would embellish the crooner's act by making faces, interrupting the songs with his awful nasal, twangy voice, and use all the tricks of vaudeville and slapstick.
Their peak may have come in the early '50s, when 75,000 people turned out to see them appear at New York's Paramount Theatre. But after 16 movies, bored by being seen as nothing but a foil for Lewis, Martin decided to go solo. His last performance with Lewis took place at 2:30 a.m. at the Copacabana in New York. They played three shows that night, taking the audience from laughter to tears.
The pair reunited briefly in 1960 -- for 15 minutes. But in 1976, Frank Sinatra arranged for Martin to surprise Lewis on his telethon, an appearance which ended the team's feud. Lewis also appeared at Martin's 72nd birthday, presenting him with a cake and joking, "Why we broke up, I'll never know." Neither do we, but we're glad for their time together."
By Helene Labriet-Gross
Thu, July 24, 2008
Before there was a Rat Pack, a "Rio Bravo," or an "Everybody Loves Somebody," Dean Martin was known to America as Jerry Lewis' partner and straight man in a series of hilarious duets, movies, and television shows.
For exactly a decade -- starting on July 24, 1946 and ending on the same date in 1956 -- the pair was America's favorite entertainers. The team-up began when the two were booked at Atlantic City's 500 Club. The audience was ice cold, so instead of sticking to the prepared material, Lewis pretended to be a waiter, noisily interrupting Martin's act. The singer improvised back, and the crowd was soon in hysterics. The act became the hottest in show business, and the duo never looked back. Their recipe for success never failed: Dino would sing -- or try to -- while Lewis would embellish the crooner's act by making faces, interrupting the songs with his awful nasal, twangy voice, and use all the tricks of vaudeville and slapstick.
Their peak may have come in the early '50s, when 75,000 people turned out to see them appear at New York's Paramount Theatre. But after 16 movies, bored by being seen as nothing but a foil for Lewis, Martin decided to go solo. His last performance with Lewis took place at 2:30 a.m. at the Copacabana in New York. They played three shows that night, taking the audience from laughter to tears.
The pair reunited briefly in 1960 -- for 15 minutes. But in 1976, Frank Sinatra arranged for Martin to surprise Lewis on his telethon, an appearance which ended the team's feud. Lewis also appeared at Martin's 72nd birthday, presenting him with a cake and joking, "Why we broke up, I'll never know." Neither do we, but we're glad for their time together."
