Comments | sub_divided: Dean and Me: A Love Story, by Jerry Lewis

sub_divided

Dean and Me: A Love Story, by Jerry Lewis

Jan 21, 2009 21:01

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a(n extremely popular) double comedy act in the era before rock 'n roll. Dean Martin sang and looked handsome while Jerry Lewis did dumb things to get his attention, was the basic premise.The act ran 10 years to the day -- from 1946 to 1956 -- though Martin and Lewis were apparently not on speaking terms during ( Read more... )

series:libertines, books:bookblogging

Comments 11

b_hallward January 22 2009, 03:22:36 UTC

Well the most obvious difference is that in the 50s you could kiss your double comedy act partner on the lips in front of a live television

Hee! What a great clip! Including (even!) the apocryphal 'judy, judy, judy'. *g*

sub_divided January 22 2009, 04:56:15 UTC

Isn't it? XD Really in the end, the lessons I took away from the book were:

a) the fifties were a different era
b) no really, the fifties were an entirely different era
c) but codependency is forever <3

Which is why Dean Martins bits are still really fresh...Jerry Lewis's half hasn't aged as well, I think, since his default funny voice is a Jewish matron stereotype that teeters on the edge of too-offensive-to-be-funny today.

('Course offensive stereotypes are still funny -- and he's Jewish so he can do it -- but the line has shifted a bit, maybe, since the mid-fifties.)

sub_divided January 22 2009, 22:21:50 UTC

Actually, never mind. The more I watch, the more I'm reminded of Adam Sandler XD.

cerusee January 22 2009, 04:40:34 UTC

That was just delightful.

sub_divided January 22 2009, 05:01:05 UTC

Best clip I could find on Ytube. Supposedly their live club shows were along these lines. Though I liked one of their 1976 reunion -- holy cow, took 'em 20 years! -- too, for different reasons.

0_clay_0 January 22 2009, 15:46:45 UTC

That video is brilliant! I had never actually seen them perform together before; I only ever read a bit about Dean Martin, but I might have to check out this book now... The title's quite alluring as well. *g*

Codependency is fascinating, isn't it? Have you ever read The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace? Stylistically not always my cup of tea, but it's a truly haunting and moving (true) story.

I'm also relieved to know I'm not the only one who likes reading Peter and Carl into everything that slightly lends itself to such treatment. ;-)

sub_divided January 22 2009, 21:04:25 UTC

Not the only one by a very, very long shot, I'd wager. ^^; I can't figure out whether it's because they cover a lot of (popculture/literary/psychological) ground or whether I'd find a way even if no linking thread existed. Probably a combination of the two. It's actually a little bit annoying because I know I used to be able to make other mental connections - I kept a journal, I have proof! But what can you do, eh?

Anyway I have to make obscure connections because I don't know enough about music or fashion to cover that end with any confidence. XD

No, I haven't! Guess I'll read that one next.

Lost my morning watching sketches on Ytube. ^^;; Check out the mirror bit in Part 2 of this one, it's hysterical.

0_clay_0 January 22 2009, 21:59:41 UTC

I think the very fact that they are covering so much ground is an important reason why it's so easy to get obsessed with them - they have created this whole world of ideas and fantasies and they actually invite you in, which is completely alluring.

Obscure connections are brilliant! :-P Whenever I write scientific papers or essays I always try to sneak in some particular favorites of mine, be it in form of quotes or references or direct mentions, it's just so much fun, like burying treasures. :-)

Ohh, I think you'll like it, it's a fascinating story and probably the most extreme form of codependency I can think of.

Hahaha, that is the best comedy thing I have seen in ages! Hilarious! :-D Thank you, now I know what to watch whenever I need a good laugh.

sub_divided January 22 2009, 23:07:11 UTC

The most extreme case I ever heard of was these two:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/garden/15buddhists.html

"Couple vows to never be more than 15 feet apart" <-- yikes!

Couple more links so I don't lose them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOfP83YoXD8 (bunk beds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4EkkSpaPY0 (detective)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uytq9DJZ7cw&NR=1 (lost voice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wnMaVJcdjA (kids)

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