Editing Jerry Lewis (section)

=== Interests ===
After opening a camera shop in 1950, Lewis agreed to lend his name to "Jerry Lewis Cinemas" in 1969, offered by National Cinema Corporation, as a franchise business opportunity for those interested in theatrical movie exhibition. Jerry Lewis Cinemas stated that their theaters could be operated by a staff of as few as two with the aid of automation and support provided by the franchiser in booking film and other aspects of film exhibition. A forerunner of the smaller rooms typical of later multi-screen complexes, a Jerry Lewis Cinema was billed in franchising ads as a "mini-theatre" with a seating capacity of between 200 and 350.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In addition to Lewis's name, each Jerry Lewis Cinema bore a sign with a cartoon logo of Lewis in profile.<ref>{{cite news|last=Connelly|first=Sherilyn|title=Bad Ideas from the 1970s: Jerry Lewis Cinema Franchises Were a Nutty Disaster|newspaper=SF Weekly|url=http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/08/jerry_lewis_cinemas_the_nutty.php|access-date=October 19, 2011|archive-date=December 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228032345/http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/08/jerry_lewis_cinemas_the_nutty.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially 158 territories were franchised, with a buy-in fee of $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the territory, for what was called an "individual exhibitor." For $50,000, Jerry Lewis Cinemas offered an opportunity known as an "area directorship", in which investors controlled franchising opportunities in a territory as well as their own cinemas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id8z8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75-IA4|magazine=Life|title=Join Jerry Lewis (advt.)|page=75|date=December 31, 1971|access-date=October 23, 2011}}</ref> The success of the chain was hampered by a policy of only booking second-run, family-friendly films. Eventually the policy was changed, and the Jerry Lewis Cinemas were allowed to show more competitive movies. But after a decade the chain failed and both Lewis and National Cinema Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1980.<ref>{{cite news|last=ccrouch|title=Fantasy & Failure With Jerry Lewis Cinemas|url=http://cinelog.org/cinelog/2009/03/28/fantasy-failure-with-jerry-lewis-cinemas/|publisher=Cinelog.org|access-date=October 19, 2011|archive-date=January 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111124232/http://cinelog.org/cinelog/2009/03/28/fantasy-failure-with-jerry-lewis-cinemas/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, Lewis appeared on the 1st Annual 20-hour Highway Safety Foundation Telethon, then in 1990, wrote and directed ''Boy'', a short film for [[UNICEF]]'s ''How Are The Children?'' anthology,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6XuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA452 |title=King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis|last=Levy|first=Shawn|date=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0312132484|page=452}}</ref> meeting up with seven-year-old Lochie Graham in 2010, who shared his idea for "Jerry's House", a place for vulnerable and traumatized children<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/outer-east/ringwood-east-teen-lochie-graham-bands-with-comedian-jerry-lewis-to-create-a-house-full-of-laughter/news-story/c7c7ad1847d30dd2751d3fa90d956a51|title=Ringwood East teen Lochie Graham bands with comedian Jerry Lewis to create a house full of laughter|first1=Emma-Jayne|last1=Schenkless|date=April 18, 2016|website=heraldsun|access-date=September 13, 2021|archive-date=December 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217121509/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/outer-east/ringwood-east-teen-lochie-graham-bands-with-comedian-jerry-lewis-to-create-a-house-full-of-laughter/news-story/c7c7ad1847d30dd2751d3fa90d956a51|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hope2day.org/jerrys-house/|title=jerryshouse|website=jerryshouse|access-date=February 24, 2017|archive-date=February 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224212130/http://www.hope2day.org/jerrys-house/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and in 2016, would lend his name and star power to [[Criss Angel]]'s HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Ethan |title=Criss Angel's HELP Charity Event Benefiting Pediatric Cancer Research And Treatment |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/entertainer-jerry-lewis-speaks-during-criss-angels-help-news-photo/606522530 |website=Getty Images |date=September 16, 2016 |access-date=21 June 2023 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621183344/https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/entertainer-jerry-lewis-speaks-during-criss-angels-help-news-photo/606522530 |url-status=live }}</ref>