Editing Jerry Lewis (section)

===Teaming with Dean Martin===
{{Main|Martin and Lewis}}
[[File:Lewis and Martin.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Lewis with [[Dean Martin]] in 1950]]
In 1945, Lewis was 19 when he met 27-year-old singer [[Dean Martin]] at the Glass Hat Club in New York City, where the two performed until they debuted at [[Atlantic City]]'s [[500 Club]] as [[Martin and Lewis]] on July 25, 1946. The duo gained attention as a double act with Martin serving as the [[straight man]] to Lewis's zany antics. The inclusion of ad-libbed improvisational segments in their planned routines added a unique quality to their act and separated them from previous comedy duos.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin: Inside the Beloved Comedy Duo's Bitter Split and Long-Awaited Reunion|url=https://people.com/movies/jerry-lewis-dean-martin-inside-bitter-split-and-reunion/|access-date=September 2, 2020|website=PEOPLE.com|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319014559/https://people.com/movies/jerry-lewis-dean-martin-inside-bitter-split-and-reunion/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lewis and Martin quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act, then as stars of their radio program ''[[The Martin and Lewis Show]].''<ref name="varietyobit" /> The two made their television debut on CBS' ''Toast of the Town'' (later renamed as ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'') June 20, 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/comedy-icon-jerry-lewis-dies-91/story?id=49323636|title=Comedy icon Jerry Lewis dies at 91|last=McKenzie|first=Joi-Marie|date=August 20, 2017|website=ABC News|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820214528/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/comedy-icon-jerry-lewis-dies-91/story?id=49323636|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1950, they signed with NBC to be one of a series of weekly rotating hosts of ''[[The Colgate Comedy Hour]],'' a live Sunday evening broadcast. Lewis, writer for the team's nightclub act, hired [[Norman Lear]] and Ed Simmons as regular writers for their ''Comedy Hour'' material.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/features/norman-lear-recalls-early-days-as-tv-comedy-writer-1201629371/|title=Norman Lear Looks Back on Early Days as TV Comedy Writer|first=Tim|last=Gray|date=October 30, 2015|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206002704/https://variety.com/2015/tv/features/norman-lear-recalls-early-days-as-tv-comedy-writer-1201629371/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12-IA1|magazine=Billboard|title=52G to Simmons, Lear to do five Martin-Lewis TV shows|date=October 31, 1953|via=Google Books}}</ref> By 1951, with an appearance at the [[Paramount Theatre (New York City)|Paramount Theatre]] in New York, they were a hit. The duo began their film careers at [[Paramount Pictures]] as ensemble players, in ''[[My Friend Irma (film)|My Friend Irma]]'' (1949) and its sequel ''[[My Friend Irma Goes West]]'' (1950). Followed by their own series of 14 new movies, ''[[At War with the Army]]'' (1950), ''[[That's My Boy (1951 film)|That's My Boy]]'' (1951), ''[[Sailor Beware (1952 film)|Sailor Beware]]'' (1952), ''[[Jumping Jacks]]'' (1952), ''[[The Stooge]]'' (1952), ''[[Scared Stiff (1953 film)|Scared Stiff]]'' (1953), ''[[The Caddy]]'' (1953), ''[[Money from Home]]'' (1953), ''[[Living It Up]]'' (1954), ''[[3 Ring Circus]]'' (1954), ''[[You're Never Too Young]]'' (1955), ''[[Artists and Models]]'' (1955), ''[[Pardners]]'' (1956) and ''[[Hollywood or Bust]]'' (1956). The two appeared on the ''Olympic Fund Telethon'' and cameoed in ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952).

[[Bing Crosby|Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope|Hope]] would do the same in ''Scared Stiff'' a year later. Attesting to the duo's popularity, [[DC Comics]] published ''[[The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis]]'' from 1952 to 1957. The team appeared on ''[[What's My Line?]]'' in 1954, the 27th annual [[Academy Awards]] in 1955, ''[[The Steve Allen Show]]'' and ''[[The Today Show]]'' in 1956.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} Martin's participation became an embarrassment in 1954 when ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]'' magazine published a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover but cropped Martin out.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Mike|title='Dean & Me' really is a love story|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2005-10-25-dean-and-me_x.htm|access-date=January 15, 2013|newspaper=usatoday.com|date=October 25, 2005|archive-date=August 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802131250/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2005-10-25-dean-and-me_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The duo did their final live nightclub act together at the [[Copacabana (nightclub)|Copacabana]] on July 24, 1956. Both Lewis and Martin went on to have successful solo careers, but neither would comment on the split nor consider a reunion. Martin surprised Lewis on his appearance on ''[[The Eddie Fisher Show]]'' on September 30, 1958, appeared together at the 1959 Academy Awards closing, reunited several times publicly and sometimes privately according to interviews they gave to magazines.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}