Editing Jerry Lewis (section)

=== Columbia and other projects ===
[[File:Jerry Lewis 1973.JPG|thumb|left|170px|Lewis in 1973]]
Undaunted, Lewis signed with [[Columbia Pictures]], where he tried to reinvent himself with more serious roles<ref name="Kehr"/> and starred in a string of new box-office successes: ''[[Three on a Couch]]'' (1966), also during this period, he appeared in ''[[Way...Way Out]]'' (1966) for [[20th Century-Fox]], then ''[[The Big Mouth]]'' (1967), ''[[Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River]]'' (1968) and ''[[Hook, Line & Sinker (1969 film)|Hook, Line & Sinker]]'' (1969).

Lewis continued to make television appearances: ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'', ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show,'' ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]],'' ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]],'' ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]],'' a pilot called ''Sheriff Who'', a second version of ''The Jerry Lewis Show'' (this time as a one-hour variety show for NBC, which ran from 1967 to 1969),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obit-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|title=Iconic comedian Jerry Lewis dies at 91|last=McLellan|first=Dennis|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820190218/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obit-jerry-lewis-20170820-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  and ''[[The Danny Thomas Hour]]''.

He also appeared on ''[[Playboy After Dark]],'' ''[[Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters|Jimmy Durante's The Lennon Sisters Hour]],'' ''[[The Red Skelton Show]],'' ''The Jack Benny Birthday Special,'' ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'', ''[[The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour]],'' ''[[The Hollywood Palace]],'' ''The Engelbert Humperdinck Show,'' ''The Irv Kupcinet Show'' and ''[[The Linkletter Show]]''. Behind the scenes, he contributed to some scripts for [[Filmation]]'s animated series ''[[Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down]]'', directed an episode of ''[[The Bold Ones]]''{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} and directed the [[Peter Lawford]] and [[Sammy Davis, Jr.]] comedy ''[[One More Time (1970 film)|One More Time]]'' (1970), a sequel to [[Richard Donner]]'s ''[[Salt and Pepper (film)|Salt and Pepper]]'' (1968).

Lewis would leave Columbia after his agreement with the studio lapsed, leaving him to produce his next movie independently. ''[[Which Way to the Front?]]'' (1970) was a [[World War II]] military comedy starring Lewis as a wealthy playboy who wants to enlist in the armed forces. Rejected, he forms his own volunteer army and infiltrates the enemy forces on the Italian front. The cast included many of Lewis's cronies, including [[Jan Murray]], [[Steve Franken]], [[Kathleen Freeman]], [[Kenneth MacDonald (American actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]], [[Joe Besser]], and (in a broad caricature of [[Adolf Hitler]]) [[Sidney Miller (actor)|Sidney Miller]]. The film received only a limited release by [[Warner Bros.]], and was not well received by the critics or the public. Lewis would later guest appeared on the NBC special ''The Klowns''.

''[[The Day the Clown Cried]]'' (1972), a drama directed by and starring Lewis and set in a [[Nazi concentration camp]], received only brief exposure. The film was rarely discussed by him, but he said that litigation over post-production finances and copyright prevented its completion and widespread theatrical release. He also said a factor for the film's burial was that he was not proud of the effort.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Handy |first=Bruce |date=August 21, 2017 |title=The French Film Critic Who Saw Jerry Lewis's Infamous Holocaust Movie—and Loved It |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/08/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried-holocaust-movie-review |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204184440/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/08/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried-holocaust-movie-review |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2CdfppsqKQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Y2CdfppsqKQ| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Clown: teaser for unfinished Jerry Lewis Documentary| date=September 6, 2016|publisher=tracesfilm|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It was the earliest attempt by an American film director to address the subject of [[The Holocaust]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-jerry-lewis|first=Richard|last=Brody|title=Postscript: Jerry Lewis|date=August 20, 2017|work=New Yorker|access-date=February 9, 2018|archive-date=February 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219144928/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/postscript-jerry-lewis|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2023}} Following this, Lewis took a break from the movie business for several years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Repelling Rejection, or: The Disappearance of Jerry Lewis, and Some Side-Effects |url=http://www.lolajournal.com/3/lewis.html |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=www.lolajournal.com |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607220410/http://lolajournal.com/3/lewis.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

His television appearances during this period included ''[[Good Morning America]],'' ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]],'' ''NBC Follies,'' ''Celebrity Sportsman,'' ''[[Cher (TV series)|Cher]],'' ''[[Dinah!]],'' ''[[Tony Orlando and Dawn (TV series)|Tony Orlando and Dawn]].'' As Lewis continued to appear on and annually emcee [[The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon|his telethons]], one of the most memorable was the 1976 show,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/dean-martin-jerry-lewis-reunion-anniversary|title=When Jerry Met Dean-Again, on Live Television|first=Donald|last=Liebenson|date=September 2016|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-date=June 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610071139/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/dean-martin-jerry-lewis-reunion-anniversary|url-status=live}}</ref> where on that broadcast, unrehearsed, Sinatra offered to bring an old friend on stage. From the wings came Dean Martin, as the audience cheered. Lewis was stunned by the surprise, but he embraced Martin and they exchanged jokes for several minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeNDDqbIZMw| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109014701/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeNDDqbIZMw&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=November 9, 2019 | url-status=dead|title=23 August 1977|publisher=drowsyvenus|via=YouTube}}</ref>

In 1976, producer [[Alexander H. Cohen]] signed Lewis to star in a revival of [[Olsen and Johnson]]'s musical-comedy revue ''[[Hellzapoppin (musical)|Hellzapoppin]]''. "I do think that to succeed today, a comedy revue requires a larger-than-life comic", Cohen told syndicated columnist [[Jack O'Brian]]. "That is why I have engaged Jerry Lewis to star in the new production of ''Hellzapoppin'', which I'm preparing for the coming season."<ref>Alexander H. Cohen to Jack O'Brian, ''Paterson News'', Paterson, NJ, Aug. 9, 1976, p. 19.</ref> Cohen had revived ''Hellzapoppin'' as a TV special in 1972, and was impressed by the contributions of [[Lynn Redgrave]]; he signed her to appear opposite Lewis. This was Lewis's first Broadway show, and was so eagerly awaited that [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC-TV]] promised Cohen $1,000,000 for the rights to broadcast the opening night live on national television.

Out-of-town tryouts were staged in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Baltimore]], and [[Boston]] to excellent business but mixed reviews. There was turmoil behind the scenes, as comedy star Lewis dominated the production and had serious arguments with producer Cohen, co-star Redgrave, and writer-adaptor [[Abe Burrows]]. "Lewis and Miss Redgrave had been having a much-publicized feud", according to an account in the ''Pittsburgh Press''. "He would neither rehearse nor perform any songs with her, reports said."<ref>''Pittsburgh Press'', Jan. 24, 1977, p. A-8.</ref> The backstage chaos extended to several sudden cast changes during the Boston run.

On January 18, 1977, NBC executives flew to Boston to see the show, and their reactions were so negative that Cohen closed the show immediately and canceled both the Broadway engagement and the TV spectacular, forfeiting the million-dollar payment from NBC. "It's not ready for Broadway and cannot be made so in three remaining weeks before the opening", Cohen said. Cohen's spokesman subsequently announced that the stars would be replaced: "Recasting means recasting, and that's it."<ref>Dan Lewis, "It's curtains for 'Hellzapoppin'", ''The Record'', Hackensack, NJ, Jan. 20, 1977, p. 28.</ref>

In 1979, Lewis announced he was making ''That's Life'' (a senior citizen's take on ''[[Animal House]]'') starring [[Ruth Gordon]], [[Danny Thomas]] and [[Al Lewis]], and also said that it began filming, but stopped after a week, due to lack of funds.