Claim: Jerry Lewis is a theater actor.

Jerry Lewis -LRB- born Joseph Levitch ; March 16 , 1926 -RRB- is an American actor , comedian , singer , film producer , film director , screenwriter and humanitarian . He is known for his slapstick humor in film , television , stage and radio . He and Dean Martin were partners as the hit popular comedy duo of Martin and Lewis . Following that success , he was a solo star in motion pictures , nightclubs , television shows , concerts , album recordings and musicals .   Lewis served as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and hosted the live Labor Day broadcast of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for 44 years . Lewis has received several awards for lifetime achievements from the American Comedy Awards , Los Angeles Film Critics Association , Venice Film Festival , Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and been honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .