Do the French really love Jerry Lewis?
Dear Cecil: Can you explain to me where does it come from that the French are supposed to be Jerry Lewis fans? As soon as somebody recognize my accent I’m asked, “How can you like Jerry Lewis movies?” I lived this last 30 years in France and I never met any Jerry Lewis fan. If you ask to 100 persons in the street for a J.L. movie title you’d difficultly have a few answers, and lot of people would made a confusion with a rock and roll star. Excuse my limited English but I just start learning it, reading your books. — Salutations distinguees, F. MURAT, Chicago Cecil replies: Better buy the whole set, mon frere. In re: Lewis, your bafflement is a consequence of your youth. Jerry Lewis was hot in France in the 60s, but today is only remembered vaguely and in some quarters, dare I say it, even scorned. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, who lived in Paris in the early 70s, says when he was interviewed a couple years ago by the French rock weekly Les inrockuptibles, “They mentioned in their int
