Friday, August 12, 2011

Through the Galaxies and Back

Walked down to Off Square Books and, as promised, picked up the new issue of VANITY FAIR featuring James Wolcott's salute to Jerry Lewis. Good stuff, though much of it will be familiar to the seasoned Jerry fan. I'm not complaining! Gigot (!) and Emmett Kelly make an appearance, so who can ask for more? Wolcott has words of appreciation for Jerry's book DEAN & ME ("crackling" he calls it) and best of all there's this little nugget that Jerry once dropped on Mel Torme: "You have driven your theatrical prowess through the galaxies and back" (see also). An excellent insight: "When he isn't 'on,' he's the opposite of off; his presence intensifies with an increase of dark matter, transmitting scary-dad authority even when trussed up and immobile..."