The Jerry Lewis Show

Than do others. I was only 10, but precocious and very up on TV. I loved Jack Paar, staying up whenever possible to see it. When he left The Tonight Show there was an extended time of searching for a new host. I recall thinking that "The Jerry Lewis Show" seemed like his tryout for "Tonight" (even though on a different network). Anyway my sisters and I laughed uproariously at this show! And I recall reading that NBC wanted Jerry for "Tonight" but they could not come to terms. (I was disappointed with the choice of Carson. Grew to like it eventually, but thought he got boring when he went to LA. Was very happy when Paar got a prime time show. ). Was I this wrong about Jerry's show?

I worked on the JL Live show--my first job in TV. ABC never gave it a chance. It was canceled after the first week. Everyone was working hard to battle the technical problems of a new studio that the entertainment side was secondary to technical. There were problems that were never anticipated. I then transitioned to the Hollywood Palace which also suffered from some of the same technical issues for the remainder of the year, but they never were seen because the Palace was taped. I will tell you there were some pretty long nights waiting to clear technical. I went on to work with Jerry on two movies and loved every minute of it. The clips that I have found are the first time I've seen them in 50 years. While I cringe at portions I am still amazed at what we were able to do in 1963. Jerry, I hope you enjoyed spending ABC's $40 million and thank you for taking care of me so well over the years. It was a great idea that fell a little short.