Joe E. Lewis
Joe E. Lewis ( born January 12, 1902 in New York City; † June 4, 1971 in New York; actually Joseph Klewan ) was an American singer, actor and comedian.
Life and career
Joe E. Lewis was in the 20's in demand as a singer in Chicago and had close contacts with the Mobstern of the Chicago Outfit. He began his career in cabaret Midnight Frolics, where he was Master of Ceremony in 1925. A contract later tied him to the Green Mill, the Al Capone owned and operated by his confidant Jack McGurn. A rival gang tried to poach Lewis with a salary of $ 1,000 per week ( at the Green Mill was it $ 650 ). As Lewis thereupon refused to extend his contract with the Green Mill, he was threatened violently by "Machine Gun" McGurn. On November 9, 1927, a few days after its premiere at the Club Rendezvous Cafe Lewis was finally attacked in his apartment by three men. He survived despite numerous severe lacerations and a fractured skull. Since his throat was cut and he lost parts of the tongue, he had to quit his singing career.
Sophie Tucker persuaded him to make a comeback attempt as a singer, which failed, however, because Lewis could no longer meet properly the high notes. In these appearances, however, he discovered his talent for stand-up comedy. In the coming years, Lewis has been a sought-after stand-up comedians and entered among other things, the New York nightclub Copacabana. Parallel Lewis also appeared as an actor in a few films, but always had the greater success on the stage. These were followed by numerous television appearances, including more than a dozen appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
From 1946 to 1948 Lewis was married to actress Martha Stewart.
Lewis had long struggled with alcohol problems and digested this in its programs.
" I do not drink any more than the man next to me, and the man next to me is Dean Martin. "
" A man is never drunk if he can lay on the floor without holding on. "
Joe E. Lewis died on 4 June 1971 following a stroke and is on the Cedar Park Cemetery, Emerson, New Jersey, buried. His 1955 published biography The Joker is Wild served as the model for the eponymous film ( German title: Schicksalsmelodie ), is embodied in the Lewis Frank Sinatra. Sinatra and Lewis knew each other from times at the Green Mill and were long -time friends.