Courtesy of Corbis-Bettmann

Jerry Lewis b. 1926

Newark, New Jersey native Jerry Lewis rose to prominence in the 1940s for his nightclub act and later for a radio show with Dean Martin. The team appeared on television and made 16 films together before parting ways in 1956. Lewis parlayed his brand of zany humor into a successful solo career, starring in more than two dozen films, including The Bellboy (1960), The Nutty Professor (1963), and The Family Jewels (1965). He won the 2005 Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the 2009 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, primarily for his work for the Muscular Dystrophy Society. Lewis is recognized for having invented the video-assist technique, the now-standard method of using video cameras and closed circuit monitors to allow actors and directors to immediately review performances.