Maiores Comediantes

I'd known about the French affection for Jerry Lewis, but evidently it extends to Brazil as well—as this cartoon, from the front page of the always-lovely Folha de S. Paulo from about a week ago. I clipped it from the pdf at newseum, and just now looked at the article it referenced: Brazilian editors rate the national and international comedians. Chaplin heads up most of the lists; Keaton figures most of the time. But a couple, including the editor of the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone, put Jerry on top.

I watched my first Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis feature this past weekend: Living it Up. I have to say that it didn't do much to raise Lewis' comedic star in my opinion. Maybe the annoying nasal vocalizations just come out better in French or Portuguese. Or, come to think of it, maybe he's been dubbed. (I tried watching one of the dance sequences with the volume turned off, and it was definitely easier to focus on Lewis' undeniable skill). Then last night my mom and I finished watching an old Keaton silent feature, College, which was a delight, but less so than your average Chaplin.

Youtube: Brazilian comedians Mazzaropi, Ankito, Grande Otelo; and also Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Jerry Lewis.