Jerry Lewis – a unique talent

Jerry Lewis, the comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, director has died aged 91. He was a ‘defining figure in American entertainment’ on Broadway, in films, nightclubs and on television, adored by some and disliked by others for his zany performances.

Born 16 March 1926 12.15pm Newark, New Jersey, into a vaudeville family, he was often left as his parents went touring. He became successful early in a duo nightclub act with singer Dean Martin and later after they split branched out on his own to a prolific and long-running career, which had its ups and downs but he always bounced back.

He had Sun Uranus in Pisces on his midheaven, so definitely quirky and went his own independent way; with his Sun Uranus in a pro-active sextile to Mars in Capricorn. His Mars was square a 10^th house Taurus Moon and his 10^th house Mercury in Aries was square Pluto – he could pack a fair verbal punch. He was also blessed with an 8^th house Jupiter in Aquarius conjunct Venus opposition Neptune square Saturn in Scorpio in his 5^th – lucky and obsessively conscientious especially about the organisational side of showbusiness. He was a complicated, multi-talented man with a chart replete with creative quintiles and inspired though not always stable septiles (5^th and 7^th harmonics.) His unorthodox/genius 13H was also especially heavily aspected.

The New York Times wrote: “A mercurial personality who could flip from naked neediness to towering rage, Mr. Lewis seemed to contain multitudes, and he explored all of them. His ultimate object of contemplation was his own contradictory self, and he turned his obsession with fragmentation, discontinuity and the limits of language into a spectacle that enchanted children, disturbed adults and fascinated postmodernist critics.”