A biography for Jerry Lewishasn’t been written yet.
“I think so much in time. I always have. Even at 20, I thought in terms of time, that I don't have a lot of time left. And I want to do so many things.”
“My ego and my vanities have nothing to do with comedy.”
“Being 90 is not simple, but it's interesting, very interesting. Before I was 90, I could walk, I could see well, I could hear terrific, and now, I can't hear or see or walk.”
“I really am opinionated, but not for long. I have found myself coming off of what I think of something because the guy I'm talking to makes better sense than I am. I have so many points of view, I can't keep track of 'em, because I talk to too many people... I'm not so opinionated that I won't budge.”
“I want to know why the government of this country can't take care of the people who are keeping us safe?”
“I think the movie industry has to pay attention that we need to make good quality films, or we are never going to get the business back.”
“If I was performing, I had no pain. But you can't stay on stage 24 hours a day.”
“When you are debilitated, and you're very depressed, and you believe there's no hope, you cannot get a better potpourri of down.”
“My God, the stage is the only place I know where to go.”
“Adrenaline is so strong that none of us understand it.”
“I believe when you go out there, you have a responsibility to deliver. I have old-fashioned thinking when I'm out there.”
“I'm really not thick-skinned - my wife will tell you that I take sunsets personally - but I know that I've got the belly for whatever comes down the pike. I think it's tenacity. You've been there before, and you just have to recall, 'How did I handle that one?'”
“I have some very personal feelings about politics, but I don't get into it because I do comedy already.”
“I don't like any female comedians.”
“Seeing a woman project the kind of aggression that you have to project as a comic just rubs me wrong.”
“I never tell an audience what they can expect. I never have and I never will. I'm an entertainer for 75 years.”
“I say to everybody, love is what wakes you up in the morning, love is what makes you walk, and love is what makes you hope.”
“This is the pain pacemaker. I've got a battery under my skin. From that battery are two electrodes that go into the spine where they cut bone away to accommodate it. Now I put on the power here. If I have the pain, the stimulator starts. It's tingling, like when your foot falls asleep, you know?”
“Commercial television has underestimated the intelligence of the public.”
“I can't stand to ask anyone, 'How was that?'”