Jerry Lewis: Clown Icon

'The Bellboy'
In need of a quick project to fill its summer release schedule, Paramount turned to Lewis to make a small budget picture about a bellboy at a large Miami hotel. With virtually no plot and not much of a script, Lewis starred and directed the film. During production, he pioneered a technique known as video assist, in which video cameras and closed circuit monitors are used to view scenes as they are being filmed, thereby giving him a means to review his performance instantly. Today this technique is an industry standard.

• Oscar Guide
• Biography