In 1963 Lewis co-wrote, directed, and starred in the hit comedy “The Nutty Professor.” The film gave a satirical spin on the old classic “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” In it, he played the nerdy and awkward professor Julius Kelp who formulates a serum that turns him into a handsome yet arrogant ladies’ man.
The film was highly acclaimed and was selected to be in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004 due to it being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Julius Kelp became a huge part of modern culture and recently even got its own emoji. In “The Simpsons,” Professor Frink is a character based on Julius Kelp, and of course, Eddie Murphy starred in the 1996 remake.
Revolutionary Filmmaking
The technique involved using cameras, and multiple monitors to instant show the performance immediately. This saved time and allowed him to complete most of his films on time and under budget.
The directing continuing and he released "The Ladies Man" and "The Errand Boy" (both in 1961). Fun fact "The Errand Boy" happened to be one of the earliest films about the movie-making biz and a lot of it was shot in the offices at Paramount.
Cinderfella
Lewis's film "Cinderfella" took the classic fairytale and turned it on its head. In this movie, in particular, Jerry perfected the combination of zany comic sequences, solid storytelling, and emotion.
In the 1960 film, he played the "enchanting princess" while Anna Maria Alberghetti took on the role of the "charming prince." Needless to say, it was a hit.
‘The Ladies Man’
Speaking of the ladies' man (one thing Lewis certainly was), he, of course, made another film on the subject, aptly called "The Ladies Man," The 1961 film told the story of yet another awkward nebbish who works at a female-only boarding house.
The sequence with the criminal and the hat is considered to be the funniest bit of his career. He once again achieved great laughs with that sweet taste of sentimentality.
Passing it On
Can you believe that the man was also involved in academia? In 1967 Lewis took up a little teaching gig. Or perhaps, a big teaching gig. The comedian taught film directing at the University of California.
Apparently, he had some interesting students. Among the 'kids' in his class were none other than filmmaking legends George Lucas and Steven Speilberg. It looks like his greatness rubbed off on them.