Though the complete film was never shown in the end, there was a 31-minute version of the film that was screened on a German TV station (ARD) in the documentary called “Der Clown.”
The knock to his career and his reputation set him back for some time. Feeling that he had done whatever he could in comedy but not fully achieving his dreams in the world drama, Lewis left showbiz for a few years.
Time for a Change
The King of Comedy had been at it for roughly 20 years, but one day in 1966, he decided to call it quits and, with no explanation, after 17 years with Paramount, left the company and joined Columbia Pictures. He starred in "Three on a Couch" (1966),
"The Merv Griffin Show, Way…Way Out"(1966), "The Sammy Davis Jr.," and more. But these comedies still weren't cutting it, and in 1972, Lewis began working on something entirely different. The film would be a drama set in Germany. In fact, talk about it was kept relatively secret, though ultimately, the complete film would never see the light of day due to funding and copyright issues. It was called "The Day the Clown Cried."
The Day Jerry Lewis Cried
Too many factors prevented the completion of the film. One of them was the fact that Lewis was not happy with the end result. As a person of Jewish heritage, the subject matter was very emotionally difficult for him, and Lewis felt that he just could not be satisfied with the end result, especially while he was being confronted with quite a lot of backlash from studio executives.
The film's release marked a groundbreaking change in American cinema. It would be another 13 years until the world would witness Claude Lanzmann’s groundbreaking film, "Shoah," and over 20 years before Steven Spielberg’s "Schindler’s List."
Back With a Bang
Eleven whole years had passed when Lewis popped up again. In the year 1981, the actor and director returned with the film "Hardly Working." The film told the story of an out-of-work clown who tries to make it in regular 9-to-5 jobs.
Unfortunately, it was totally trashed by critics, but it did at least succeed as a commercial hit, earning roughly $50 million. Lewis was certainly back and put that clown character to better use.
The King of Comedy
After earning his spot back in Tinsletown, Mr. Jerry Lewis looked for more challenging roles to sink his teeth into. And that came in the form of Martin Scorsese's stellar 1982 black comedy, "The King of Comedy." Who better to star in this one than the King of Comedy himself.
The film told the story of a late-night TV host who has to deal with an obsessive fan. The film got him major critical acclaim as well as a BAFTA nomination. Fun fact, the 2019 hit "The Joker" heavily references the film. It's no coincidence that Robert DeNiro stars in both.