Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the comedy team, will tour Armed Forces installations in Europe during a two-month business-and-pleasure trip, The Stars and Stripes learned today.
The movie-TV-radio-nightclub madcaps sail for England June 3 on the liner Queen Elizabeth, They are slated to open a week’s engagement at the Royal Theater in Glasgow, Scotland, June 13, and to follow this up June 22 with two weeks at the Palladium in London. They are scheduled to return Stateside Aug. 8.
Martin and Lewis expect to bring their zany, antics to USAFE-USAREUR troops in England, France and Germany.
“We don’t have any definite troop-entertainment itinerary,” Dean said. “We won’t have any until we get over (here) and get the green light from the military people.”
“But we will entertain the fellows, that’s for real,” chimed in Jerry. “And I like it! I like it!”
Martin and Lewis spoke of their projected trip during a rehearsal of their final NBC comedy hour television show for the season.
“You know, we’ve done three hitches in the services — Army, Navy and Air Force,” Jerry cracked, quickly adding: “Yeah, we gave our all to Paramount!”
He was referring to their service-background movies, “At War, with the Army,” “Sailor Beware,” and “Jumping Jacks.”
Dean is 36, and is really Dino Crossetti from Steubenville, Ohio. Jerry is 27, and is actually Joseph Levitch from Newark, N. J. They teamed up in 1945.
Dean has been described as Mr. Sex Appeal, Jerry as Mr. Zany.
Columnist Earl Wilson’s description of Jerry: “He looks like something that a missionary might have decided wasn’t worth bothering about.”
Martin and Lewis are strictly slapstick and nonsense. It’s not so much what Jerry says, but his mannerisms. Martin is the singer and straight man in the act.
This will be their first trip abroad. How will the British take ’em? The team’s press agent says Motion Picture Daily rates them No. 3 box-office in England.
On the eve of their departure for England, Martin and Lewis are. holding a press conference exclusively for the British press represented in the U.S.
