Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:59 a.m. EST

Jerry Lewis Enters France's Legion of Honor


France formalized its fascination with Jerry Lewis Thursday with a
uniquely Gallic gift for his 80th birthday: a medal and induction into
the Legion of Honor.

Lewis, who has long been venerated in France, received the honorary
title of "Legion Commander" in a raucous ceremony in Paris - hamming
it up for the cameras, winking, sticking out his tongue and making his
trademark funny faces.

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True to form, the American comedian turned what is generally a sober
event - set in a gilded hall of the Ministry of Culture - into a
virtual slapstick routine.

Lewis, who bucked formality by wearing slippers to the ceremony,
clowned around with Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres -
yawning, checking his watch, and even pretending to fall asleep during
Donnedieu's 20-minute-long speech in French. The crowd roared at
Lewis' antics, their laughter often drowning out Donnedieu's lofty
words.

At one point, Lewis tried to snatch the prepared speech off the
podium, but an affable Donnedieu persevered. "The longer my remarks
last the better," he told the audience, "so you can keep on enjoying
Jerry Lewis' comic talents."



When he finally took the microphone, Lewis apologized for not speaking
French, but said that "even if the French people cannot hear my
language, they have always heard my heart."

Lewis applauded the country's sense of humor, saying he believed it
"took France through all those difficult years, and will take it
through difficult times now because the French are not afraid to
laugh."

Ministry officials wheeled in a massive cake, and the audience sang
"Happy Birthday," delivered with a heavy French accent.

Lewis said he was flattered by his induction into the Legion of Honor,
and said he had been "gloriously elevated" by the award. He was one of
37 foreigners to have received the title over the past three years.

"The French people are the best in the world," Lewis said.
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

"Gunner" wrote in message
...
Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:59 a.m. EST

Jerry Lewis Enters France's Legion of Honor

snipped

podium, but an affable Donnedieu persevered. "The longer my remarks
last the better," he told the audience, "so you can keep on enjoying
Jerry Lewis' comic talents."

snipped (what talents?)


"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

I can't help myself. Got to respond to this. I could never find anything
funny about Jerry Lewis, even when I was a kid. Just never got it. Nothing
but silliness, in my estimation. Am I the only one? I don't think I'm
humorless in any way. Never had any trouble laughing at things that all
those around me also thought was funny, except this guy. I just never got
it. God bless the man for all the good he's done in his life, but I just
couldn't ever see him as funny.

Garrett Fulton

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:12:31 -0500, "gfulton"
wrote:


"Gunner" wrote in message
.. .
Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:59 a.m. EST

Jerry Lewis Enters France's Legion of Honor

snipped

podium, but an affable Donnedieu persevered. "The longer my remarks
last the better," he told the audience, "so you can keep on enjoying
Jerry Lewis' comic talents."

snipped (what talents?)


"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

I can't help myself. Got to respond to this. I could never find anything
funny about Jerry Lewis, even when I was a kid. Just never got it. Nothing
but silliness, in my estimation. Am I the only one? I don't think I'm
humorless in any way. Never had any trouble laughing at things that all
those around me also thought was funny, except this guy. I just never got
it. God bless the man for all the good he's done in his life, but I just
couldn't ever see him as funny.

Garrett Fulton

prat falls and mugging can be funny. Im quite the fan of Monty
Python..and the funniest movie ever made, bar none..was "Its a Mad Mad
Mad Mad Mad World"

God bless Lewis..he has kept on keeping on for a very long time..and
his crippled children thing is supposed to be one of the better ones.

Gunner



"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:45:24 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:16:33 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Gunner
quickly quoth:

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:12:31 -0500, "gfulton"
wrote:
I can't help myself. Got to respond to this. I could never find anything
funny about Jerry Lewis, even when I was a kid. Just never got it. Nothing
but silliness, in my estimation. Am I the only one? I don't think I'm
humorless in any way. Never had any trouble laughing at things that all
those around me also thought was funny, except this guy. I just never got
it. God bless the man for all the good he's done in his life, but I just
couldn't ever see him as funny.

Garrett Fulton

prat falls and mugging can be funny. Im quite the fan of Monty
Python..and the funniest movie ever made, bar none..was "Its a Mad Mad
Mad Mad Mad World"

God bless Lewis..he has kept on keeping on for a very long time..and
his crippled children thing is supposed to be one of the better ones.

A big Hurrah! for his charity work, but I have to say that I'm right
with Garrett: Jerry Lewis is not funny. I've never much liked forced
humor or slapstick, at least not since I was 7 years old.

I love MP but much preferred The Holy Grail to Mad World and like
their drier British humor. I can still remember most of the words to
Nick Danger, Third Eye, too, so let's not forget Firesign Theatre.

Remember the TV series, Hunter? Fred Dryer's low-key humor had me in
fits. I also like the quick 1-liners in Steven Seagal's movies, and in
the new SciFi series, Surface.

Low-key, intelligent humor does it for me!

Neee!


And of course the obligitory one liners in the Swartzenegger movies

After supending a bad guy by a leg over a cliff..then dropping
dropping him...

"Wheres So and So?

"I let him go"

Etc

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3

'Better hurry up Sully, this is my WEAK arm'.......

That and the self repairing car, left turn, fixed, right turn damaged, left
turn fixed.......

Bill


"Gunner" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:45:24 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:


snip


And of course the obligitory one liners in the Swartzenegger movies

After supending a bad guy by a leg over a cliff..then dropping
dropping him...

"Wheres So and So?

"I let him go"

Etc

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3

Okay, so I'm late and catching up, but Gunner
wrote on Tue, 21 Mar 2006 17:01:13 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :


And of course the obligitory one liners in the Swartzenegger movies

After supending a bad guy by a leg over a cliff..then dropping
dropping him...

"Wheres So and So?

"I let him go"

Etc

Steven Segal in some movie, explaining what had happened: "One thought
he was immortal, the other thought he could fly. They were both wrong."

pyotr

"Yippie Yi Kiyae, Muther F*ck!"
--
pyotr filipivich.
as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."