Jerry Lewis's career is divided into four The Martin and Lewis period, from 1949 to 1956; the solo apprenticeship years, from 1956 to 1959; Lewis, the writer-director, from 1960 to 1965;and the string of artistic failures from 1966 to 1970. After that came the layoff, from 1971 to 1979, and the comeback, beginning in 1980. This book is as stated an analytical filmography of the innovative comic.