Plot
When lounge singer Dean Martin (Northam) and burlesque comic Jerry Lewis (Hayes) clicked during an impromptu pairing in 1946, neither anticipated their unparalleled success as a team. Lewis was going nowhere fast with an act built around miming to records, while Martin was making a subpar living as a crooner, sleeping on his agent's couch. Lewis had beseeched his agent to reteam him with the reluctant Martin; Lewis instigated their act and adopted the jaded pro as his unofficial big brother. Ever aloof, Martin is content to cash in on the bonanza and continue his sideline in womanizing. But as Lewis assumes more control, Martin’s mistress, Jeanne (Levering), nags him to take more credit. From bistros to radio to television, the seductive singer and the wacky stooge click with audiences. As the act takes Hollywood by storm in 1949, Lewis becomes paranoid about Martin’s popularity; psychosomatic stomach pains become his way of grabbing attention. Handsome and effortlessly charming, Martin successfully launches a solo acting career, in part to escape Lewis’s directorial aspirations and oppressive neediness. When Martin is called on the carpet by his wife, Betty (Cale), he walks out on his family; his frustration and resentment at being part of a two-headed showbiz monster only increases. Engineered by managers and agents, the last lap of the Martin-Lewis partnership is a cheerless financial arrangement, and though each triumphs after the official split in 1956, neither ever recaptures the elation of their early chemistry.
Dean Martin was an American singer, actor, comedian and television host. One of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, he was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio and television and in films.
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, he had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of You Can't Take It with You. Shortly after, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway play Take a Giant Step. Gossett continued acting onstage in critically acclaimed plays these include A Raisin in the Sun (1959), The Blacks (1961), Tambourines to Glory (1963) and The Zulu and the Zayda (1965). Also, Gossett added many roles in films and on television to his résumé, as well as released music. In 1977, Gossett gained wide recognition for his role of Fiddler in the popular miniseries Roots, for which he won Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards.
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor, comedian, musician and producer. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained acclaim for his role as Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received nominations for six Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards, winning one of the latter.
Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American actress. She began her career on stage, acting in several plays throughout the early 1990s, including Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters on Broadway. Her film career began with the role of a police psychologist in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992). Her other film roles include The Firm (1993), Waterworld (1995) and Sliding Doors (1998). On television, she starred as Barbara Henrickson on the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011) and as Dr. Alex Blake on the CBS police drama Criminal Minds (2012–2014), and she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 2009 HBO movie Grey Gardens.
S. Epatha Merkerson is an American actress. She has received accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, two Obie Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. She is known for her portrayal of NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series. She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med since the series premiered in November 2015
Kate Levering is an American actress and dancer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the 2001 musical 42nd Street. She is best known for her role as Kim Kaswell in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Drop Dead Diva.
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin was a nightclub singer, while Lewis performed a comedy act lip-synching to records.
Edgar J. Scherick was an American television executive and producer of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.
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My Friend Irma is a 1949 American comedy film starring John Lund, Diana Lynn, Don DeFore, and Marie Wilson. Directed by George Marshall, it featured the motion picture debut of the Martin and Lewis comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The film is based upon the CBS radio series My Friend Irma that first aired in 1947. Released by Paramount, it premiered in New York City on September 28,1949.
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Christian Duguay is a Canadian film director.
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Muse Entertainment is a Canadian producer of films and television programs founded by Michael Prupas in 1998. The company gained press attention in 2011 for their production of the multi-Emmy winning and nominated miniseries The Kennedys in association with Asylum Entertainment.
Inherit the Wind is a 1999 American made-for-television film adaptation of the 1955 play of the same name which originally aired on Showtime on May 29, 1999. The original play was written as a parable which fictionalized the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means of discussing the 1950s McCarthy trials.
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Georgia O'Keeffe is a 2009 American television biographical drama film, produced by City Entertainment in association with Sony Television, about noted American painter Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz. The film was directed by Bob Balaban, executive-produced by Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin and Joan Allen, and line-produced by Tony Mark. Shown on Lifetime Television, it starred Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons in lead roles.
The Twilight of the Golds is an American drama film directed by Ross Kagan Marks, based upon the play The Twilight of the Golds by Jonathan Tolins. The film was screened at the January 1997 Sundance Film Festival prior to its broadcast premiere on Showtime in March 1997. The cast includes Jennifer Beals, Brendan Fraser, Garry Marshall, Faye Dunaway and Jon Tenney. The film deals with the issue of fictional genetic testing, and asks the question – if testing could reveal the sexual orientation of your unborn child, and you knew he or she would be gay, would you abort?
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