Jerry Lewis was an amazing talent who battled the contradictions and paradoxes of his own self-created image. On screen, in his solo films and in those he made with Dean Martin in the early Fifties, he embodied a fool's persona; a quasi-brilliant idiot character who produced laughs. Off screen, he was a cruel, selfish and insecure egomaniac with little or no self-awareness who preyed on women. Laughter directed at oneself is a great gift possessed by very few people. Ironically, Jerry Lewis was not one of them.  

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For good reason, and to be clear, it is to both Jerry Lewis' character and his character that the Jerry Lewis Award pays tribute. Acknowledging the two faces he presented to the public, this award is intended to honor those individuals who create problems where no problems exist; who take a stable situation and destabilize it; and who, in the end, reveal themselves to be both idiot and asshole. This is the strict criteria that eligible nominees must meet in order to merit consideration for the coveted Jerry Lewis Award.  

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