Comedy legend Jerry Lewis passed away at age 91 this weekend. His contribution to pop culture — and culture — are undeniable, but here’s something you might not know: Jerry Lewis is undefeated in a pro wrestling ring, thanks to a little (lot of) help from his also legendary tag team partner, Andre the Giant. As if Jerry Lewis needed another excuse to be revered by the French.
The bout happened on a 1976 episode of The Mike Douglas Show, and saw Jerry and Andre take on Mike Douglas and super-heavyweight wrestler Chris Taylor. If you’ve ever seen the famous image of Andre hoisting Douglas over his head, it’s from this. Fun note: that’s legendary wrestler and promoter Verne Gagne as the referee, meaning Jerry Lewis once wrestled in a match featuring not one, but two future WWE Hall of Fame inductees.
Old Wrestling Pics shared a great image from the show on Sunday, featuring Verne, Chris Taylor, Andre and Jerry. Not Jerry Lewis’ fearlessness in no-selling a choke from the Giant.
RIP Jerry Lewis. Pictured here with Verne Gagne, Chris Taylor and Andre. Jerry no selling the choke from the giant. pic.twitter.com/iiiJfGXfB4
— Old Wrestling Pics (@OldWrestlingPic) August 20, 2017
If you remember Bob Uecker’s time with Andre, you know how rough that choke can be. The best part is that years later, Lewis brought Hulk Hogan onto one of his telethons.
That means Jerry Lewis of all people had televised segments with both sides of the WrestleMania 3 main event. We’ll keep looking to see if Jerry’s legendary career involved any 60-minute broadways with Ric Flair.
