Who said hey lady

I sat on the couch. I answered in the affirmative, in no doubt some squeaky, overly enthusiastic way. And then he did the strangest, most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me in my career as a sometime celebrity reporter. He did a pratfall for me. It would be impossible to overstate the instantaneous elegance of it—and it was ad-libbed. And it involved a pot of hot coffee, which he held aloft and intact, without spilling a drop, even as he faked a stumble, fell to the floor, rolled, and recovered, primly pouring coffee into an empty cup on the coffee table.

As if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Things got stranger and more wonderful still as Lewis then rolled on his back and started kicking his legs and waving his arms in the air while doing his crazy Jerry Lewis barking-seal guffaw.

It was the kind of thing that had sent me and my brothers and cousins into paroxysms of giggles back when we would watch Jerry Lewis movies— The Bellboy , Cinderfella , The Nutty Professor , The Patsy —on television, lying on the terrazzo floor in our pajamas. It was the little girl in me who giggled through the next couple of hours with Lewis. After a while, the other reporters were sent home and asked to come back tomorrow. He seemed more comfortable making me laugh than answering my questions.

By then a veteran of 50 years of show business, I imagine he had heard all the questions. I could almost hear the ding of the carriage return. It saddened me that Lewis died with the sound of anti-Semitic slurs once again ringing in our ears. I prefer to remember him as we finished up that day, when I left and got on the elevator; he followed me, on his way to rehearsal. There was a lone woman in the elevator with us, and her eyes went wide when she saw the great comedian. Here, he holds court on nuns, nymphomaniacs, and a certain philandering governor.

Whether you are aware of their legendary friendship or not, their tearful reunion is bound to touch your heart. It's live TV at its best — unpredictable, moving, and raw.

Lewis' career is full of iconic scenes. Every frame of The Nutty Professor is a national treasure, and his high-pitched call of, "Hey Laaaaady! The man was a true performer whose gift for physical comedy was unparalleled in his time.

But those pratfalls were practiced and the lines were memorized. Seeing Lewis reunite with Martin is to see him caught truly unaware. That he can still crack jokes through his tears is the truest testament to his talent.

It would be wonderful if their reunion led to a new beginning for the two men, but they never did get their act back together. Although, they did keep in touch over the years, particularly after the death of Martin's son in Their lives took different paths, but at least for Lewis, the loved they shared never faded.

It stays with you until death, and I don't know that it doesn't continue. Watching Martin surprise his old pal on live TV will make you inclined to believe that Lewis was right. But more than that, it will allow you to see a moment in TV history that can never, ever be repeated, especially now that these two giants of the industry are gone. Perhaps, somewhere out there, Lewis is once again greeting his old friend by asking, "So, have you been working?