Jerry Lewis celebrates 86th birthday

3/18/2012

NEW YORK — Jerry Lewis did not turn 86 quietly.

The comedian and filmmaker flew in to New York from Las Vegas for an hours-long celebration Friday night.

It started with an onstage interview at Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y, then continued in midtown at the Friars Club, where hundreds gathered to sing happy birthday to Lewis, who added his trademark goofy voice. Wearing a dark blazer and bright red shirt, Lewis sat at a corner table in the club’s Frank Sinatra room, with Richard Belzer and Robert Klein among those at his table. His meal included a slice of birthday cake, a three-tiered production decorated with movie stills, a microphone and miniatures of the performer.

Lewis is known for such movies as “The Nutty Professor,” and for hosting the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s telethon.