'The Day the Clown Cried,' Jerry Lewis' infamously terrible Holocaust movie

(JTA) - In 1993 the film critic Shawn Levy was working on a biography of Jerry Lewis when, sitting down with the comedian on his yacht, Levy gingerly asked him about "The Day the Clown Cried."

Levy knew the film, Lewis' unreleased Holocaust movie, was likely to be a touchy subject for the legendary funnyman. Even so, the response was apoplectic.

"I've never been yelled at like that in my entire life," Levy recalled to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency three decades later. He recited the string of insults the once astronomically popular Jewish performer threw at him for having the gall to inquire a...