Friday, September 19, 2008

Norm and Jerry



Further Adventures in Internet Archaeology



I came across the above photo of classic American Illustrator and Painter Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) and classic American funnyman (and idol of Gallic cinemaistas) Jerry Lewis while doing some research for a totally different blog. My initial reaction was "not another photo-shopped image featuring Jerry". But further Internet archaeology revealed the following movie poster for Cinderfella, Jerry's version of the Cinderella story from 1960.





That is obviously a Norman Rockwell illustration. Don't believe me? Still further investigation lead me to the black and white original:



That is clearly Norman's signature below Jerry's left shoulder (for the record, that's Italian actress and singer Anna Maria Alberghetti standing behind Jerry, along with Ed Wynn as his fairy godfather and another image of Jerry before his transformation into the "handsome" prince.

I would say that the photo is authentic and was probably taken when Norman was visiting the set. I wonder what he and Jerry are looking at?


Fun Michael Fact: I work in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a small New England town nestled in the Berkshire Mountains. Norman Rockwell spent the last 25 years of his life here and it's a living monument to his memory. My office is actually in an 18th century building that once housed the Norman Rockwell Museum and old Good Ol' Norm's former studio is stone's throw up Main Street (of course there's a Main Street here!). Welcome to small town Americana.


2 comments:

  1. Being thye HUGE Rockwell fan that I am ( and truly, I simply cannot get enough of his sappy crap,err, umm, I mean his "timeless treasures "... ) I would have LOVEd to be a fly on the wall for this meeting. A summit of two of the most brilliant examples of American Arts representing the finest of the Performing and Creative Arts ??? Damn - - why is THIS image not on one of those lovely collector plates ??

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  2. Knowing how much you love Rockwell, I couldn't wait for your reply! In fact I wrote this blog with you in mind. Just think of it as a "thank you" for telling me about the "I'm Voting Republican" video.

    Collector Plate? I think that's an image worthy of a US Postal Stamp!

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