If you're not reading a fine comic called Supernatural Law, you're missing out on one of the best books out there. Here's a link to its website. And what reminded me to tell you that is that I just received this message from that comic's creator, Batton Lash…
Regarding Jerry Lewis's story about one of his movies on a double bill with Deep Throat: I've heard this before, even from people other than Lewis. I agree with you; I don't believe it's a true story. However, I have a theory how it originated…
I recall that during the 60's, there was a chain of Jerry Lewis movie theaters (set up with Lewis's sanction, of course) specifically for movies that the whole family could enjoy. By the early 70's, some managers of the Jerry Lewis theater franchise were having a tough time attracting audiences and began moving away from family fare. This didn't seem to be a problem, until one manager booked a X-rated film. A photographer snapped a picture of the incongruous image of a "family theater", complete with the famous caricature of "Jerry the Kid" on a marquee, showcasing some triple "X" film. Newspapers — or maybe a magazine — ran the photo, which was quite embarrassing to Lewis.
I believe that over the years, this story morphed into an urban legend of a goofy Jerry Lewis movie on a double bill with a notorious porno flick as an example of how low the morals and good taste of modern life has sunk.
You know, not only are you probably right but I believe that thought had occurred to me once before when this was discussed. In the late sixties or early seventies, Jerry got involved in a plan to open a chain of movie theaters bearing his name across the land, mainly in malls and shopping centers. It was, as I recall, a franchise deal that was designed to attract the small investor. The parent company had invented a system of automated projection equipment, and they sold this to Jerry and then to investors as the new wave of film exhibition. One of the reasons I recall this is that Lewis went on Johnny Carson's show to plug the concept and he even brought on a scale model of a Jerry Lewis Theater. He used it to demonstrate how two people could run one and said something about how he hoped couples that believed in the concept of "family" movies would invest in setting these up in malls and running them.
I remember this because it was one of the few times I ever saw Carson really nail a guest who had pissed him off. I'm not sure if he was annoyed by Jerry trying to use his show for such a blatant sales pitch or what, but he turned to Jerry and said, "What happens if a couple invests their life savings in one of these and then it bombs?" Then, in his Aunt Blabby/old lady voice, Carson whined, "We got screwed out of your pension, Murray" or words to that effect. Lewis was stunned and unable to answer, the audience was hysterical, and I think it was the first time I ever heard "screwed" on a network TV show.
As it turned out, Johnny was prescient. The Jerry Lewis Mini-Cinema operation went belly-up. The accepted explanation I believe was that too many of them were opened by people with no expertise in the business of exhibiting movies — folks who often did not know what constituted a bad location. Often, they opened in malls that were too close to where one of the big theater chains operated, and the big chains would lock up most of the "hot" new releases on an exclusive-to-our-area deal. This made it difficult for the Jerry Lewis outlets to book movies that anyone wanted to see, especially since the contract with the Jerry Lewis Theater company specified only family films, which then weren't being made in great quantity. (Apparently, one of the appeals of the whole deal to Jerry — who was then not doing well in the movie business — was the notion that a whole network of such theaters would provide distribution for new Jerry Lewis movies. But the chain never became successful enough for that to happen.)
It was a pretty big disaster, money-wise. One night as Jerry came off-stage from a performance in Vegas, a man who appeared to be seeking an autograph slapped a subpoena in his hand — a lawsuit on behalf of many of the investors in the theaters. It was all finally settled, of course, but Jerry was pretty unhappy with the entire experience. And I believe it is true that near the end, some of those Jerry Lewis Theaters, straining desperately to stay in business, began booking films with more than a "PG" rating. I doubt any of them ever ran Deep Throat or any hardcore sex film, especially since most were in shopping malls. But perhaps they ran "R" films that outraged Jerry, or perhaps some were converted into the kind of theater that runs porn, and reports like that morphed into the Urban Legend of a double-bill of Deep Throat and a Jerry Lewis movie. But I don't believe there ever really was one.
By the way, (he said, slightly changing the subject) I miss double-features, if only because they gave us some wonderful marquee combos. My favorite was a theater in Santa Monica that offered Cold Turkey and Bananas, which is quite a tasty combo. And I always loved what a theater in Culver City called the Palms would come up with. I wrote a piece about the Palms and its double-features, and you can read it here. Thanks, Batton!