Jerry Lewis nutty about new show

Legendary entertainer Jerry Lewis, on the brink of returning to Broadway in his energetic 80s, is nutty over his latest project.

"I'm bringing a helluva goddamn show to Broadway. It's going to be a blast. It's unbelievable," gushed Lewis, who is directing a Broadway version of his 1963 film classic, "The Nutty Professor."

Composer Marvin Hamlisch, one of only two people to have been awarded an Emmy, an Oscar, a Tony and a Pulitzer Prize, has written "18 of the best songs," said Lewis, who had just returned from New York and his first table reading.

Casting begins in a few weeks, he said, and the show is scheduled to start on Broadway in October or November.

Lewis is joining his production crew three weeks from Monday, and he has a meeting scheduled soon with James Nederlander, president of the Nederlander Organization, the largest operator of live theater and music in the country.

"I'd love to get the Marquis Theater on Broadway," Lewis said. "It's where I did 'Damn Yankees' in the mid-1990s.

"I'm directing the show in a manner in which you need space," Lewis said, who turns 84 in March.

In "The Nutty Professor," Lewis played a nerdish bucktoothed professor who drinks a potion that transforms him into skirt-chasing hipster Buddy Love, who has an obnoxious streak. The fun starts when effects of the serum wear off.

Lewis had something else he wanted to discuss: the Shecky Greene matter.

I reported here last month that Greene, near the end of his Jan. 9 show at the South Point, asked a hotel employee if Lewis was in the house.

Informed that Lewis was there, Greene went into an introduction that veered off track and ended with a story about Lewis not inviting Greene back to perform on the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon long hosted by Lewis.

At the end of the "introduction," Greene directed a two-word obscenity at Lewis.

Yes, he heard it, said Lewis, who was seen leaving the theater shortly after Greene made the comments.

"We waited until he was finished and we left," Lewis said. "The truth of the matter was he had quit the business. All of my talent people who had him on the top of their lists said he was gone."

Lewis took issue with a sentence in the item that said Greene was going to write a letter of apology, according to a source.

"You shouldn't use that source any more," Lewis said. "Shecky came to my house the next day. He brought flowers for Sam (wife SanDee) and so many boxes of See's Candy that it's coming out of my ears. And he presented me with a check for $50,000 for the MDA."

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons has moved to Las Vegas. I ran into her last week at the Chamber of Commerce's Preview Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center. She was waiting to say hello to one of the featured speakers, MGM Mirage chairman and chief executive Jim Murren. She has moved into a home at the Las Vegas Country Club. "I'm renting until I get a little check from up north," she said, referring to her pending divorce settlement with Gov. Jim Gibbons. Why Las Vegas? "I love the people and the energy," she said. ...

Twenty four hours before her reign ended, Miss America Katie Stam got the biggest surprise of her wild year: an engagement ring from her boyfriend, Brian Irk, a personal trainer from Indianapolis. He walked on stage during Miss America's "Evening of Dreams" and popped the question.

SIGHTINGS

Actress Glenn Close, with her family Saturday at Society Café (Encore) for lunch. ... New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, at "O" (Bellagio) on Saturday. He dined Friday at N9NE Steakhouse before joining a large group at XS nightclub (Encore). ... Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, at Tao (The Venetian) Friday night. ... Actress Kirsten Dunst, partying Friday with galpals at Lavo (Palazzo). ... At Joe's Stone Crab, Prime Steak & Seafood (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Saturday: former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, with author Nora Ephron and her husband, Nicholas Pileggi, best known for mob books/movies "Casino" and "Goodfellas." At another table: comedy icon Yakov Smirnoff.

THE PUNCH LINE

"This Tiger Woods thing is having an effect on a lot of people. In fact, earlier today, Elizabeth Edwards went out and bought a new set of golf clubs. I didn't even know that she played." -- Jay Leno

Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.