Catcher: The movie!

Scott Wachtler (sfvat@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us)
Wed, 09 Jul 1997 16:12:19 -0400 (EDT)

After reading all the posts about Catcher as a movie, I
remembered a story a once read in Spy magazine.  What I'm about
to say is going to sound very strange, but it's true.  I read it
in a few places.  A few years ago Spy did a story about Jerry Lewis
and some of the strange ideas he's pitched to producers for
movies.  One was a surreal WWII movie about a clown hired to
entertain children in a Nazi Concentration camp before they were
to be gassed(!) and the other was his adaptation of Catcher In
The Rye with good ol Jerry (Hello, LADY!!) Lewis as Holden!  
When I read the article I thought it  had to be a one of Spy's
Pranks so I went to the local library and looked through a few of
Jerry Lewis's bio's and sure enough it was true.  He actively
searched out Salinger and even had a few meetings with him, but
nothing, thankfully, came of it.  Can you imagine if that had
happened?  I think the world would have been a different place. 
One thing is certain.  The French would have loved it!

Has anyone else ever heard this story?

Scott Wachtler

BTW:  I wouldn't be opposed to a movie of CITR, but I doubt it could be be
as good as the book.