Jerry Rigged: A Jerry Lewis hoax fools French President Chirac.

Entertainment Weekly ^ | 03/19/03 | Liane Bonin

[aculeus]

President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac may not be phone pals anymore, but that didn't stop Chirac from discussing Saddam Hussein, the war in Iraq, and other serious issues with another famous American: Jerry Lewis.

Except it turns out that the man who had a five-minute phone conversation with Chirac last week wasn't Lewis, but rather a Los Angeles DJ impersonating the comedian. A source at KROQ 106.7 confirms that ''Kevin and Bean Show'' entertainment reporter Ralph Garman got through to Chirac by claiming to be France's most loved American funnyman -- a prank that has the real Lewis considering legal action. ''Jerry is outraged that this impersonation occurred, especially at this critical time in the conduct of foreign policy,'' Alan Isaacman, Lewis' attorney, tells EW.com. ''These are life and death matters, and the last thing that's needed is someone getting involved in this situation in a false manner. It's reprehensible and irresponsible, and we intend to pursue the appropriate remedies.'' (KROQ declined to comment on the hoax.)

EW.com procured a tape of the phone call, during which Chirac assured Garman, ''I recognize your voice, no doubt about that'' and talked freely about why he isn't supporting an attack on Iraq, noting, ''The resolution [Bush] wanted to send [to the United Nations] a few days ago says [Iraq] has one week before the attack, and that is not reasonable, you know... In fact, the United States has already won the war, because Saddam now accepts [sic] to be disarmed from the inspectors. They've won.''

Chirac also expressed appreciation for at least one of Bush's prewar tactics: ''Without the boys [the military] sent over there, we would not have had the result of Saddam accepting to disarm. But now that we've achieved that, we can avoid war. The United States has to be very careful, because if people hold this against them, it's not good for the equilibrium of the world.''

Chirac then invited the faux Lewis to visit him in Paris, noting, ''Understand one thing: France and I will always be friends with America, even if we have two different views of this problem.''

Although the phone call got Lewis an invite to the French presidential palace, it violates FCC regulations, which mandate that the caller must notify the other party if a phone conversation is to be broadcast. ''We can't speak about a case directly, but the violation of this rule has caused us to take action against other radio stations in the past,'' an FCC spokesman tells EW.com.

This isn't the first time ''The Kevin and Bean Show'' has pulled off a prank, according to the Los Angeles Times. On June 13, 1990, Ryder and Baxter asked Arizona DJ Doug Roberts to call the station with a phony murder confession. The hoax attracted national media attention when the producers of ''Unsolved Mysteries'' broadcast the call on the show and local authorities were inundated with leads. After 10 months, the call was revealed to be a hoax. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department presented the DJs with a bill for $12,170 for wasted man hours, and they were ordered to serve 149 hours of community service by their employer.

[Oztrich Boy]

Note to M. Chirac: A serious leader does not take calls from comedians during a world crisis.

I don't understand your point.
Chirac thought the call was actually from Jerry Lewis.

[cmsgop]

This isn't the first time ''The Kevin and Bean Show'' has pulled off a prank, according to the Los Angeles Times. On June 13, 1990, Ryder and Baxter asked Arizona DJ Doug Roberts to call the station with a phony murder confession. The hoax attracted national media attention when the producers of ''Unsolved Mysteries'' broadcast the call on the show and local authorities were inundated with leads. After 10 months, the call was revealed to be a hoax. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department presented the DJs with a bill for $12,170 for wasted man hours, and they were ordered to serve 149 hours of community service by their employer.

I was working there at the time when this happend.Right after that (Doug Roberts) (Doug The Slug) was hired for the 9-midnight shift at KROQ. This was all engineered by Andy Shoun the PD at the time. Although he himself was never implicated, it was common knowledge at the time to the staff.

[headsonpikes]

.....and Jerry Lewis is not a comedian.

Ha...got it.

[weegee]

"First I started out with a cigarette in my hand and the cool voice of the serious Jerry. I held a pregnant pause as I spoke with Mr. Chirac, I removed my glasses, mussed my hair... An' then I said, Hey------y La-----dy! That really cracked Jaques up!"

[SGCOS]

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Bump. And to borrow a phrase from mhking (once again): Just damn.

[Spiff]

''Jerry is outraged that this impersonation occurred, especially at this critical time in the conduct of foreign policy,'' Alan Isaacman, Lewis' attorney, tells EW.com. ''These are life and death matters, and the last thing that's needed is someone getting involved in this situation in a false manner. It's reprehensible and irresponsible, and we intend to pursue the appropriate remedies.''

Get over yourself you aging, worthless has-been. Like you actually matter THAT much. What a joke. Your conversation with Chirac would be no more (maybe less) important than the prankster's conversation. Life and death!? Not hardly, dinosaur.

[dennisw]

Hheheheheh... I was gonna post that one.

[dennisw]

The ultimate phone prank fro 2003 !!!!! Hahahhaha

[PJ-Comix]

Right now the DUmmies are experiencing the same MENTAL MELTDOWN that they had on Election Night 2002. Check out the DUmmy FORUM to get an idea of the Shock & Awe they are now experiencing. Almost ALL the threads over there are HILARIOUS!!!

Click HERE for a DUmmy Laugh!!!

[Tribune7]

I did. You're right. It was pretty funny.

[Tribune7]

It was good, but the best one was when those Miami DJs pretended to be Castro and got Hugo Chavez on the phone.

[PJ-Comix]

I just got a warning not to post the link to the DUmmy Forum. OK, I won't anymore but I just had to make an exception this time. I think their Mental Meltdown this time will end up even worse than it was on Election Night 2002. I remember it was so bad for them back then that the site actually shut down for a few days. Hopefully they will shut down for a few weeks as a result of their current Mental Meltdown.

[dennisw]

Thanks for the heads up!

[breakem]

I recal it was steroids for a bad back.

[Anomaly in Illinois]

ping

[MarMema]

too funny.

[A CA Guy]

Lewis is right though. Somebody interfering with international affairs in HIS name and not their own is a serious issue. Especially with war on the brink.

Lewis should sue this station and the joker into the poor house.

I think Lewis is right in this case.

I understand the immature humor in it, but whenever you use another's identity, you can be at risk.
After all, if they used Lewis's credit card they'd be in jail.
In this case they used Lewis's name and prowess to make contact with someone that would not talk to him. Recourse should be an issue here.

[PJ-Comix]

De Nada. I can't post any more DUmmy links since I got a warning on that. Hey, I usually DON'T post that link but the DUmmy MENTAL MELTDOWN is so great that I just had to share the laughs.

BTW, the DUmmies are so into conspiracy theories that they make Michael Rivero look like a lightweight. Thread after thread over there rants on about how something called "PNAC" is the secret force behind the war on Iraq. At first I didn't know what the hell "PNAC" was. Anyway, I just found out it was "Partnership For A New American Century." It's the latest conspiracy theory grasped desperately by the Shocked & Awed DUmmies.

[Happy2BMe]

Love it!

"Let me speak to Jacqueie Chirackie"