Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis (born Gary Harold Lee Levitch; July 31, 1945) is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Early life Gary Lewis is the son of Jerry Lewis and singer Patti Palmer. His mother, who was performing at the time with the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra, intended to name him after her favorite actor, Cary Grant, but her son became "Gary" as the result of a clerical error. He received a set of drums as a gift for his 15th birthday in 1960. When he was 18, Lewis formed the band "Gary and the Playboys" with four friends. Joking at the lateness of bandmates to practice, Lewis referred to them as "playboys", and the name stuck. Lewis was the drummer, and Dave Walker was the singer and guitarist. Gary's mother was quietly funding the purchases of equipment as they believed Gary's father would not support the band financially. Without the Lewis cachet, the band was relatively anonymous. Even though he lived down the street from the Lewis family, producer Snuff Garrett was not aware of the band until a mutual friend, conductor Les Brown, informed him that the group was appearing at Disneyland and that Garrett should give them a listen. Lewis was drafted into the United States Army. During his two years of service, he spent two months at the Saigon Airport during the Vietnam War, and the remainder of the time in South Korea.