Jerry Lewis died on Sunday...

...at age 91 and you can count me among those who just didn't "get" his comedy. (Maybe it's because I'm not French.)

But his obit in the Times allows me to return to one of my favorite subjects, Nature vs. Nurture. Dave Kehr writes:

The experience of being passed from home to home left Mr. Lewis with an enduring sense of insecurity and, as he observed, a desperate need for attention and affection.

Really? How do you know that, Mr. Kehr?

In fairness, I feel like you see and hear things like that all the time. So-and-so was such-and-such because of some particular experience from his childhood. They never seem to add a "maybe" or any other qualifying word. No, it's usually delivered with a great deal of confidence, as if it's beyond question. But I always want to say, How do you know? Maybe that person is a certain way because of his DNA, not because of some life-shaping event from his upbringing. Maybe Mr. Lewis had "an enduring sense of insecurity and a desperate need for attention and affection" because he was born that way. Would you be surprised if one or both of his parents were that way? I'd be surprised if they weren't.