Jerry Lewis died today, he was 91.
I remember him from his short lived TV show  and the Labor Day Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy.
When I was young, I memorized  his Announcer's Test.
An announcer's test is a test sometimes given to those wanting to be a
radio
or
television
announcer.
The tests usually involve retention, memory, repetition, enunciation, diction, and using every letter in the alphabet a variety of times.
This was the verbal radio Announcer's Test that had to be spoken in
one breath without mistakes.
Del Moore,
a long time friend of
Jerry Lewis,
took this test at Radio Central New York in 1941, and passed it on to him. Jerry has performed this test on radio, television and stage for many years,
and it has become a favorite
tongue-twister
(and memory challenge) for his fans around the world. Professional announcers would be asked to perform the entire speaking test within a single breath
without sounding rushed or out of breath.

One hen.
Two ducks.
Three squawking geese.
Four Limerick oysters.
Five corpulent porpoises.
Six pair of Don Alverzo's tweezers.
Seven thousand Macedonians in full battle array.
Eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt.
Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates, with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth.
Ten lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who stalk about the corners of the cove all at the same time.

There are many variations to this version, many having been passed from one person to another by
word of mouth.