US comedian Jerry Lewis has died in Las Vegas at the age of 91, US media report. Lewis, who died of natural causes, was one of the most successful and revered actors in the history of Hollywood.
Jerry Lewis in 1961's The Ladies ManImage: picture-alliance/Everett Collection
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"Legendary entertainer Jerry Lewis passed away peacefully today of natural causes at 91 at his home with family by his side," his family said in statement for Las Vegas Review Journal on Sunday.
Lewis in "The Nutty Professor"Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Everett Collection
Lewis, one of the most successful Hollywood comedians, had a career spanning vaudeville, radio, television, film and philanthropy. He became the highest paid actor in Hollywood with hits such as The Bell Boy, Cinderfella and The Nutty Professor. His other popular films included 1983's The King of Comedy, in which he played a talk show host stalked by Robert de Niro.
Lewis' 10-year partnership with actor Dean Martin saw them star in 16 films and achieve huge box office success. He continued to be successful on Broadway and in 1995 became the highest-paid star in its history.
His last big-screen appearance was in the title role of the 2013 film "Max Rose," playing an aging jazz pianist who questions his marriage after learning that his wife of 65 years may have been unfaithful.
It was his first movie in 18 years, following the 1995 comedy "Funny Bones." That same year, he made his Broadway debut in a revival of the musical "Damn Yankees."
Lewis was one of the most successful Hollywood comediansImage: Imago/United Archives
Successful and revered
Lewis modeled himself after earlier filmmakers such as Charlie Chaplin and was revered by famous Hollywood directors like Martin Scorsese and Jerry Seinfeld.
"I learned from my dad that when you walk in front of an audience, they are the kings and queens, and you're but the jester," Lewis said last year. "And if you don't think that way, you're going to get very, very conceited."
Lewis was born in March 1926 in New Jersey into a family of entertainers - his father a vaudeville performer, his mother a piano player.
"I was tall, skinny, gawky; cute but funny-looking. With the voice God had given me, I certainly wasn't going to be a singer like my dad, with his Al Jolson baritone. I always saw the humor in things, the joke possibilities. At the same time, I didn't have the confidence to stand on a stage and talk," the late comedian wrote in his 2005 memoir Dean and Me: A Love Story.
Charitable pursuits
Even in later years, audiences gathered to see the legendary entertainer and philanthropistImage: Getty Images/E. Miller
Lewis was not only known as an entertainer, but also as a celebrity who gave back. He was the ringmaster, emcee, and public face of the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon, raising funds for "Jerry's Kids," children who suffer from the degenerative condition. He concluded each daylong telethon with his personal anthem, the ballad "You'll Never Walk Alone." From their inception in the 1960s, the telethons raised over $1.5 billion dollars for the charity. In 2011 he stepped down as host, but remained chair of the association he had joined 60 years ago.
shs/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
Jerry Lewis - a lifetime of laughter
Since first stepping onstage at age five, US comedian Jerry Lewis kept audiences howling for nearly a century. DW looks at the career highlights of the actor, director, producer and philanthropist who died on August 20.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G.Horcajuelo
Joseph or Jerome?
The son of two vaudeville entertainers, Jerome or Joseph Levitch was born in 1926 in New Jersey. (It's not clear which one was his legal first name.) He started performing at age five and by 15 had developed his own comedy act using the stage name Jerry Lewis. He dropped out of high school and started performing in nightclubs without any sustained success.
Image: Imago/United Archives
The Martin and Lewis Show
Fate stepped in when Lewis (right) met young crooner Dean Martin (left). The two formed a comedy duo in 1946 that drew laughs from their improvised mad-cap interactions rather than scripted sets. Lewis described the comedians' on-stage relationship as "sex and slapstick." Lewis and Martin performed together in clubs, radio shows, 16 films and on their own NBC show until splitting in 1956.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Everett Collection
Earning laughs in 'The Nutty Professor'
Lewis' solo career took him to Hollywood, where he directed and starred in dozens of films. One of his biggest hits was "The Nutty Professor" from 1963 (above), a split personality tale in which Lewis alternated between a shy chemistry professor and a bravado-exuding nightclub singer. The film drew laughs, box office profits, and critical acclaim for its combination of comedy and psychology.
But Lewis' talent as an actor went beyond antics and slapstick. In 1982, Lewis (left) starred in Martin Scorsese's dark satire "The King of Comedy," playing the dramatic role of a talk show host who is stalked by an unstable wanna-be comedian, played by Robert de Niro (right). Critics enjoyed the movie as a whole, describing it as creepy and unsettling, but it didn't do well at the box office.
Lewis continued to perform on and off into his 80s, despite battling various health issues such as prostate cancer. His last in-screen appearance was "Max Rose," which was presented at Cannes in 2013, the same year the festival honored Lewis' lifetime contribution to film. His advice to aspiring comedians was simple: "Be a hit. Score. Get the audience laughing and happy. That's the secret."
Image: Getty Images/S.C.Wilson
Charity fundraiser
Throughout his career, Lewis was a vocal advocate for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), hosting the organization's annual Labor Day telethon fundraiser from 1966 through 2010. In his 61 years as MDA national chairman, Lewis helped raise over $1.5 billion (1.3 billion euros). Lewis, who married twice, is survived by five sons and one daughter.