Jerry Lewis, Legendary Entertainer and Host of MDA Telethon, Dead at 91

“He had been slightly ill and spent some time in local hospitals, but came home and was planning on making stage appearances” in NY and Las Vegas, Candi Cazau, his publicist, confirmed on CNN.

In a statement from Lewis’ daughter Danielle, the comedian’s manager confirmed that on Sunday morning local time, “he passed peacefully at home of natural causes with his loving family at his side”.

Stars like Josh Gad, Jim Carrey, Dane Cook and more have penned moving tributes to the late comedian just moments after news of Lewis’ death broke. Lewis then had a successful solo career, starring in films such as The Nutty Professor and The Bellboy.

The pair reportedly did not speak as friends for several decades after their professional split, but reunited briefly in the 1960s professionally, and later in the 1980s.

Tributes to the legendary comedic actor poured in on social media nearly immediately after the announcement of his death. Give him one of your bear hugs for me.

“I got good health, I still got pretty hair, I’m still rocking”.

Whoopi Goldberg said: “Jerry Lewis passed today, millions around the world loved him, millions of kids he helped w/his telethons”.

Behind the clowning, Lewis was a complex character, some would say eccentric. I always saw the humor in things, the joke possibilities.

Lewis did philanthropic work as well, hosting The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon from 1966 to 2010.

When the Weinstein Company made a CGI animated version of the Nutty Professor in 2008, Lewis lent his voice to the character of Professor Kelp, the part he had played in the original 1963 film. Others attributed it to Lewis’ ego and need for control, as well as a desire for approval from the often-remote Martin.

He had been hospitalized for about five weeks beginning in early June for a urinary tract infection, keeping him from traveling to Toronto to appear in a film, his spokeswoman, Candi Cazau, told Reuters by telephone.

In 2011, the relationship between Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association came to an end, and the organization chose to end the annual telethons entirely in 2015.

France’s culture minister is paying homage to the “laughter genius” Jerry Lewis, who enjoyed unusual success with French audiences.

He is survived by her and his seven children – Gary, Ronald, Scott, Christopher, Anthony and Joseph who he had with Palmer and Danielle Sara Lewis, who he adopted with Pitnick in 1992.