Jerry Lewis Dies Aged 91

By
Vuk Lazarevic
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Source: www.msn.com

Comedian Jerry Lewis, one of Hollywood’s legends, has passed away in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The family of Jerry Lewis released a statement claiming that he passed away (natural causes) at his home in Las Vegas this Sunday morning.

Jerry has been known for his partnership with Dean Martin. He and Dean starred in 16 films, and they achieved great fame and great box office success.

He played major roles in movies The Bell Boy, Cinderfella and Nutty Professor. Thanks to those hits he became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood during his prime.

Besides those appearances among other notable mentions we have The King of Comedy (1983) where he played a talk show host stalked by Robert de Niro.

Source: www.msn.com

Numerous celebrities mourned following the news of his death. Whoopi Goldberg said how it is ‘a gain for heaven but a big loss for comedy.’

William Shatner (Star Trek) released a statement on Twitter where he claimed how the world got ‘a lot less funnier today’.

Another great comedian, Jim Carrey left a heartfelt message since he was strongly impacted by Lewis. ‘That fool was no dummy. Jerry Lewis was an undeniable genius an unfathomable blessing, comedy’s absolute. I am because he was!’

Daughters of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin also shared a few words following this tragic event.

Deana Martin took to Twitter and wrote: ‘I’m heartbroken at the loss of our life-long friend (Uncle) Jerry Lewis. I’ve loved him all my life and will miss him greatly.’

‘Dear Jerry, Dad will be as happy to see you as I’m sad to see you go. Give him one of your bear hugs for me. I’ll always love you,’ tweeted Nancy Sinatra.

Even the White House couldn’t miss out and not bid a farewell to this legend. Statement coming from the President’s office praised ‘the extraordinary life of one of our greatest entertainers’ and added that Jerry successfully ‘touched the lives of millions.’

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted a touching message on Twitter. ‘Jerry lived the American Dream – he truly loved his country, and his country loved him back.’

Born Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey Lewis had a thing for show business. That is nothing unusual since his Russian-Jewish parents were both successful in that field.

He started performing as a 5-year-old alongside his mom and dad.

In the late 1940s, he partnered up with Dean Martin. He acted as a goofy sidekick of Martin’s.

During the next ten years, him and Martin performed in numerous nightclubs, in many TV shows, movies and theaters. Unfortunately, their friendship ended up following a blazing row.

Source: edition.cnn.com

He was maybe best known for his 1970 Holocaust drama called ‘The Day the Clown Cried’ where a clown was thrown into prison and later used to entertain children and lead them into the concentration camp gas chambers where they would face their demise. Unfortunately, it remains unreleased.

Lewis also started a long-running telethon which successfully raised millions of dollars for muscular dystrophy cause.

He became the highest-paid star on Broadway in 1995 as Mr. Applegate in the musical called ‘Damn Yankees.’ He was also known for being a good writer.

Source: edition.cnn.com

Lewis is a legend, and there is no doubt about it. We’ll share with you some of his best quotes on success and his life. He once compared his success to a certain child-like behavior. He said how he had had great success being a total idiot.

During his interview with Reuters in 2002, he said: ‘I look at the world through a child’s eyes because I’m nine.’ He added ‘I stayed that way[9 years old]. I made a career out of it. It’s a wonderful place to be.’

He was also well-known in France where he was dubbed as ‘le Roi du Crazy’ which translates to ‘the King of Crazy.’ He attained France’s highest award in 1984 which is the Legion of Honor award.

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