JERRY LEWIS: EXIT OF A COMEDIC GENIUS

He dominated show business with Dean Martin in the 1950s, starred in “The Bellboy” and “The Nutty Professor”, hosted USA's Labor Day telethon for decades and received the Hersholt award.

Jerry Lewis, whose irrepressible zaniness and frantic creativity vaulted him to stardom as a comic movie star who wielded unparalleled green-light power at Paramount in the 1960s, died Sunday. He was 91.

Lewis, who teamed with Dean Martin in the 1950s as one of the most successful tandems in the history of show business, died at 9:15am at his home in Las Vegas. Publicist Candi Cazau confirmed the news.

At the peak of their popularity, Martin & Lewis ruled nightclubs, radio and then the box office with their breezy yet physical comedy act, reigning as the top draw at theaters from 1950-56. After an especially acrimonious break-up with his partner, Lewis remained as the top movie draw through the mid-1960s on the strength of such classics as “The Bellboy” (1960) and “The Nutty Professor” (1963). As Paramount's biggest star, he had the creative freedom to make the moves he wanted to make.

Extremely popular throughout Europe, especially in France, Lewis won “best director” awards eight times in Europe, including three in France and one each in Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. In 1984, Lewis was presented with the French Legion of Honor and in 2009 was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

He most recently appeared in such films as “Arizona Dream” (1993), “Funny Bones” (1995) and “Max Rose” (2016), and played opposite Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood in “The Trust” (2016).