Jerry Lewis Over The Years - From Baby To 91 Years Old

Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch, March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, headliner, director, producer, screenwriter and humanitarian. He was known widely for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio and was nicknamed the "King of Comedy".

In 1946, Lewis met and teamed with singer Dean Martin and for the next 10 years, they were the top rated nightclub, television, movie and radio act until their break up in 1956. Lewis went on to star in, write, produce and direct motion pictures, appeared on television, headlined in nightclubs and concerts, starred in musicals and sang in albums and recordings.

Outside of his career, Lewis supported fundraising for muscular dystrophy research, serving for 60 years as national chairman of and spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and as host of The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon every Labor Day weekend for 44 years. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the organization in 1977.

One of the most successful performers in show business, with worldwide box office receipts of his films in excess of $800 million, Lewis received global acclaim for his unique ability and style with both comedy and drama. As part of Martin and Lewis and as a solo actor, he was voted Hollywood’s top box-office from 1951 to 1965, in later years as the sole comedian.

Lewis died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, at 9:15 a.m. (PDT) on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91. The cause was end-stage cardiac disease and peripheral artery disease. In his will, Lewis left his estate to his second wife of 34 years, SanDee Pitnick, and their daughter, and intentionally excluded his children from his first marriage as well as their descendants.