Jerry Lewis dies

Jerry Lewis, the manic, rubber-faced showman who jumped and hollered to fame in a lucrative partnership with Dean Martin, settled down to become a self-conscious screen auteur and found an even greater following as the tireless, teary host of the annual muscular dystrophy telethons, has died. He was 91.

Lewis died Sunday of natural causes in Las Vegas with his family by his side, publicist Candi Cazau said.

Tributes from friends, costars and disciples poured in immediately.

Lewis' career spanned the history of show business in the 20th century, beginning in his parents' vaudeville act at the age of five. He was just 20 when his pairing with Martin made them international stars. He went on to make such favorites as “The Bellboy” and “The Nutty Professor,” was featured in Martin Scorsese's “The King of Comedy” and appeared as himself in Billy Crystal's “Mr. Saturday Night.”

The French Government awarded Lewis the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1983 and Commander of Arts and Letters the following year.

Fame brought him women and Lewis wrote openly of his many partners. After 36 years of marriage and six sons, Patti Lewis sued her husband for divorce in 1982. She later wrote a book claiming that he was an adulterer and drug addict who abused their children. Son Gary became a pop singer whose group, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, had a string of hits in 1965-66.

In his late 50s, Lewis married Sandra Pitnick, 32, a former airline stewardess. They had a daughter, Dani, named for Jerry's father.