Comedy legend Jerry Lewis dead at 91

Legendary comic artiste Jerry Lewis, who was known for his brash slapstick humour, has died at the age of 91.Lewis's agent confirmed that the actor died at his Las Vegas home at around 9.15 am Sunday morning, reported Variety.He was one of Hollywood's most entertaining comedians, whose career spanned for more than six decades and he went on to become an auteur filmmaker of comedic classics such as "The Nutty Professor" and "The Bellboy". 

Lewis was born as Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926 in New Jersey's Newark to parents, who were in showbiz. He made his debut at a Borscht Belt hotel singing "Brother, can you spare a dime?" at the age of five.

At 15, he started pantomiming operatic and popular songs and was booked into a burlesque house in Buffalo. In 1942, his comic pantomiming gig at Brown's Hotel in upstate New York, where he was also working the summer as a bellboy,made him cross paths with comic Irving Kaye. 

He met the young singer, Dean Martin at New York nightclub, The Glass Hatt and was first paired with him in 1946. The duo went on to grow strong for 10 years, starting with "My Friend Irma" in 1949 and others such as "The Caddy," "The Stooge," "Artists and Models" and "Pardners".The pair reconciled after the death of Martin's son in the late 1980s. Martin died in 1995.