you ve already hit me. i m down here. did i hurt you? no. following the breakup, lewis hit the ground running. he wrote, starred, and sometimes directed a series of paramount hits that have gone on to become comedy classics. one, the nutty professor was remade by murphy in 96, introducing a whole new generation to lewis s comic genius. in 1966, lewis first hosted the muscular dystrophy labor day telethon. truly his labor of love, lewis s annual 21 1/2 hour telethon raised well over a billion dollars for muscular dystrophy research projects and jerry s kids. the 2011 show was the first without lewis who had an unexplained falling out with organizers. though lewis received many honors and awards during his long career, it was a simple
you ll never walk alone walk on with hope in your heart and you ll never walk alone reporter: lewis struggled with his own health problems over the years. it s been a long, long, grueling ride. i ve ingested more than 24,000 pimms. reporter: but through it all, he kept his sense of humor. you better laugh at it, because the alternative is not funny. [ laughter ] another legend, larry king, sat down multiple times with jerry lewis. look at his recount of the breakup of that famous comedy duo, martin and lewis. without dean, i d have been back doing a record act. i was only good, because he was there. i was only good, because he was the centerpiece. this isn t false modesty. it happens to be the truth.
a member of martin and lewis. he was a member of the rat pack. lewis is perhaps best known for tugging at the heartstrings of millions of americans during his annual labor day telethon for the muscular dystrophy celebration. it ran for about 44 years and raised nearly 2 $1/2 billion for the cause. american television icon tick cavitt who knows lewis personally joins us now. when was the last time you saw jerry lewis? the very last time was at the most recent turner classic movie festival. i had to leave, but i went down to say hello to him before he went on. he was bright and funny, and seemed to be here for the long run. well, he was for the long run. 91 years old, amazing, really.
jerry was 20. together the comedy team of martin and lewis quickly became the hottest nightclub act on the eastern seaboard. i like it. i like it. i thought so. having conquered new york, the pair went hollywood. what are you doing back there? sleeping? i m standing back here like a horse working like a dog. their first picture, 1949, was box-office gold and led to a string of 16 martin and lewis hits. there they go! but after a decade of non-stop movies, recording sessions, television and nightclub appearances, history s most successful comedy duo called it quits. years later, lewis would write the difference between the magic of martin and lewis and other acts was that most comedy teams involved two men. theirs, lewis said, involved a handsome man and a we will pick up right where we left off.
reporter for the washington post. guys, i m going to get into our conversation in just a second. but i do have some breaking news just coming in to me, everyone. very, very sad news on this weekend. we ve already lost dick gregory, 84 years old last night of the legendary comedian jerry lewis has died. he was 91 years old. lewis made a big name for himself as part of the comedy team martin and lewis. later on in his career, he adopted that cause of muscular dystrophy, started the teleon this in 1952. many of us grew up with that, myself included. he died peacefully with his family by his side. keith morrison looks back on his life. this is how most people remember jerry lewis.