Jerry Lewis, Complicated Comic Legend, Dies at 91

Comedian and actor Jerry Lewis has died at the age of 91, his agent confirmed on Sunday.

The legendary performer, who appeared in more than 50 films, passed away peacefully at his home in Las Vegas, his family said in a statement seen by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter John Katsilometes.

Best known for his slapstick routines and double act with Dean Martin, with the pair teaming up on a number of movies from 1946 onward, the actor was also a renowned philanthropist, raising almost $2.5 million from the muscular dystrophy telethons he hosted, Variety reported.

During his years working with Martin, the pair initially performed at Atlantic City's 500 Club in a comedy double act that featured slapstick routines, eventually going on to star together in films including Jumping Jacks, The Stooge, You're Never Too Young and Money From Home, before parting ways in 1956.

The pair reportedly did not speak as friends for several decades after their professional split, but reunited briefly in the 1960s professionally, and then in the 1980s.

Lewis, who was one of the last remaining members of The Rat Pack, enjoyed his biggest box office success starring in The Nutty Professor in 1963, with the film grossing $19 million, and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as well as a lifetime achievement award by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 2009, TMZ reported.

The comedian did not shy away from controversy, famously commenting that he did not believe female comedians were funny when they were crude.

"Seeing a woman project the kind of aggression that you have to project as a comic just rubs me wrong," Lewis said in 2014 in comments carried by The Wrap.

"I mean, you got some very, very funny people that do beautiful work—but I have a problem with the lady up there that's going to give birth to a child—which is a miracle," he added.