Jerry Lewis Cause of Death

Jerry Lewis was born on March 16, 1926,  and she was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, and his parents were Daniel “Danny” Levitch (1902–1980) and Rachael “Rae” Levitch (née Brodsky; 1903–1983).

Daniel “Danny” Levitch was a master of ceremonies and vaudevillian whereas Rachael “Rae” Levitch was a WOR radio pianist and Danny’s music director, from Warsaw. There have been conflicts with respect to his name as to whether he is Joseph or Jerome.

Jerry Lewis’ career started in the mid-1940s and he was half of Martin and Lewis, with singer and actor Dean Martin. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was the highest-paid movie star in the world.

Later in his career, Jerry Lewis turned his attention to muscular dystrophy activism and he was appointed chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in 1956. He dedicated his time and energy towards philanthropy and through that, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Over the years, he has performed in concert stages, nightclubs, casinos, theaters, music recordings, and radio and he is credited to have made appearances in 118 film and television productions throughout his career.

He had the nickname “The King of Comedy” in the United States and “Le Roi du Crazy” in France. When Jerry Lewis was just 15 years old, developed his “Record Act”, miming lyrics to songs while a phonograph played offstage. Through that, he got the chance to perform at a burlesque house in Buffalo but it did not go live up to expectation.

Subsequently, he worked as a soda jerk and a theater usher for Suzanne Pleshette’s father Gene at the Paramount Theatre as well as at Loew’s Capitol Theatre, both in New York City. Jerry Lewis was not allowed into the military service because of a heart murmur.

Jerry Lewis Cause of Death .

Over the years, Jerry Lewis suffered from chronic health problems, illnesses and addictions related both to aging and a back injury sustained in a comedic pratfall. He was addicted to the painkiller Percodan for thirteen years and in April 2002, he had a Medtronic “Synergy” neurostimulator implanted in his back to ease the discomfort.

He also had issues with his heart and had a heart attack when he was 34 years old. When he turned 56, he had another heart attack. He had an open-heart double-bypass surgery but on June 11, 2006, Lewis suffered his third heart attack at age 80.

It was caused by pneumonia, as well as a severely damaged heart. He also suffered from viral meningitis, prostate cancer, type 1 diabetes, urinary tract infection and pulmonary fibrosis.

Jerry Lewis at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 20, 2017, at the age of 91. The cause of his death was end-stage cardiac disease and peripheral artery disease.

Relationships and Children

Jerry Lewis got married to Patti Palmer a singer with Ted Fio Rito, on October 3, 1944. Jerry Lewis and Patti Palmer had six children together.

He was however involved with other ladies and even indicated that he had had affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. His wife filed for divorce from Jerry Lewis even though they had been married for 35 years.

All of Lewis’s children and grandchildren from his marriage to Palmer were excluded from inheriting any part of his estate. Jerry Lewis’ second wife was Sandra “SanDee” Pitnick, a University of North Carolina School of the Arts professionally trained ballerina and stewardess. They had their marriage on February 13, 1983, in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lewis