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Comedian and movie star Jerry Lewis dies at age 91

In this Aug. 24, 2016 photo, comedian Jerry Lewis smiles during an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. Getting older has been frustrating. At 90, Lewis sometimes loses his train of thought and uses a cane and a wheelchair to get around. But his desire to connect with audiences, and with people, is undiminished. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)

Jerry Lewis, the rubber-faced comedian and director whose fundraising telethons became as famous as his hit movies, has died.

Publicist Candi Cazau says Lewis passed away Sunday morning of natural causes at age 91 in Las Vegas with his family by his side.

Lewis first became a star in a duo with Dean Martin, entertaining audiences in nightclubs, on television and in the movies.

After their split in 1956, he starred in and directed a slew of hit films such as “The Nutty Professor.”

Later generations knew him primarily as the tireless conductor of the Labor Day weekend telethons to raise funds for victims of muscular dystrophy.

Lewis retired from making movies in 1995, but returned as star of the 2016 drama “Max Rose.”