Hollywood mourns 'Beatle of comedy' Jerry Lewis

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese and actors like Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn and Jim Carrey have expressed condolences to the family of the late comedic icon Jerry Lewis. He was 91.

Lewis, who died on August 20 after a brief illness here, was celebrated during his lifetime for starring in movies like "The Nutty Professor" and "The Bellboy" before launching the Muscular Dystrophy telethon. Hollywood celebrities took to social media to pay tribute to the legend.

Here's what they had to say soon after the news of his death was announced:

Martin Scorsese: Jerry Lewis was a master. He was a great entertainer. He was a great artiste. And he was a remarkable man. I had the honour of working with him, and it was an experience I'll always treasure. He was, truly, one of our greats.

Whoopi Goldberg: Jerry Lewis passed today, millions around the world loved him, millions of children he helped with his telethons. R.I.P. and condolences to his family.

Actor-filmmaker William Shatner: Condolences to the family of Jerry Lewis. The world is a lot less funnier today.

Goldie Hawn: Jerry Lewis. You were blessed, and blessed us with the perfect combination of comedy and tragedy. A perfect clown who could do it all.

Actor-director George Takei: We have lost a great comedian and even greater heart. Thank you for the laughs and the feels, Jerry Lewis.

Actor Rob Schneider: Oh no! Jerry Lewis just died! Another comic legend has left us. Martin and Lewis were the Beatles of comedy! Nobody was ever bigger!

Jim Carrey: That fool was no dummy. Jerry Lewis was an undeniable genius an unfathomable blessing, comedy's absolute! I am because he was!

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis: Jerry Lewis loomed large in my family. Many movies with my mom and he made home movies with (her parents) Janet and Tony. He made me and many laugh.

Director Richard Shepard: RIP Jerry Lewis. Thank you for the telethons, the video-tap, and the king of comedy -- your most perfect, funny, sad and sly performance.

Actor Neil Patrick Harris: Watching Jerry Lewis on-screen makes me laugh harder than almost anyone. His great contribution to cinema is undeniable.

TV host-comedian Jimmy Kimmel: Jerry Lewis was a genius comedian, actor, director, inventor, humanitarian...

Actor Samuel L. Jackson: It was incredible knowing and laughing with the amazing Jerry Lewis! He'll keep them laughing in the ever after!

Actor-comedian Sean Hayes: We lost one of the great ones today... possibly the greatest. Jerry Lewis was one of my comedy heroes.

Pakistani-American stand-up comedian-actor Kumail Nanjiani: As a child, I'm pretty sure I was the biggest Jerry Lewis fan in the world. Truly. R.I.P. Jerry Lewis.

Actor Josh Gad: One of the greatest of all time. A legend, showman, comedic icon, movie star, activist and one of a kind.

Actor Jon Cryer: Jerry Lewis was a complicated man of astonishing talent. If you are in comedy, you have been influenced by him, whether you know it or not.

--IANS

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