By Richard Natale, Carmel Dagan

AUGUST 20, 2017 | 10:50AM PT     

ERIK PENDZICH/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

Jerry Lewis, the brash slapstick comic who teamed with Dean Martin in the 1950s and later starred in "The Nutty Professor" and "The Bellboy" before launching the Muscular Dystrophy telethon, has died in Las Vegas. He was 91.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John Katsilometes reported that he died at his home at 9:15 a.m. Sunday morning. Lewis' agent has since confirmed the news to Variety.

In addition to his most famous films, Lewis also appeared in a number of notable works, such as Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy," but was largely offscreen from the late '60s on and was more active with his annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy telethon. Through the charity, he raised more than $2.45 billion before being relieved of his role as leader of the telethon in 2011. As late as 2016, Lewis continued to perform in Las Vegas, where he first debuted his comedy routine back in 1949.