Tears Of A Clown!

Jerry Lewis, 91, DIED BITTER & filled with rage over Hollywood snub.

BITTERNESS and jealousy consumed Jerry Lewis until he took his final breath, with the comedy icon furious over never receiving the respect and praise he thought he deserved!

That’s the shocking revelation provided by pals and rivals of the legendary performer, who died at 91 from heart failure at his palatial Las Vegas estate on Aug. 20.

“Jerry’s resentment and anger probably hurt him more than anything,” said an insider.

“He felt Hollywood saw him as nothing more than a crass clown and less than a thinking man’s comic.”

Even Jerry’s early days were marked by discontent.

He and Dean Martin shot to success as the most popular comic coupling of the ’40s and ’50s, but Jerry’s mounting annoyance with his suave, martini swilling straight man led to the duo parting ways in 1956.

Jerry was jealous of the attention Dean received — while HE was the one who labored over scripting the act and doing the pratfalls, according to a source close to the conflicted comic.

“One producer dismissively referred to Martin and Lewis as ‘the organ grinder and the monkey.’

“That was like a dagger to Jerry’s heart!”

After the pair split, Jerry became more isolated — while Dean was lauded by entertainment greats.