Three actresses who worked with Jerry Lewis in the 1960s say the actor sexually abused or harassed them, according to a report published Wednesday by Vanity Fair.
Lewis, the vaunted comedian who died in 2017 at age 91, was ''cantankerous, difficult and cruel'' to work with, according to the report.
Karen Sharpe played Lewis' leading lady in 1964's ''The Disorderly Orderly.''
Lewis offered her triple the salary to play the role and guaranteed that Edith Head, the costume designer behind Grace Kelly's and Audrey Hepburn's iconic looks, would create her wardrobe.
When he asked to see her in costume, Sharpe obliged. But in his office, after he excused the guards outside, he ''started moving in on me,'' Sharpe told VF.
''He grabbed me,'' she said. ''He began to fondle me. ... Quite frankly, I was dumbstruck.
''I put my hand up and said, 'Wait a minute. I don't know if this is a requirement for your leading ladies, but this is something I don't do,''' she says. ''I could see that he was furious. I got the feeling that that never really happened to him.''
When she returned for her start date, she was told by a crew member that no one was allowed to talk to her except for the director and assistant director. Lewis also refused to rehearse with her.
On her final day, Lewis told her she was ''a hell of a girl.''
''I honestly don't know how you came to work every day,'' he said, and offered as an explanation: ''You see, I'm sick.''
Sharpe snapped back: ''Is that your excuse for bad behavior — that you're sick and people are supposed to excuse that? Well, I don't excuse that. It was the most unprofessional leading man/leading lady relationship I've ever had in my 20 years as an actor. Just think how much better we could have been if you'd been professional and cooperated.''
Another actress, Hope Holiday, told VF that Lewis locked her in a dressing room alone with him.
''He starts to talk dirty to me and as he's talking, the pants open ... I was frightened. ... I just sat there and I wanted to leave so badly,'' she said.
Actress Lainie Kazan alleged that Lewis got her alone in a hotel room and came on to her.
''He really came on to me, but he [also] wanted me to feel like gravel,'' Kazan told VF. “He wanted me to feel less than. ... Then he said, 'You know, I had a dream about you last night and that's why I'm here. I want you to star in my movie.' ''
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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