Jerry Lewis' Cause of Death Revealed

08/31/2017 03:37 pm EDT

Jerry Lewis' cause of death has been revealed. The Hollywood icon reportedly died from heart failure.

The Clark County Nevada Coroner stated that the official cause of death was ischemic cardiomyopathy, according to TMZ. This is an effect of coronary artery disease in which the heart is no longer capable of pumping enough blood to the rest of the body.

Lewis passed away at the age of 91 on Sunday at his Las Vegas home while surrounded by family.

His publicist, Candi Cazou, spoke out about his death on Sunday.

"[Lewis] had been slightly ill and spent time in a local hospital but came home was planning on making some on-stage live appearances in the future," Cazau said. "Things turned rather quickly, unfortunately."

Before his untimely death, Lewis was planning on returning to the stage to perform.

"He had plans to go back to New York to do a stage show appearance and also had plans in Las Vegas as well, returning to the stage in 2018," Cazau said.

Lewis is considered to be one of the greatest comedians of all time. A few of his most notable films include Cinderfella, The Nutty Professor, The King of Comedy, The Bellboy and The Disorderly Orderly. His career spanned for decades with his final film was the 2016 drama film, Max Rose.

Most memorably, he was one-half of legendary comedy team Martin and Lewis, alongside Dean Martin. He was also very well-known for his Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon specials.

Cazou also addressed how important the MDA fundraiser was for Lewis.

"It was such a passion for him," Cazou said. "Most people would only see him for that 24-hour period, but it was a full-time job for Mr. Lewis. The prep to put that telethon together was 3-4 months."

Cazou spoke about one incident in particular when Lewis was overcome by emotion when thinking about the children he hoped to help in their battle with muscular dystrophy.

"Often, I would be in his office and we'd be talking about just general, everyday activities and tears would start to roll down his face. And I'd say, 'Did I say something wrong? What's going on?' And he goes, 'No, I was just thinking about one of my kids.' So he had such compassion for these children, but unfortunately, the audience, the public never saw that. They only saw that for a 24-hour period, but he lived with that every day, every year..." she said.

Photo Credit: Getty / John Springer Collection

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