Jerry 'doing well' in hospital

Jerry Lewis has suffered a mild heart attack on board a flight across America.

The 80-year-old comedian is now recovering in a San Diego hospital where he was rushed as soon as his plane landed from New York on Sunday.

His publicist Candi Cazau told the Reuters news agency: ‘It was determined that he suffered a very minor heart attack, and that he has a touch of pneumonia.’

She said doctors expect Lewis to make a complete recovery, adding: ‘He’s doing extremely well.’

The health scare mans plans for a four-night Las Vegas comeback   next month have been cancelled. While in New York, Lewis was the guest of honour at a Friars Club roast, and he recently announced plans for his classic movie The Nutty Professor to be made into a Broadway show.

Lewis has a history of health problems, including the chronic lung ailment, pulmonary fibrosis. He has also been diagnosed with prostate cancer, diabetes and spiral meningitis - and in 1982 he was pronounced clinically dead following another heart attack.

In 2002, he collapsed just before he was to appear on the stage of the London Palladium.

Published: 14 Jun 2006