Jerry Lewis the following summer, and the audience was so enthusiastic that Kaye became Lewis' manager and guardian for Borscht Belt appearances. During World War II, he was rejected for military service because of a heart murmur. Lewis initially gained attention as part of a double act with singer Dean Martin, who served as straight man to Lewis' zany antics as the Martin and Lewis comedy team. They were different from other duo acts of the time because they played to each other and had ad-libbed improvisational segments within their planned routines. After forming in 1946, they quickly rose to national prominence,
Jerry Lewis a film so radical that it makes comedy out of the situation of a comedian who isn't funny." The final scene of "The Patsy" is famous for revealing to the audience the movie as a movie, and Lewis as actor/director. Lewis wrote in "The Total Filmmaker", his belief in breaking the fourth wall, actors looking directly into the camera, despite industry norms. More contemporary comedies such as "The Larry Sanders Show", "Curb Your Enthusiasm", and "The Office" continue this method. Robert DeNiro and Sandra Bernhard (both of whom starred with Lewis in "The King of Comedy") reflected on his death,