Jerry Lewis has fired his publicist Rick Saphire after he allegedly demanded $20,000 (£10,000) from the media to interview the legendary funnyman. The King Of Comedy star, 81, was furious when Saphire allegedly told Newsweek journalist Steve Friess that Lewis had set up an interview fee in recent years in a bid to reduce the amount of media one-to-ones he carried out.Friess quotes Saphire on his blog as saying, "It's a healthy sum, but any story about him receives international attention and raises readership."Since Friess went public with Saphire's alleged demands, Lewis has now terminated his employment and has arranged an interview with the journalist. Lewis shot to fame when he was paied with Dean Martin and they established themselves as a comedy duo throughout the 1940's and quickly rose to prominence.But their partnership ended in 1956 as Martin's role in their comedy films started to become less improtant.After the split Lewis began a music career before going back to comedy starring, writing and directing a string of comedy movies.

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