 Lewis' weight has ballooned since he started taking the steroid |
Comic Jerry Lewis has spent several weeks in hospital weaning himself off a steroid that made him gain 60 pounds, his manager has said. Lewis, 77, a star of films since the 1950s, had been prescribed the steroid to deal with a chronic lung ailment.
He had already lost 27 pounds since booking into a Las Vegas hospital in October, his manager Candi Cazau said.
Lewis was "feeling and looking terrific", she said, and planned to remain in rehab for four more months.
Ms Cazau said the comedian had cut down his prescription of the steroid prednisone "by half" and had embarked on "very rigorous exercise routine and a carefully planned diet" to take his weight down from 242 pounds (110kg) .
The comic wanted to be entirely free of the drug - which he had used to treat pulmonary fibrosis, an inflammatory lung disease - and be back to his normal weight by March.
Lewis began taking the steroid in 2001 but decided to cut back on it after his lung condition improved.
The comic star, who formed a popular double act with comedian and singer Dean martin, is best-known for films such as The Bellboy, The Errand Boy and The Nutty Professor.
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