Jerry Lewis: Not Funny

10/29/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Jerry Lewis didn't love Lucy -- or, by the sound of it, few others but himself. The comic and filmmaker, 73, stunned an audience of 1,000 people at Aspen's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival this weekend during a Q&A session conducted by Martin Short. Asked which women comics he admired, Lewis answered, "I don't like any female comedians." Short mentioned Lucille Ball. "You must have loved her," he said to Lewis, who replied, "No." Lewis went on to say, "A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world." That last remark all but brought an end to the discussion, reports the Associated Press. Lewis lost his audience, which got up and left.