Jerry Lewis's last TV interview: What happened behind the scenes of the trainwreck

As far as celebrity interviews go, they don't get much more awkward than Jerry Lewis's sit down with The Hollywood Reporter last year.

In what turned out be his last ever on-camera interview, the legendary comedian couldn't hide his disdain for the reporter and offered one-line answers throughout the painful seven-minute exchange.

Here's a sample of the trainwreck chat:

Hollywood Reporter: Have you ever thought about retiring?

Jerry Lewis: Why?

HR: Was there never a moment that you thought it might be time to -

JL: WHYYYYY?

HR: You come from a generation a little older - Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra - do you see similarities with them?

JL: NONE.

In the wake of Lewis's death earlier this week, the man who conducted that interview has revealed what really went on behind the scenes that day and what he would do differently if he had a do-over.

The Hollywood Reporter's Andy Lewis explained they decided to do a photoshoot with the showbiz veteran before the interview which turned out to be a bad idea.

"Lewis didn't like the amount of equipment or the number of people in the house," the journalist wrote.

"He offered a non-stop barrage of criticism, ignoring all of the photographer's attempts to loosen him up with small talk as he shot him ... I learned later that he was tired from touring and trying to squeeze the interview into one of a few off-days in his schedule might have been asking too much of a 90-year-old man."

When they sat down for the filmed interview, the journalist wrote that he "had a terribly feeling in the pit of my stomach". Despite the fact Lewis was offering him nothing, the reporter ploughed through the interview.

"I was unnerved by his anger and worried if I stopped he'd walk out," the journalist wrote.

Looking back on the cringe-worthy chat, The Hollywood Reporter's Andy Lewis wrote that he wishes he "had turned the cameras off and asked Lewis if there was anything I could do to make him happier".

"I would have told him how genuinely interested I was in what Vegas was like 50 years ago and in his stories of Hollywood in the '50s and '60s. I don't know if that would've made a difference. Jerry was pretty worked up, and I'm not sure anything would've calmed him down. But I wish I had tried. I wish I had a do-over."