Significant speculation continues to surround the film. Following this, Lewis would take a break from the movie business for several years. Lewis did more new guest star spots on "The Dick Cavett Show", "NBC Follies", "Celebrity Sportsman", "Cher", "Dinah!" and "Tony Orlando and Dawn". Lewis surprised Sinatra and Martin after walking onto the Aladdin stage in Las Vegas during their show and exchanged jokes for several minutes. He then starred in a revival of "Hellzapoppin" with Lynn Redgrave, but closed on the road before reaching Broadway. In 1979, he guest hosted as ringmaster of "Circus of the Stars". Lewis returned to the big screen and directed and starred in "Hardly Working" (1981), after an 11-year absence from film and despite being panned by critics, it eventually earned $50 million. In 1982, Lewis was a guest on "Late Night with David Letterman". In 1983, Lewis co-starred in Martin Scorsese's film "The King of Comedy", as a late-night TV host, plagued by two obsessive fans, played by Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard. He received wide critical acclaim and a BAFTA nomination for this serious dramatic role. Lewis guest hosted "Saturday Night Live", then starred in "Cracking Up" a.k.a. "Smorgasbord" (1983, his final directed film), "Slapstick (Of Another Kind)" (1984), "To Catch a Cop" a.k.a. "The Defective Detective" (1984) and "How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave" (1984), the latter two films from France which had their distribution under Lewis' control and stated that they would never be released in American movie theaters and on home media. He then hosted a syndicated talk show for Metromedia, which was not continued beyond the scheduled five shows. In 1985, Lewis directed an episode of the Showtime series "Brothers". In 1986, Lewis appeared at the first Comic Relief, where he was the only performer to receive a standing ovation and after that, he was interviewed on "Classic Treasures". Lewis also starred in the ABC televised movie "Fight For Life" (1987). In 1987, Lewis performed a second double act with Davis Jr. at Bally's in Las Vegas, then after learning of the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin, he attended his funeral, which lead to a more substantial reconciliation with Martin.