Late Comedian Jerry Lewis Accused of Sexual Assault, Harassment by Female Costars in Documentary

Four years after Jerry Lewis' death, the comedian has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by several of his former female costars.

In a new short documentary from Vanity Fair, in conjunction with Allen v. Farrow directors Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, actresses Karen Sharpe and Hope Holiday, among others, recall alleged incidents involving the late Lewis. (Former reps for Lewis, who died in 2017 at age 91, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.)

Sharpe, now 87, starred in 1964's The Disorderly Orderly alongside Lewis and says that at one point during filming he summoned her to his office, where he "started moving in on" her: "He grabbed me. He began to fondle me. He unzipped his pants. Quite frankly, I was dumbstruck."

The actress recalls putting up her hand and telling him, " 'I don't know if this is a requirement for your leading ladies, but this is something I don't do' " — a response that she says made the actor and comedian "furious."

"I got the feeling that that never really happened to him," Sharpe says, going on to allege that crew was not allowed to speak to her on-set of the film after the incident and that Lewis "never worked with me. He never spoke to me. The first take of what we did together was what went on film. And that was what everyone was going to see."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

In the case of Holiday, now 91, she says she feared that her scenes would be cut entirely from 1961's The Ladies Man in retribution after Lewis allegedly sexually harassed her on set.

"The first day we were working, he said, 'Can you come to the dressing room afterward? I want to discuss what we're going to shoot tomorrow,' " Holiday says. "I sit down and he presses a button, locks me in the dressing room with him. Then he starts to talk to me: 'Y'know, you could be very attractive but you wear pants all the time. I have never seen you in a skirt. You have nice legs and you've got good boobs.' Then he starts to talk to me about sex."

She alleges that Lewis then started to masturbate in front of her, adding, "I was frightened ... I just sat there and I wanted to leave so badly."

On why she didn't report Lewis' alleged actions to the Screen Actors Guild at the time, Taylor says, "He was very big at Paramount. I was under contract to him and to Paramount, and I didn't want to shake the boat. Y'know, I figured I'll just keep my mouth shut."

Renée Taylor, Lewis' costar in 1961's The Errand Boy, says she was the subject of "gross" comments from executives, not Lewis, after she was cast in the film.

"They said, 'Well, how big is your p---y? Jerry has a salami and will use it on a girl,' " she alleges. "They thought it was very funny and were boasting. I thought it was so gross. It was hard to laugh at Jerry's jokes after that."

Taylor admits that she thinks "it actually was a good thing that the executives boasted about him because it gave me warning to be on my guard."

"I tend to be too trusting," The Nanny alum adds.

The documentary's accompanying feature from Vanity Fair includes interviews with several more women, including Anna Maria Alberghetti, Lainie Kazan, Jill St. John and Connie Stevens — the last of whom says she was "the only actress at [Lewis'] funeral."

"I had heard that he was pretty rough on females," she says. "He wasn't on me."

In Kazan's case, she alleges that Lewis suggested getting her "nose fixed" and losing weight.

"He really came on to me, but he [also] wanted me to feel like gravel," she adds. "He wanted me to feel less than."

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.