Jerry Lewis, Comedic Icon, Held at Airport for Handgun Possession

82-Year-Old Star Had Concealed 22-Calibre Gun

Showbusiness Editor Anita Singh of Telegraph.co.uk in her article "Jerry Lewis Held over Gun in Hand Luggage" is reporting that comedian Jerry Lewis was held at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport because staff there spotted a gun during standard processing.

Singh goes on to report that Lewis, 82, was detained by police for allegedly carrying a concealed 22-calibre handgun.

Lewis' manager, Claudia Marghilano, was quoted in Singh's article as saying the gun was a "hollowed-out prop gun" but a police spokesman said if it were merely a prop "it wouldn't be a weapon and we couldn't cite him for carrying a weapon".

As a result of carrying the gun Lewis was given a citation and has to attend court to get the gun back.

The stellar and amazing career of Jerry Lewis begins with his birth March 26th, 1926 as Joseph Levitch in Newark, New Jersey. There is no way to relay what this man has accomplished in his life but his first true success began with his pairing with Dean Martin. The two had a ten-year career together that saw them make 16 films between all their other works such as nightclub performances.

It was Martin who actually pulled away from the duo leaving a break so severe that the two didn't speak for years.

Over the last 59 years, since 1949, Lewis has been active with respect to his efforts on behalf of Muscular Dystrophy with his Muscular Dystrophy Telethon having become an iconic television event every year.

While Lewis has received or been nominated for about every award there is, that isn't what he meant to many people my age who came from poor neighborhoods.

For 25 cents I was able to see a Jerry Lewis film. Often my grandmother would take me to the Palace Theater to see such Jerry Lewis films as "The Nutty Professor," "The Family Jewels," "The Patsy" and "The Big Mouth." I had never before laughed until I cried and I can't tell you what it is like to watch your grandmother have a problem catching her breath from laughing. It gave all of us a much-needed respite from our impoverished lives.

Recently Lewis has had some major health problems including one which has changed his appearance greatly because of the use of prednisone.