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Funnyman Jerry Lewis Conceals Gun in Luggage

July 31, 2008

Nothing funny to TSA as Jerry Lewis conceals gun in carryon luggage at Las Vegas McCarran Airport
By Brian Frederick

LAS VEGAS, NV (RUSHPRNEWS) 7/31/08 - Maybe Frank Sinatra could get away with it two decades ago. But officials were dead serious that comedian Jerry Lewis can't bring a gun through the Las Vegas airport in 2008.
"If the gun were merely a prop, it wouldn't be a weapon and we couldn't cite him for carrying a weapon," said Bill Cassell of the Las Vegas police department. Jerry Lewis, 82, was caught by TSA security officers in the act of trying to board a Northwest flight with a handgun. It is believed the weapon was a 22 caliber Beretta.
Officer Cassell was responding to the immediate publicity surrounding the confiscation of Jerry's gun. "The handgun is a hollowed out prop gun that Lewis sometimes twirls during his show," said Lewis' manager, Claudia Marghilano.
Tell that to airport security, anywhere in the world, and famed for no sense of humor. Make a "bomb" joke and you are instantly in handcuffs. And even Lewis can't go through the airport with an apparent weapon.
Lewis was said to have made the immediate point of declaring that he had no idea it was in his carryon and that the carryon was in the hands of relatives before he used it for this trip. The confusion lay in the fact that Lewis did not know the gun was in his carryon, yet uses the gun as a prop for his show.
After Lewis was detained and questioned by TSA, he was allowed to continue on his Northwest flight to Detroit. It is highly unlikely that a noncelebrity could pull a stunt like that and then be allowed to continue their journey on board an aircraft. What is likely is that a noncelebrity would spend a night or two in jail. Considering that Lewis has spent decades in Sin City and raised billions for charity, there really is no surprise that Lewis was exalted with favoritism.
It's not Jerry's Kids anymore its Jerry's Gun.
Lewis is famous for being the second part side kick of ‘Martin and Lewis.' Dean Martin the straight man and Jerry Lewis the stooge. Lewis parlayed his comedic shtick into film. His most notable role was the 1963 comedy film ‘The Nutty Professor' and is known amongst Hollywood insiders for hiding one of the most sought after films ever made for the silver screen. A relict of a movie that only a few people have ever seen and to this day may never be released by Lewis, although a few have seen the 1972 film ‘The Day the Clown Cried.'
This latest gun incident should not overshadow Lewis' lifetime commitment to charitable organizations. Lewis took up his primary charitable cause by hosting the annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association's (MDA) telethon, which has raised nearly $2 billion to fight the disease since he began hosting what has become a yearly television event.
Lewis' manager said the gun "was a fun gun." It is unclear if Lewis will use his star power, reacquire the gun, and have some "fun" by auctioning the gun during the up coming Labor Day telethon which takes place in little more than a month from now. Just do it Jerry!

NEWS SOURCE: HOLLYWOOD TODAY

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