16 Awesome Firearms in the Jerry Lewis Gun Collection

Smith & Wesson Model 60, revolvers — Jerry Lewis owned a number of revolvers, including this 2-inch-barreled Smith & Wesson Model 60 in .38 Special.

RG Derringer, guns, derringers — No gun was too small for Lewis. This over/under derringer from Röhm Gesellschaft, or RG, held two .38 Special rounds.

Mossberg 500, Shotguns — Julien’s Auctions rated Lewis’ 12-gauge Mossberg 500, serial number H302543, as being in “fine to excellent” condition.

Weatherby Mark V, rifles, Bushnell — This beautiful Weatherby Mark V in .257 Weatherby Magnum was auctioned off with its Bushnell riflescope.

Mossberg 500, shotguns, tactical, pistol grip — Why own just one Mossberg 500? Lewis also owned this all-business 12 gauge with a heat shield and two pistol grips.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection, Beretta Cheetah, pistols, Beretta — Jerry Lewis owned a few different Beretta pistols, and his Model 85 Cheetah, chambered in .380 ACP and fitted with wooden grip panels, went up for sale in its original case with two 8-round magazines.

Industria Armi Galesi, .25 ACP, pistols — Another Italian pistol in Jerry Lewis’ collection, this .25 ACP semi-auto was made in the 1950s or 1960s by Industria Armi Galesi, a company known for its inexpensive but quality guns.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection, Colt Buntline Special, .45 Colt, Colt, revolvers — Jerry Lewis’ second-generation Buntline Special in .45 Colt, fitted with a long 12-inch barrel, was auctioned off with a special Hollywod fast-draw rig designed by none other than legendary holster-marker Arvo Ojala.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection, John Rigby Side-by-Side, John Rigby, shotguns — The most valuable gun in Lewis’ collection is easily this John Rigby side-by-side 12 gauge with blued, 28-inch barrels, fine wooden furniture and a color-casehardened receiver with scroll engraving and silver inlays.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection,Browning FN Model 1955, Browning, pistols — In 1955, the Browning Arms Company began offering the FN Model 1910 in .380 ACP to the American market as the Model 1955, with new grips and markings. The rest of the gun was virtually the same.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection, Colt Single Action Army, revolver — Jerry Lewis also owned a special “Sesquicentennial” Colt Single Action Army revolver. Only 300 of these deluxe engraved guns were made, and Lewis’ went up for auction in its original presentation case.

Smith & Wesson Model 3913TSW, Smith & Wesson, pistols — On the more practical side, Lewis owned a compact 9mm Smith & Wesson Model 3913TSW that used single-stack, eight-round magazines.

Glock 17, Glock, pistols — That’s right. The King of Comedy loved Glock pistols, too. Julien’s Auctions rated his older G17 Gen2, serial number ABL407US, as being in “excellent” condition.

Smith & Wesson Model 38 Airweight, smith & wesson, revolvers — Jerry Lewis’ S&W Model 38 Airweight in .38 Special, with its concealed hammer, has a few nicks and scratches on the edges of the frame from being dropped.

Colt New Frontier, Colt, revolvers — On the rimfire side of things, Lewis owned a Colt New Frontier in .22 LR with a blued barrel, a long ramp-style front sight, a casehardened frame, and black plastic grips.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection, Colt Single Action Army, .44 Special, revolvers — Featuring a nickel finish, a 4.75-inch barrel and faux-pearl grips, Lewis’ excellent Colt Single Action Army in .44 Special was valued between $1,000 and $1,500.

Comedian and entertainer Jerry Lewis brought audacious humor to the masses — as well as hope to those with muscular dystrophy. But away from the spotlight of celebrity, Lewis collected guns — lots of guns. Don’t believe that? Let’s rewind a bit first before checking out the Jerry Lewis gun collection.

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Jerry Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, into a family of entertainers. He was only five years old when he was introduced to what was then known as New York’s Borscht Belt in the Catskill Mountains, which often featured vaudeville-type song-and-dance acts.

Lewis continued to hone his act through his teenage years, and in 1946, at the age of 19, he began to work with Dean Martin. Together, they developed a wildly popular comedy act. He was the incorrigible man-child, the monkey, to Martin’s suave sophisticate. The pair enjoyed a rocket ride to fame. During this period, Lewis said, “I get paid for what most kids get punished for.” He enjoyed “great success being a total idiot” while honing act.

When their partnership ended, Martin joined up with the Rat Pack as a lounge act featuring Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. while Lewis continued to act in and direct movies. Lewis also delved into screenwriting, directing and producing on top of acting. Jerry Lewis Productions took off.

Lewis became particularly popular in Europe, winning awards for best director eight times — three times in France, and then in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. The marquee on the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris read simply “LEWIS” when his film Hardly Working opened there. French director Jean-Luc Godard called Lewis “the only American director who has made progressive films. He is much better than Chaplin and Keaton.”

Lasting Legacy

Lewis was a worldwide phenomenon with a red, white and blue streak. On top of starring and directing in 1963’s The Nutty Professor, probably his best-known work, he also played Herbert H. Heebert in 1961’s The Ladies Man and James Langford in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy alongside Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard in 1982. He has 72 acting credits alone.

Yet he was an accessible celebrity known for being friendly to the public and generally revered as a lovable goof. He became well known for hosting telethons to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) from 1966 all the way until 2011. His mantra was linked to his belief in humanity: “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again!”

Somewhere between his dual personas in The Nutty Professor and his more pragmatic role in The King of Comedy, audiences began to appreciate Lewis’ humor and more subtle acting chops when it came to realistic characters — not just being a slapstick foil or clown. He was a mensch who did so much for adults and kids with muscular dystrophy throughout his lifetime, raising billions through his annual telethons.

In 2017, Lewis died at the age of 91. He was beloved for his humor, often playing the fool in movies or during appearances. But in his personal life, Lewis surprisingly owned quite a large collection of guns. Guns and comedy might seem mutually exclusive, as slapstick is the stuff of silly, puerile gags — Three Stooges humor — while guns are serious business. That’s why it was such a surprise to see such a king of comedy’s guns go up for sale last June.

Jerry Lewis Gun Collection

When it came to collecting guns, Lewis was nondenominational — he didn’t play favorites or focus on one style. If it had a firing pin and a trigger, he owned it. Because of his Hollywood stature and the associated affluence that comes with box office success, you might be thinking, “Oh, sure, he must have had bespoke double guns or hoity-toity collectibles like that.” He did own some of those, but also many guns considered quotidian or down to earth, like pump shotguns and revolvers, semi-auto handguns and revolvers, and rifles and black guns. In other words, guns that are fun to shoot.

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The guns auctioned off in June of 2018 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas by Julien’s Auctions — CNN referred to the Jerry Lewis gun collection as an “arsenal” — ranged from simple Mossberg pump shotguns and Beretta semi-autos to scoped Weatherby rifles, .22-caliber Astras and Sterlings, plus Glocks, Rugers, Brownings and Smith & Wessons. One special item was a coveted John Rigby London Best side-by-side 12-gauge shotgun. Some of the guns were inscribed to Lewis, clearly gifts from other celebrities. Others were typically engraved or inscribed by Lewis himself. Clearly, they meant a lot to him.

Darren Julien, the CEO of Julien’s Auctions, wrote, “Jerry Lewis epitomized the very definition of a Hollywood icon who blazed a path like no other. With a career that included being part of one of the most successful comedy duos of all time, to his memorable roles as the Nutty Professor and the King of Comedy, to his extraordinary humanitarianism, we are honored to present this once-in-a-lifetime auction event celebrating his comedic genius and legacy as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars.”

And perhaps this identity as a pioneering American is what fueled Lewis’s passion for guns, in the same way that his pride as an American led him to train with Major League baseball teams in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Los Angeles Dodgers. His popularity around the world clearly filled Lewis with national pride and a zest for Americana. And it’s great knowing that the Nutty Professor was also a gun nut.