Funny man Jerry Lewis was making his way through security at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport when authorities discovered an unloaded firearm in his carry-on luggage.  

According to Las Vegas policeman Bill Cassell, the gun belonging to the 82-year-old entertainer, widely known as the "King of Comedy," was confiscated and the actor was cited Friday for carrying an unloaded concealed weapon at the Las Vegas airport.

The veteran comedian claimed he was unaware about the gun, saying that other people in his family had used the bag before.
Lewis' manager, Claudia Marghilano, told the Associated Press that the gun, a 22-caliber, couldn't fire and it is a hollowed-out prop gun that Lewis sometimes twirls during his show.

However, Cassell said that if the gun were merely a prop "it wouldn't be a weapon and we couldn't cite him for carrying a weapon." As reported before, Lewis, who was traveling to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to perform a one-man show, was given a citation and has to attend court to get the gun back.

The incident comes just a week after actor Dennis Farina, star of NBC's "Law & Order,"  was fined $510 and sentenced to probation for attempting to carry a loaded gun through Los Angeles International Airport in May.

Lewis is best known for his comedic work in the 1950s with crooner and Ratpack member Dean Martin. Born Joseph Levitch in Newark on March 16, 1926, Lewis embarked on his own showbiz career in the lounge spotlight following his expulsion from high school. However, his major breakthrough came only after he teamed up with Martin. Moving from the stage to the radio airwaves, the Martin and Lewis team became popular enough to break into movies, making 13 films together before  rancorously splitting ways. Lewis is famous for starring in films such as "The Nutty Professor," "The Family Jewels," "The Patsy", "The Big Mouth" and 1982's "The King of Comedy."  

Aside from his career as a comedian, the aged actor has helped establish the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the early 1950s and became the association’s National Chairman.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services and far-reaching professional and public health education. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. More than 77.4 percent of MDA's income is dedicated to programs of research, services and education for families affected by muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases.

Lewis has been the star of the Labor Day Telethon since 1966. He initially hosted the event with Dean Martin and then continued solo. Last year's telethon raised over $60 million.

In recent years he has suffered a string of health problems, including prostate cancer and meningitis. In 2006, he suffered a heart attack during a flight across the U.S.