Jerry Lewis Silver Cigarette Case 1959 from Lou Brown COA Provenance Letter

This item is coming to you directly from the estate of Jerry Lewis’ Personal Assistant, Penny Rice.  For over 40 years, she tended to all of Jerry Lewis’ needs.  Finally, she severed ties with Jerry Lewis, and with that, she retained many of her and Jerry’s personal letters, audio tapes, jewelry, books, scripts, and photos.  These items have never been offered on the market but have been kept in the personal collection of Penny Rice for all these years.  Penny Rice passed away, and her daughter had a caretaker.  He helped Penny’s daughter move to Ohio, and she left all the Jerry Lewis Estate to the caretaker.

Louis Y. Brown Conductor and his wife Gretchen gave this silver cigarette case to Jerry Lewis.  He was the musical director for The Jerry Lewis Show, The King of Comedy, and The Nutty Professor plus many others.  Lou had a very high regard for Jerry Lewis.  In 1959, he offered this silver cigarette case to Jerry for Christmas.  It features his initials on the front JPL and on the inside it featured pictures of his wife and 5 children.  The case was used for years, until 1980, the one very sad day that Jerry would divorce his wife and children. On the interior of the right side of the case engraved is “Happy Holidays Gretchen & Lou -1959.”

This silver case epitomizes the glamour era of the 1950’s – cigarette smoking, & fine lighters.  Nothing this significant from Jerry Lewis’ personal collection has come out on the market since the 2018 Estate Auction in Las Vegas.

Authentication:  Provenance Letter