[9], By 1970, Lewis' drug addiction, alcoholism, and infidelity took a toll on their marriage. I dont think he wouldve done it by any means, but he was really angry. Her second book chronicled her experiences becoming a mother at age 14 and then again at 17 and losing their son Steve by accidental drowning in 1962. J.W. You come out of the fire you make it. Jane is also the mother to Jerrys second-born son,Ronnie Guy Lewis, 66. I guess I went through like a trial by fire. On May 17, 2022, he shared a group photo with his dad and family. Thats exactly what it was.. American rock musician Jerry Lee Lewis holds his second cousin and third wife Myra Brown in his lap at a press conference in the Westbury Hotel,. Her second book chronicled her experiences becoming a mother at age 14 and then again at 17 and losing their son Steve by accidental drowning in 1962. But it didnt delve deep enough into exploring Lewis indomitable character. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. I mean, he was ready to kill. However, the two the face of it created peace later. Elvis Presley, the biggest rock star in the world, was dating a 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, who would later become his wife. It was a marriage license. Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com. In his lifetime, Lewis married seven times. Jerry Lee Lewis eventually got his career back in the late 1960s as a country performer, where his personal life was not viewed with such outrage. Myra Lewis - Biography - IMDb Lewis and his sixth wife, Kerrie McCarver, were married for 20 years and had a child. Family Members. I hope my story helps you handle your own ups and downs. local news and culture, David Accomazzo At the time, she hadnt realized that there was anything wrong with her relationship with Lewis. Jerry was quoted as saying to one reporter. [5] She married her third husband, Richard Williams, in 1984, and joined his Century 21 Real Estate office. But it didn't delve deep enough into exploring Lewis' indomitable character. For a man from his time and place, however, marrying at 13 and marrying one's third cousin (twice removed) were both fairly commonplace, although Lewis further complicated matters by again marrying before the divorce from his second wife was final. Become a member to support the independent voice of Phoenix In 1970, Brown petitioned for legal separation on the grounds of infidelity and misuse; charging that she had been subject to each kind of physical and mental maltreatment possible. Their separation was settled on December 9, 1970. Phoebe worked for him and when I visited her I would still see him, too. Lewis was 22. What happened to Jerry Lee Lewis' 13-year-old bride? She's been here Cousin's ex becomes Jerry Lee Lewis' 7th wife | CNN Brown. What happened to the duck? He was driving and listening to the story too. He later played electric bass and piano in a band with his cousin Jerry Lee Lewis. '", Myra Lewis Williams described Jerry Lee Lewis as "a country bumpkin who wore blue jeans and had ears that stuck out" when they first met. Jerry Lee Lewis is often tagged The Last Man Standing these days, a reference to his status among the core group of musicians who helped ignite the big bang of rock n roll of the 1950s. Brown, who is known today as an author, is Lewis' first cousin once removed. Myra is still alive today. Vintage Pics of Jerry Lee Lewis With His New Wife Myra Gale Brown at Lewis upended pop music with Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On and Great Balls of Fire, but his personal life was a chronicle of scandal and controversy. I find living is nice and calm this way.". PAT BOONE RECALLS MEETING PAL ELVIS PRESLEY: 'HE WAS JUST A SCARED YOUNG KID', "We were driving from Memphis to Louisiana and Phoebe was about three or four years old," she remembered. Rusty Brown is Myra Gale Brown's brother, O'Connor said. Myra Lewis Williams, seen here with Jerry Lee Lewis during their marriage, has led a quiet life in Atlanta Georgia where she worked as a real estate agent. ", Jerry Lee Lewis, rock 'n' roll pioneer and perpetual ball of fire, dies at 87, "It was something that marked Jerry for life," she said. Im still the 13-year-old child bride," Williams, who became a real-estate broker in Atlanta, said. 19 . It turned out that she was a first-cousin once-removed and - shockingly - just 13 years old. Son of singer Jerry Lee Lewis & Myra Gail Lewis. Elvis Presley's Friends Were Worried He Would End Up Like Jerry Lee The 1989 biopic "Great Balls of Fire," which starred Dennis Quaid as Lewis and a 17-year-old Winona Ryder as Myra, was based on Williams' first book of the same name. Their son passed away in 1962 at age 3 from drowning in a swimming pool. (Photo by Zak Hussein - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images). It was in 1958 when British journalists learned of the tender young age of Myra Gale Brown, and the ensuing uproar caused Lewis to cancel his tour and spoiled his chance to dethrone Elvis as the. His earnings dropped overnight to virtually nothing. "We kept thinking every year, every six months, that it was going to go away, theyre going to stop talking about it, and it just didnt happen. Thirteen year old Myra Gale Brown sitting on Jerry Lee Lewis lap. The preachers hated it. Siblings . Myra Gale Brown Today What Happened To Her. . Thats what I yearned for more than anything else. Copyright 2023 by Vizaca. However, Phillips managed to calm the furious patriarch down. The former U.S. president was married to his fifth cousin once removed, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. I took care of everything, the late music star told the outlet in 2015. Inside The Short And Tumultuous Life Of Gia Carangi, "The World's First Supermodel", 44 Grim Photos That Show The Brutal Reality Of Mid-Century America's Polio Epidemics, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Additionally, his latest single was called High School Confidential, which, though unrelated to his relationship, did not help his case. The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis Thats exactly what it was.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Jerry Lee Lewis dies at 87: What Myra Williams, his 13-year-old wife I could so easily have said, Im J.W. More than one paper went so far as to suggest his deportation. So whatever happened to her? The British public, fueled by the tabloids branding Lewis as a cradle robber and a baby snatcher, practically drove him out of the country, vehemently abhorring his relationship. How Jerry Lee Lewis' career was ruined by his shocking marriage When Jerry married his first cousin once removed,Myra, the former couple welcomed two adorable kids together. Last updated on Feb 15, 2015, 12.09. I went out and found us a house. He married a 13-year-old, Myra Gale Brown, who later said she was "subject to every type of physical and mental abuse imaginable." He shot his bass player, was a serial adulterer, abused drugs. [4] After Lewis finalized his divorce from Mitcham, he remarried Brown on June 4, 1958. I dealt with [the controversy] a lot better than anybody else did I had not thought like a child in a long time. It was with his sixth wife,Kerrie McCarver, that the Grammy-winner welcomed his final child with. He tied the knot with his seventh wife, Judith Brown, on March 9, 2012. Now Im older and wiser, and [not] malleable in the hands of others. The couple had two kids, Steve Allen Lewis (19591962) who suffocated at age three, and girl Phoebe Allen Lewis (b. Myra Lewis Williams, seen here with Jerry Lee Lewis during their marriage, has led a quiet life in Atlanta Georgia where she worked as a real estate agent. Not only were they criticizing her age, they were also pointing out the fact that Jerry Lee Lewis had once again married before his divorce was finalized. He continued to record music and perform in theater during that time and mounted a comeback about a decade later. Lewis with Myra Gale Brown. Here is a closer look at his family! The radio stations that didnt play it hated it. Whether the innocence of the 13 year old girl who married Jerry Lee Lewis, the heartbreak of the young woman struggling with life's events, or the tenacity and spark of the woman speaking now, Myra's voice is alive, humorous, heartfelt, and totally without pretense. Thats how the career took a gigantic nose dive when we arrived in London. His death had previously been erroneously reported by TMZ and other outlets on October 26th. ", a 1989 biopic of the famous rock 'n' roll musician. Myra Gale Brown American author Myra Lewis Williams ( ne Gale Brown, July 11, 1944) is an American author, best known for her controversial marriage at the age of 13 to rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis, who is her first cousin once removed. American actor Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder as Myra Gale Brown in the film "Great Balls of Fire! "I said, OK, sure. So we got in the car and he drove straight to the preacher that married us. The embarrassment over the marriage annihilated Lewiss promising stone profession, however, reinforced their marriage. A year later, the late singer found love again and married Myra Gale Brown and they stayed married until 1970. My generation was taught to hide under our desk when the bomb came, so you always had in the back of your mind that any minute, any day, life could come to an end, Brown recalled in an interview. In 1971, Lewis tied the knot with Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate but the two decided to end their marriage in 1982. She is most popular for her union with rock n move performer Jerry Lee Lewis who is her subsequent cousin. She was crying as she moved down the hall and knocked at the door with the iron bars. "Ive had a different life here," she said. She also described herself as the adult in the relationship with Lewis. And when I said what I said, it was like his hair caught on fire. They called it the devils music. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Jerry Lee Lewis teenage bride speaks out: I was the adult and Jerry was the child, Jerry Lee Lewis, original wild man of rock n roll, dies at 87, The Tiny Spark That Survived : The Rock n Roll Life of Stars Child Bride, Review: Jerry Lee Lewis remains a musical firebrand at 83 during dynamic performance in Cerritos, A Knock on Rock Movies : How Great Balls of Fire, the latest failed rock bio, reduces Jerry Lee Lewis to Roger Rabbit, Daisy Jones & the Six becomes the first fictional band to hit No. Jerry Lee Lewis may be a lot of things, but hes not a simple cartoon., Williams again addressed their scandalous relationship in her 2016 memoir, The Spark That Survived. While promoting the book, she took to Instagram to air some of the sordid details. Katie Serena is a New York City-based writer and a staff writer at All That's Interesting. Did Jerry Lee Lewis marry his niece? Myra Gale Lewis Williams (ne Brown; born July 11, 1944) is an American author, best known for her controversial marriage at the age of 13 to rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis, who was her first cousin once removed and was 22 at the time. Jerry Lee Lewis' wives: How many times was the singer married? The youngest Lewis son is active on Instagram and the video live streaming service, Twitch. 13 Celebrities Who Married Relatives, From Charles Darwin to - TheWrap Franklin D. Roosevelt. Today, Myra Williams, 78, reflects on the scandal and her late ex-husband. Because that was the truth! Myra Lewis Williams described Jerry Lee Lewis as "a country bumpkin who wore blue jeans and had ears that stuck out" when they first met. When they stepped off the plane on May 22, 1958, Lewis obligingly told the British press that Myra was his wife (although he gave her age as 15 and moved up the date of their actual wedding). If I can survive life's worst tragedies and my own dumb-ass decisions, you can, too. On December 12, 1957, Jerry married his third cousin, Myra Gale Brown. This time there are no holds barred. The press made me out to be a seductive Lolita, which was as far from the truth as it gets. "My generation was taught to hide under our desk when the bomb came, so you always had in the back of your mind that any minute, any day, life could come to an end. But it brought me and Jerry very close, and we had ten incredible, wonderful years together after that. The couple wed in 2012. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. Myra Gale Brown estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below. "'Great Balls of Fire' is the toonof rock movies, with Jerry Lee Lewis reduced on screen to Roger Rabbit," Times music critic Robert Hilburn wrote at the time. The backlash was swift. She co-wrote many books, such as Great Book Of Fire and The Spark That Survived, and earned people's love and popularity through her book. But when he and his entourage landed in London, the press was eager to . " The tour in London was booked. The teenager tragically overturned his Jeep and died in the car accident. Jerry Lee Lewis: "Great Balls of Fire," Myra Gale Brown, and His On December 12, 1957, he married Myra Gale Brown, 13, his first cousin who had been removed. Myra Gale Browns height is unknown & weight Not Available right. A reporter came up to me and said, Excuse me miss, didnt I see you get off that plane? The "Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On and Great Balls of Fire" hitmaker had eloped with Myra Gale Brown in December 1957, the result of a romance that developed when he moved into the Memphis home of Myras father, JW Brown, who was Lewis cousin and bass player, according to Lewis' obituary in The Times. He proclaimed himself for ever a rock'n'roller, through his remaining decades of turmoil, lurid tragedy and . Jerry Lee Lewis death updates Rock n roll icon died of 'natural Myra Gale Browns Ex-Husband was best known for his most significant work and was one of the Rock n Roll artists in Hollywood history. The Spark That Survived: Williams, Myra Lewis, Hughes, Linda Myra Gale Lewis Williams (ne Brown; born July 11, 1944) is an American author, best known for her controversial marriage at the age of 13 to rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis, who was her first cousin once removed and was 22 at the time.She co-wrote the book Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis (1982), which was adapted into the film Great Balls of Fire! After Lewis concluded his separation from Mitcham, he remarried Brown on June 4, 1958.