fc OT a whole lot less of shakin going on...RIP Jerry Lee
- Thread starter s1uggo72
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It's kind of mind boggling that the 'Great Balls of Fire' movie came out (1989) when he was only 54 years old....almost like doing an Eminem biography today (noting he's only 50).
Lewis was married seven times, including bigamous marriages and a marriage with his underage cousin. He had six children during his marriages.
When Jerry Lee Lewis was 16, he married Dorothy Barton, the daughter of a preacher. Their union lasted for 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953.
Lewis's second marriage in September 1953, to Jane Mitchum, was of dubious validity because it occurred 23 days before his divorce from Barton was final. After four years, he filed for divorce in October 1957. They had two children: Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. (1954–1973) and Ronnie Guy Lewis (b. 1956). In 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. died at the age of 19 when he overturned the Jeep he was driving.
His third marriage was to 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown, his first cousin once removed, on December 12, 1957. His divorce from Jane Mitchum was not finalized before the ceremony took place, so he remarried Brown on June 4, 1958.In 1970, Brown filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery and abuse,[69] charging that she had been "subject to every type of physical and mental abuse imaginable." They had two children: Steve Allen Lewis (1959–1962) and Phoebe Allen Lewis (b. 1963). In 1962, Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a swimming pool accident at the age of 3.
His fourth marriage was to Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate from October 1971 to June 8, 1982. Pate drowned in a swimming pool at the home of a friend with whom she was staying, several weeks before divorce proceedings could be finalized.[71] They had one daughter, Lori Lee Lewis (b. 1972).
Mary Kathy "K.K." Jones of San Antonio, Texas, testified in court during Lewis's income tax evasion trial in 1984 that she lived with him from 1980 to 1983.[72]
Lewis's fifth marriage, to Shawn Stephens, lasted 77 days, from June to August 1983, ending with her death from an overdose of methadone. Journalist Richard Ben Cramer alleged that Lewis abused and may have killed her, neither of which is proven.
His sixth marriage, to Kerrie McCarver, lasted 21 years, from April 1984 to June 2005. They had one child: Jerry Lee Lewis III (b. 1987).
In 1993, Lewis moved to Ireland with his family in what was suggested (but denied) to be a move to avoid issues with the Internal Revenue Service.[76] He lived in a rented house on Westminster Road in Foxrock, Dublin, and during his time there was sued by the German company Neue Constantin Film Production GmbH for failure to appear at a concert in Munich in 1993.[77] Lewis returned to the US in 1997 after his tax issues had been resolved by Irish promoter Kieran Cavanagh.
Lewis lived on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi, with his family.
Lewis married his seventh wife Judith Lewis (née Brown, the former wife of the brother of Myra Gale Brown) on March 9, 2012. The next day, Lewis severed business ties with his daughter, Phoebe Lewis-Loftin, who was his manager and revoked her power of attorney. In 2017, Lewis sued his daughter and her husband Zeke Loftin claiming that she owed him "substantial sums of money". In the lawsuit, Lewis, his wife Judith Lewis, and his son Jerry Lee Lewis III also claimed Loftin defamed them on Facebook. Lewis-Loftin and her husband counter-sued, claiming Judith Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis III interfered in the business relationship. In April 2019, U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers ruled that most of the claims were barred by a three-year statute of limitations except the defamation claims.
When Jerry Lee Lewis was 16, he married Dorothy Barton, the daughter of a preacher. Their union lasted for 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953.
Lewis's second marriage in September 1953, to Jane Mitchum, was of dubious validity because it occurred 23 days before his divorce from Barton was final. After four years, he filed for divorce in October 1957. They had two children: Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. (1954–1973) and Ronnie Guy Lewis (b. 1956). In 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. died at the age of 19 when he overturned the Jeep he was driving.
His third marriage was to 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown, his first cousin once removed, on December 12, 1957. His divorce from Jane Mitchum was not finalized before the ceremony took place, so he remarried Brown on June 4, 1958.In 1970, Brown filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery and abuse,[69] charging that she had been "subject to every type of physical and mental abuse imaginable." They had two children: Steve Allen Lewis (1959–1962) and Phoebe Allen Lewis (b. 1963). In 1962, Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a swimming pool accident at the age of 3.
His fourth marriage was to Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate from October 1971 to June 8, 1982. Pate drowned in a swimming pool at the home of a friend with whom she was staying, several weeks before divorce proceedings could be finalized.[71] They had one daughter, Lori Lee Lewis (b. 1972).
Mary Kathy "K.K." Jones of San Antonio, Texas, testified in court during Lewis's income tax evasion trial in 1984 that she lived with him from 1980 to 1983.[72]
Lewis's fifth marriage, to Shawn Stephens, lasted 77 days, from June to August 1983, ending with her death from an overdose of methadone. Journalist Richard Ben Cramer alleged that Lewis abused and may have killed her, neither of which is proven.
His sixth marriage, to Kerrie McCarver, lasted 21 years, from April 1984 to June 2005. They had one child: Jerry Lee Lewis III (b. 1987).
In 1993, Lewis moved to Ireland with his family in what was suggested (but denied) to be a move to avoid issues with the Internal Revenue Service.[76] He lived in a rented house on Westminster Road in Foxrock, Dublin, and during his time there was sued by the German company Neue Constantin Film Production GmbH for failure to appear at a concert in Munich in 1993.[77] Lewis returned to the US in 1997 after his tax issues had been resolved by Irish promoter Kieran Cavanagh.
Lewis lived on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi, with his family.
Lewis married his seventh wife Judith Lewis (née Brown, the former wife of the brother of Myra Gale Brown) on March 9, 2012. The next day, Lewis severed business ties with his daughter, Phoebe Lewis-Loftin, who was his manager and revoked her power of attorney. In 2017, Lewis sued his daughter and her husband Zeke Loftin claiming that she owed him "substantial sums of money". In the lawsuit, Lewis, his wife Judith Lewis, and his son Jerry Lee Lewis III also claimed Loftin defamed them on Facebook. Lewis-Loftin and her husband counter-sued, claiming Judith Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis III interfered in the business relationship. In April 2019, U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers ruled that most of the claims were barred by a three-year statute of limitations except the defamation claims.
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