In America, he told them, it was quite all right to marry at age 15, even at 10, provided you could find a husband. This book was initially delivered in October 1982 by William Morrow and Company. ", 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. Myra Gale Brown. If you think you know [my] story of being the 13 year old bride of my second cousin, youre in for a surprise, she teased. His death had previously been erroneously reported by TMZ and other outlets on October 26th. Browns daughter,' she said, looking back on the day it was revealed she was 13 and Jerry Lee Lewis spouse. 6:00AM. His bride, for her part, told the gathering that 15 wasn't too young to marry back home: "You can marry at 10 if you can find a husband.". That stir was nothing compared to the one his third marriage would cause, however. 19 . Im really glad I didnt though because its gotten better as Ive gotten older.. After the two were married on December 12, 1957, Lewis planned to take Brown along on a tour of England. Thats what this book basically is, this is what happened, this is how I handled it and here I am today, she said. Their story was previously chronicled in the 1989 film "Great Balls of Fire" starring Dennis Quaid as the performer and Winona Ryder as the former Myra Gale Brown. Join the New Times community and help support Brown was injured on the job, he decided to start a band. "I was reading this book about this baby duck who got lost from its mother. ", Myra Lewis Williams was approached by a reporter in London during the middle of her husband's tour. Myra Lewis Williams told Fox News Digital her father was furious when he learned of the marriage. When Myra Williams looks back on her life her marriage to her cousin, singer Jerry Lee Lewis, in 1957 when she was just 13 years old, their good and bad times together, the two children they. "Theyve lost a great entertainer, a very talented man. My little brother was born because I begged my parents for a baby at ten years old.. Because that was the truth! Longtime Gwinnett resident Myra Lewis Williams has penned a new memoir sharing her life story, including her teenage marriage with her second cousin rock n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis. [14] Although Brown found the actors to be talented and friendly, she was not satisfied with the book or the film. Little did they know what it was going to turn into.". But it didnt delve deep enough into exploring Lewis indomitable character. I was happy to think I would have a home and a husband and children. Their daughter, Lori, was their only child that they had together. ", "Its a sad time for the music business and the world," the 78-year-old told Fox News Digital. 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. What I wanted was a baby in my arms, a home, a husband, a kitchen to cook in, a yard to raise roses. This was a one-night jam session at Sun Studios. In a separate Instagram post from 2015, Williams elaborated on her later relationship with the rocker, sharing a photo of them with their daughter, Phoebe. Thank you everyone for never giving up!! But it brought me and Jerry very close, and we had ten incredible, wonderful years together after that. With a new memoir, The Spark That Survived," she wrote at the time, sharing an image emblazoned with "Whatever happened to Myra?" John Doe as J. W. Brown Actor/musician John Doe took on the role of J. W. Brown, the father of Myra Gale Brown and the first cousin (and later father-in-law) of Jerry Lee Lewis. Earlier in London, Myra, who was 13 years old and Lewis's third cousin, revealed their secret marriage. 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. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. independent local journalism in Phoenix. [14] The producers did not want Brown or Lewis involved with the film, but she visited the Memphis set anyway. Lewis was 22. And so, the story was cooked up. After 30 years of rock n roll movies, is it too much to ask Hollywood to make a biography that reaches for insight rather than nostalgia; a film with enough imagination and heart to add to a performers artistic legacy rather than belittle it? Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. According to Williams, her relationship with Lewis also gave criticsof rock 'n' roll more leverage to attack the genre. (Indeed, Lewis had moved in with Myra's parents when he married her.) He was set to become rock music's biggest star, as the tour was supposed to establish his worldwide fame. Williams briefly remarried to Pete Malito from 1970 to 1972. (Photo by Tom Baffer/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images). Myra Lewis Williams told Fox News Digital her father was furious when he learned of the marriage. After reading about the third wife of Jerry Lee Lewis, Myra Gale Brown, check out Lori Maddox and Sable Starr, two teenage groupies who made a career out of chasing after rock stars. Become a member to support the independent voice of Phoenix A family spat over money turned ugly in the courts. [3][2] When Lewis arrived in London for a 37-date tour in May 1958, Brown revealed to a reporter at the airport that she was his wife. The "Great Balls of Fire" rocker's career took a hit following his marriage to Myra Gale Brown, his first cousin once removed and the daughter of Lewis' bassist. Lewis in the long run discovered achievement in down-home music. She dwells in Duluth, Georgia with her better half Richard Williams. Siblings . Jerry Lee Lewis, 23, married Myra Gale Brown in 1957. Brown, Lewis cousin and the bass player in his band. He continued to record music and perform in theater during that time and mounted a comeback about a decade later. (The situation was not helped by the fact that his latest single was called "High School Confidential."). My daddy will kill you. And he said, Oh no, he wont. His fourth marriage was to his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown, which lasted from 1958 to 1970. Though they were no longer together, they remained amicable throughout the rest of Lewis marriages and still keep up with each other. I mean, he was ready to kill. In 2017, the talented musician sued his daughter for allegedly giving him drugs, according toTMZ. Who are you? And I said, Oh, Im Jerrys wife. I may as well drop the bomb in the middle of London Town.". When Jerry married his first cousin once removed,Myra, the former couple welcomed two adorable kids together. Lewis, who died Friday at age 87, weathered professional exile in 1958 after a reporter covering his arrival in London inquired about the young girl in his entourage who ultimately introduced herself as "Jerry's wife.". Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. "He told him my parents found [his] marriage license," she said. So whatever happened to her? Great Balls of Fire is the toon of rock movies, with Jerry Lee Lewis reduced on screen to Roger Rabbit, Times music critic Robert Hilburn wrote at the time. He won three Grammys and recorded with some of the industrys greatest stars. "And Jerry gave it to themwell, I did, I opened my mouth. Thats exactly what it was.. ", Jerry Lee Lewis plays the piano for his 13-year-old bride at the Cafe de Paree. In 2016, when William was 78 years old, shes been right here the whole time but she no longer had a relationship with her notorious ex-husband since 2015. There were plenty of ups and downs in her marriage to Lewis. First, Myra Gale Brown had been just 13 years old when they got married on Dec. 12, 1957. Second, she was his cousin, and the daughter of his bassist J.W. See also Other Works | Publicity Listings | Official Sites in 2004. I dropped the bomb. She also described Lewis drug addiction, being the victim of abuse, divorcing and jumping into a rebound marriage, the Gwinnett Daily Post said. All Rights Reserved. Brown took a job with Memphis Gas, Light and Water, where he worked as a lineman. [14], Brown hired writer Murray Silver to co-write a book that was meant to be her autobiography, but after a publisher's editing it became Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis. Everything We Know So Far. Little did they know what it was going to turn into.. Before Kurt and Courtney, Sid and Nancy, or John and Yoko, there was Jerry Lee Lewis and his thirteen-year-old bride, Myra Gale Brown. ", "Myra Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis' 13-year-old bride, speaks out", "Jerry Lee Lewis Married His 13-Year-Old Cousin And Ruined His Career", "Jerry Lee Lewis' teenage bride speaks out: 'I was the adult and Jerry was the child', "Jerry Lee Lewis' Lawsuit Against Daughter Dismissed by Judge", "Cousin's ex becomes Jerry Lee Lewis' 7th wife", "The Tiny Spark That Survived: The Rock 'n' Roll Life of Star's Child Bride", "Jerry Lee Lewis' former teenage wife releases new book", "Cannes Review: Ethan Coen's 'Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Myra_Lewis_Williams&oldid=1138714619, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 05:24. But that career hit a sharp nosedive in 1958,. After his divorce in 1983, he went on to marry Shawn Stephens but their relationship ended the same year. "Ive had a different life here," she said. Lewis and Myra were divorced in 1970. 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. After further digging, the newspapers revealed that Myra Gale Brown was actually 13, his cousin, and that for the second time, Lewis had failed to get divorced before remarrying. Lewis went on to marry four more times. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images), Lewis and Williams, his second cousin, married in 1957 when he was 22, and she was 13. If I can survive life's worst tragedies and my own dumb-ass decisions, you can, too. When J.W. [1] The Browns later had a son, Rusty Brown (b. The couple welcomed two children, a son named Steve Allen Lewis in 1959 and a daughter named Phoebe Lewis in 1963. 1:11 Many remember Jerry Lee Lewis for the prolific music career that cemented his status as a rock 'n' roll icon before his death at age 87 Friday. On December 12, 1957, Lewis wed a woman named Myra Gale Brown (pictured above), who was also his cousin. That Time Jerry Lee Lewis Married Myra Gale Brown, His 13-Year-Old Cousin. About to depart for the Army, Elvis himself who would soon fall in love with a 14-year-old girl told reporters that if they were in love with each other, it was all right with him. "Jerry Lee Lewis may be a lot of things, but hes not a simple cartoon. Phoenix's independent source of a little baby sittin' in a high chair. Instead director Jim McBride, who co-wrote the script with Jack Baran, "ends up simply satirizing the argyle innocence and daffy exuberance of the 50s," according to The Times' review. I think this book will warm your heart, tickle your funny bone, and touch your soul. Myra Gale Brown : I don't know how to be a wife. Myra Gale Brown : All I ever wanted was a little pink house with a blue door. Copyright 2023 by Vizaca. Their fans were heartbroken when they knew they parted ways after an extended period, and it was Lewis, not their first marriage; he had already been married 2,3 times previously. It was to Judith Brown, who was the ex-wife of his cousin Rusty Brown, Myra's younger brother. [5] She married her third husband, Richard Williams, in 1984, and joined his Century 21 Real Estate office. [5] The scandal over the marriage destroyed Lewis' promising rock and roll career,[8] although he subsequently found success in country music. 1954). Lewis was 22 and Williams was 13, and the press came down hard on him when it was revealed that she was also his second cousin and that Lewis was still married to his second wife, Jane Mitchum, when they wed. If I can survive lifes worst tragedies and my own dumb-ass decisions, you can, too.. Now I'm older and wiser, and [not] malleable in the hands of others. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Origins of Jerry Lee Lewis's Nickname: The Killer, 30 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Elvis, 30th Anniversary of 1986 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Biography of Frank Sinatra, Legendary Singer, Entertainer, 25 Best Country Pop Crossover Songs of All Time, American Bandstand - 10 Great Performances. The couple eventually decided to call it quits and divorced in 1957. He tried to apologize, remarrying Myra in a ceremony that Lewis thought would validate the relationship and even going so far as to have an open letter printed in Billboard, but to no avail. The couple had two kids, Steve Allen Lewis (19591962) who suffocated at age three, and girl Phoebe Allen Lewis (b. He outlived Elvis, but his career as a rock star was forever crippled by the scandal. Did Jerry Lee Lewis marry his niece? However, as Williams predicted, her parents were not thrilled by the union. 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.