Their marriage got him ‘cancelled’ back in the day
Since his passing last week, people have been remembering rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis.
Including his marriage, to h his 13-year-old cousin Myra Williams.
The teen, who was Jerry’s second cousin once removed, was nine years Jerry’s junior when they eloped, and went on to have two children together.
Following the rock pioneer’s death, Myra, now 78, has spoken out about her life as Jerry Lee Lewis’s child bride, the harsh judgement she faced from the public, and the abuse she suffered behind closed doors.
Williams also covered their marriage in the 1982 book Great Balls of Fire which was adapted into a 1989 film starring Dennis Quaid as Lewis and Winona Ryder as Williams.
Many would remember that it was Myra and Jerry’s controversial marriage in 1957 that wound up killing the musician’s climb up the charts.
When news broke of the wedding, Jerry was essentially cancelled in the media and torn apart in the press, while all music promo and tour dates dried out.
“I was the bad thing in his life”, Myra told the Los Angeles Times following Lewis’s death on Friday (28 October).
“It was because of our marriage that his career hit the pavement. You know, you were judged for everything you did back then.”
While newspapers described Myra as a ‘child bride’ at the time, she insists that, during their marriage ‘I was the adult and Jerry was the child’.
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The relationship caused even more controversy when it was discovered that Myra was Jerry Lee’s cousin. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
