According to Hank Williams, So Lonesome, Marshall was actually a high school dropout, who had simply paid $35 to obtain a degree from the Chicago School of Applied Sciences that claimed he was a "Doctor of Science and Psychology." I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of I Saw The Light. Somewhere around Oak Hill, West Virginia, Carr looked into the backseat and realized Williams seemed rigid and unresponsive. Unable to fly, and now unable to make it to Charleston on time, Williams hired a driver named Charles Carr to drive him to Canton, Ohio for the New Year's Day show. A lonely and troubled man, Williams struggled with chronic pain and substance abuse issues that would hinder his success and ultimately lead to his untimely death at just 29-years-old. However, when Hank was only six, Lon suffered facial paralysis as a result of what was most likely a brain aneurysm. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. When the singers death was announced to the waiting crowd at the Palace Theatre in Canton, they sang Williams I Saw the Light in unison. The singer, who suffered from a back problem, was given a sedative by his regular doctor who had allegedly purchased a fake medical diploma through the mail and was rumored to frequently overprescribe before setting off with a college student named Charles Carr acting as his driver. In June 2020, the couple's 27-year-old daughter,Katherine Williams, died in a car crash inHenry County, Tennessee. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines of the week, Prince Harry's 'attacks' on 'villain' Camilla led to Frogmore Cottage eviction: expert, Film industry reacts to death of 'Saving Private Ryan' star Tom Sizemore: 'You're a legend', Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after 'CHAOS' on Lufthansa plane: 'Wish me luck', Kelsey Grammer wont apologize for the 'difference' that Jesus has made in his life, Person roaming in 'Scream' Ghostface costume prompts multiple police calls. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. . On her third birthday, custody would go to Williams. In 1951, Williams suffered another accident, this time while hunting. The cause of death for Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of country singer Hank Williams Jr., has been revealed. Hank's mother, Lillie, and father, Lon, had briefly settled in a rural area of Alabama called Mount Olive, to start their family. He's since been able to carry on promotinghis Rich White Honky Blues album and conducting several interviews without interruption. On Saturday, it was reported that Williams-Dunning, the daughter of country singer Hank Williams Jr., died as a result of a car crash. I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of, Williams had already been drinking when he was given a shot of B12 and morphine by the hotel doctor. They separated once in 2007 and reconciled four years later in 2011. The autopsy proved that traces of the drugs Versed and Phenergan were still in her body, although no exact cause of death could be determined, other than the expected finding of heart failure. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 21: Mary Jane Thomas and 2020 inductee Hank Williams Jr. seen during the 2021 Medallion Ceremony, celebrating the Induction of the Class of 2020 at Country Music . They took my grief process, my spirit, my money, my car, my home, and everything possible in order to 'protect me.' Williams decided to leave the music business altogether. Hiram "Hank" Williams died on January 1, 1953, at the age of 29. All of these occasions, Daly writes, triggered prescriptions for major pain-killing drugs. The autopsy lists the cause of death as "pneumothorax due to perforated parietal pleura during liposuction with autologous fat reinjection procedure.". Just before midnight, Carr set about getting Williams to a planned New Years Day show in Canton, Ohio. When the singers death was announced to the waiting crowd at the Palace Theatre in Canton, they sang Williams I Saw the Light in unison. "My dear Mama Mary Jane was a beautiful soul who forever affected everyone who knew her. His shtick as the "Singing Kid" was so popular that he became a regular feature, hosting his own show twice a week. Musician Hank Williams Jr's wife who died on March 22 is reported to have suffered a collapsed lung that was punctured during elective surgery the day before, states a report from the Palm Beach . Taste of Country talked to Williams Jr. in June about a wide ranging set of topics. When Hank turned 10, in the fall of 1933, his mother sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in a lumber camp 50 miles west in Monroe County, Alabama. Hank Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, has unexpectedly died on Tuesday. On June 11, 1949, Williams made his live Grand Ole Opry debut. Peter . Update: While earlier there was only speculation that Mary Jane Thomas may have died of a complication from a medical procedure, a coroner has now revealed the real reason four months after her death. Legal Statement. "She grew up competing in baton and cheerleading and was one of Hawaiian Tropic's top models. Within 48 hours of Williams prediction, he had met his maker, but the circumstances surrounding how he died have given rise to one of music historys greatest debates. According to station advertising head Irving Waugh, "It got to a point where he'd disappear for weeks at a time. Bop Shop: Songs From J-Hope And J. 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But as Jack Neely, executive director of the Knoxville History Project explains, local folklore tells a different story. Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 - January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. 27-year-old Katherine Williams-Dunning . In his childhood, Hank Jr. received music lessons from several artists that were friends with his father, including people like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers Among Worlds Top Old-School Country Artists, Study Finds, 11 Cringeworthy Country Commercials Fit for the Super Bowl, 15 Country Legends Who Deserve to Be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Hank Williams Jr. Unveils Summer 2023 Amphitheater Tour Dates, Hank Williams Jr.s Son, Sam Williams, Comes Out as Gay in New Music Video + Interview, Jerry Lee Lewis Doctors Stopped Him From Attending Country Music Hall of Fame Ceremony, Hank Jr. Is Grandpa of the Year, It Would Seem [Pictures], Hank Williams Jr Fires Civil War Cannon on Fourth of July: It Made a Pretty Big Bang [Watch]. Her death was ruled an accident. Mary Jane was Williams' third wife. Per the agreement, Williams' mother adopted the baby. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. (Carr died in 2013 and, for much of his life, kept silent on his journey with Williams.). NOVEMBER 21: Mary Jane Thomas and 2020 inductee Hank Williams Jr. seen during the 2021 Medallion Ceremony, celebrating the Induction . I'm still climbing out of it. Local lore also places Williams at a Knoxville hospital getting a second shot of morphine this in addition to the one administered by the hotel doctor that might have caused a drug overdose. The coroners report also listed that she was given an anticoagulant, and had suffered mild brain swelling in addition to mild coronary artery disease and fatty metamorphosis of the liver, a common finding for people with a history of alcoholism. She died from a collapsed lung, TMZ reported Monday. It is unclear if the arrangement is still in effect. "They . Hank Jr.'s wife of more than 30 years, she was just 58 at the time of her death (other reports cited her age at 61). Just before midnight, Carr set about getting Williams to a planned New Years Day show in Canton, Ohio. Other findings from the medical examiner include thatThomas a former model who stayed out of the spotlight while married to the singer had mild brain swelling, mild coronary disease and some fatty metamorphosis of the liver that one would associate with alcoholism. The producers noticed his talent, and invited him to perform on air. A Justice of the Peace married the couple outside of a Texaco Station in Andalusia, Alabama, before Sheppard completed the required 60-day waiting period following her divorce from her first husband, per Sing a Sad Song. Thomas, 58, traveled from . Her husband, Tyler Dunning, was in the vehicle and survived with critical injuries. As did other family members, like Hank Williams, Jr., who . Sam, 24, claimed in a February YouTube video that he was under a conservatorship filed by his father and half-sister, Holly, in August 2020 following Katie's death. But, a Knoxville native who claims to have been adoorman at the Andrew Jackson Hotel shared a different story. Well, I need protection from them.. Country music icon Hank Williams Jr. 's late wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died from a collapsed lung -- and it happened just one day after she'd gone under the knife . Hank Williams was born in September 1923 in a small Alabama farming community about 70 miles south of Montgomery. I think I see God comin down the road.. All the responsibility for supporting the family now fell to Lillie. Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh) moved herself and her daughters to Nashville from a life of poverty in rural Mississippi, where the former hair stylist became a country music superstar with such hits as "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Stand by Your Man"(RealAudio excerpt). She entered a legal battle to prove Williams was indeed her birth father. But as Jack Neely, executive director of the Knoxville History Project, explains, local folklore tells a different story. Born in 1949 to Williams Sr. and his first wife, Audrey Williams, Hank Jr. was raised by his mother after his father's death when he was 3-year-old. At midnight, Carr began arranging to transport Williams to an early morning performance in Canton, Ohio. Upon his death, his royalties were to be split between his widow, Billie Jean Williams Berlin, and his son, Hank Williams Jr. Hank was supposed to perform in Charleston, West Virginia on New Year's . But suspicions about this final journey arose immediately. (They later dropped Richey from the suit.). On February 8, 1999, the Death Car returned to Montgomery with the opening of the Hank . According to Jones, he told her, "If you ain't married, Ol' Hank's gonna marry you. Prince Harry's 'attacks' on 'villain' Camilla led to Frogmore Cottage eviction: expert, Film industry reacts to death of 'Saving Private Ryan' star Tom Sizemore: 'You're a legend', Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after 'CHAOS' on Lufthansa plane: 'Wish me luck', Kelsey Grammer wont apologize for the 'difference' that Jesus has made in his life, Person roaming in 'Scream' Ghostface costume prompts multiple police calls. ** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--FILE **This is an undated file photo of Country and Western singer and guitarist Hank Williams. In 1949, however, following the release of his hit "Lovesick Blues," it was a different story. or redistributed. His mother became the band manager, booking gigs in dance halls and honky-tonks, and collecting admission money. She was 58. About six or seven hours later, on the morning of Jan. 1, 1953, Carr realized his passenger was dead and already beset with rigor mortis, the New York Post writes. ", Caller: "Uh, it was kind of unexpected, but it was a natural death, yes. She was ambitious, and Williams began to see real success after his marriage, signing a contract first with Acuff-Rose Music and then with MGM Records and releasing many of his most famous hits. Marshall was a skilled conman. They divorced in 1952. She was rushed to a local hospital and died in the emergency room. He married Becky White from 1977-83, and they had two children together, daughters Holly and Hilary Williams. Hank Williams, the country legend and Hillbilly Shakespeare, didn't have the opportunity to live in the world long. has been telling people he was the doorman at the Andrew Johnson, and he says Hank was conscious and joking when he left. Carr had insisted that Williams couldnt have been dead in Knoxville, because they had spoken briefly in the car after leaving town. She moved the family first to Garland and then to Georgiana, Alabama, where she successfully ran a series of boarding houses. His spina bifida, never properly treated in childhood, was a chronic source of agony. Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. attend his 2021 Medallion Ceremony, celebrating the Induction of the Class of 2020 at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. He was also invited to perform on the Grand Ole Opry's first European tour, performing at military bases overseas at the end of 1949. Wynette's daughters obtained a court order last year to have Wynette's body exhumed for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Williams-Dunning died in 2020 in a car accident in Tennessee. Hillbilly Elegist. The couple were married in Louisiana by a Justice of the Peace on October 18, 1952, but Jones' divorce would not be officially finalized until October 28, 1952, according to Hank Williams, So Lonesome. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. At the time, Carrs nervous account of the final few hours of the journey were enough to raise questions of foul play, especially when some witnesses including a police officer oddly claimed to have seen a soldier also riding in the car. While heart failure was reported as the official cause of death, officials observed that the man's body . HeWilliams Jr. has threechildren from previous marriages: Hank Williams III, Holly Williams and Hilary Williams. The autopsy determinedshe died of a collapsed lung sustained during the surgery. The official language on the autopsy (per People) is "pneumothorax due to perforated parietal pleura during liposuction with autologous fat reinjection procedure." Thanks for contacting us. Unfortunately, his fast living also contributed to his downfall. He had also previously been arrested for forgery and armed robbery. According to the New York Post, the singer, who suffered from back problems, was given a sedative before departing to a scheduled New Years Eve show in Charleston, West Virginia. Hank Jr., 72, is the son of legendary country musician Hank Williams, who died in 1953 at the age of 29, but is still regarded as one of the most influential artists in the genre. The daughters then filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the doctor and Wynette's widower, Richey. Hank Williams Jr.'s youngest son, Sam, said he was under a conservatorship put in place by the family following the death of his sister Katherine in 2020. Nobody would know where he was," via Sing a Sad Song. According to the Guardian, her identity was undisclosed for years. Now she gets to radiate from above with my sister Katherine Diana right by her side," he wrote, referencing his late sister. Audrey Mae Sheppard was born in Banks, Alabama in 1923. Williams. Check out what clicked this week in entertainment. Most young musicians were leaving to fight in the war, and any remaining potential replacements refused to work with Williams on account of his drunkenness and general unreliability. Hank felt there was something bad around the corner.. It was there Hank would be given the opportunity to explore what would become his life's two greatest passions: music and alcohol. Quisque turpis dui, rhoncus quis metus a, scelerisque vestibulum turpis. It was also something that was suggested by the initial police report. Jupiter's police department got "a medical call to the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa" around 5pm the following day. Williams' mother, Bobbie Jett, was six months pregnant with her when Hank Williams married his second wife, Billie Jean Eshliman. He was born in Georgiana, Al., in 1923 as Hiram King Williams, and he died of a heart attack in 1953. Cras nunc lectus, tempor sit amet ex sed, malesuada malesuada justo. Published on July 25, 2022 04:52 PM. Multiple news outlets confirmed that Thomas, 58 (others stated she was 61), was rushed to a local hospital from the . Daly says that the National Enquirer knew about the death long before Nashville authorities were summoned. Jones tried her hardest to keep Williams sober, attempting to enforce a limit of two cans of beer, saying, "If he got more, I'd force milk and two raw eggs down him, then I'd call my brothers to pack him off to the hospital.". Some biographers (including Colin Escott, whose book I Saw the Light provides the basis for the film) have suggested that Williams may have even died at the Andrew Johnson in Knoxville, and that Carr had unwittingly driven several hundred miles with a corpse. In October of 1939, he dropped out so he could tour with the band full time, per Lovesick Blues. Only George Jones, Daly says, truly loved Wynette, but she writes that his own addiction to alcohol doomed their marriage from the start. It was never properly treated, and would cause him lifelong back pain. I reached over and touched him. Lon made his living as a logger, so they didn't stay in Mount Olive for long. Daly hints that Wynette would deliberately hurt herself in order to gain access to drugs and once hurled herself offstage during a concert to earn a trip to the emergency room. Sign up to get unlimited songs and podcasts with occasional ads. Death of Hank Williams. Deep Purple guitarist refused to promote album, label clai Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Murdaugh son collapsed outside court after sitting stone-faced through dad's 6-week murder trial: source, Harry and Meghan hold the upper hand on King Charles coronation: Source, Hated Tom Sandoval addresses Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims, Kelly Osbourne posts first photo of baby son as he hangs out with uncle Jack, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. All the while, Williams self-medicated with bouts of drinking binges. May she rest in heaven and may God give power to his loved ones to deal with the great loss. While it is generally believed his mother gave Hank Williams his first guitar, other locals wanted to claim the credit. They agreed that Williams' mother, Lillie, would raise the baby, with Williams and Jett having visitation rights. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. H. ank Williams is the most important of all country musicians, past and present. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Mary Jane's cause of death was announced on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. There is no allegation that any of the medical staff involved in the surgery committed any wrongdoing. Within 48 hours of Williams prediction, he had met his maker, but the circumstances surrounding how he died have given rise to one of music historys greatest debates. I actually wrote 13 pages for that scene but took them out because they felt superfluous, explains Abraham. The only problem was that Williams, still school age, had to arrange performance dates around his school schedule. In recent years, a Knoxvillian . The late Mary and Hank Jr. welcomed two children; Katie and Sam - daughters Hillary and Holly are Hank Jr.'s other children with his ex-wife Becky White. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. They began to tour around Alabama, charging 25 cents a show. Thomas, pictured with Williams in 1989, traveled from her home in Nashville, Tennessee, for liposuction and breast implant removal procedures. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Published: Dec. 31, 2020, 6:00 a.m. Although he attempted at various points in his life to get sober, it never lasted long. I actually wrote 13 pages for that scene but took them out because they felt superfluous, explains Abraham. Williams lived fast, both personally and . She was private, compared to her country star husband, and although they separated in 2007, they reconciled in 2011. (Jason Kempin), HANK WILLIAMS JR.'S WIFE, MARY JANE THOMAS, DEAD. I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of the new biopic. While her official cause of death remains unknown and does not appear to be suspicious, it has been reported that she presumably "suffered a complication, possibly a . His official cause of death was listed as heart failure, but there are many who say otherwise. Daly says her mother told her she had been beaten by Richey and concocted the abduction/beating story to explain the bruises. It was something he apparently saw coming. She played the bass and sang with the reformed Drifting Cowboys, per Biography. Regardless, they began touring together. Answer (1 of 6): Randall Hank Williams (AKA Hank Williams, Jr) is alive and well. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Later he shared more photos and thoughts. The pairraised two children daughter Katie Williams-Dunning and son Samuel Williams. Hank Williams Jr.'s late wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died on March 22 due to a "collapsed lung that was punctured during elective surgery" performed the day before in Florida. She was a headstrong, recently divorced mother of a 2-year-old, six months his senior and also a musician. "Please pray for them so hard! Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Williams was born with a mild undiagnosed case of spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him . 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. The cause of death was listed as accidental. I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of the new biopic. At a time when the music he made was still mostly regional in its appeal, he was well on the way to national celebrity when he died in 1953, and his posthumous fame would grow even greater. Officials listed his cause of death as heart failure but noted that body contusions meant he had recently been in a fight. He says Williams was conscious and joking when he left. Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. attend his 2021 Medallion Ceremony, celebrating the Induction of the Class of 2020 at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. To have a kid [Carr] turn around, feel his pulse and realize [Williams] was dead, it felt anticlimactic., Besides, Neely adds, No matter which account you pick, there are going to be people who say, Thats not how it happened. , -Hank Williams to wife Billie Jean shortly before he died, Elizabeth Olsen and Tom Hiddleston, who plays Hank Williams, in I Saw the Light..