- Myra Gale Brown
Myra Gale Brown (born
July 11 1944 ) is the cousin and formerwife of singerJerry Lee Lewis . She married Lewis onDecember 12 1957 , at the age of 13. Brown's age and blood relationship to Lewis caused an uproar on his first tour ofEngland and was later criticized by anti-rock and roll Christian preachers. Myra Gale was the daughter of Lewis's first cousin [Tosches, Nick. "Hellfire", p. 107.] , J.W. Brown, who was also thebass guitar player in Lewis' band. The scandal over the marriage destroyed Lewis' promising rock career, although he later gained acceptance incountry music circles.The couple had two children, Steve Allen Lewis (named after the entertainer), who drowned at age three, and daughter Phoebe, who now is her father's manager and lives at his ranch in
Nesbit, Mississippi . They divorced onDecember 9 1970 , after 13 years of marriage. Myra later wrote, together with Murray Silver, a biography of Lewis, "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis" (ISBN 0-688-01384-8). This book was originally released in October 1982 byWilliam Morrow & Company . The book inspired a 1989 movie called "Great Balls of Fire!", where Myra was portrayed byWinona Ryder .Myra is currently a real estate agent near Atlanta, Georgia.
References
External links
* [http://oldies.about.com/od/rockabill1/f/jerryleemyra.htm Why did Jerry Lee marry his thirteen-year-old cousin?]
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