Patti Palmer, Jerry Lewis’ ex-wife and a 1940s singer, died at the age of 99
Patti Palmer, a singer best remembered as Jerry Lewis’ first wife, passed away at the age of 99.
Palmer and Lewis’ son, Gary Lewis, said Fox News that Palmer died in Las Vegas on January 15, 2021.
“She was a great spirit to me all my life,” he remarked.
Palmer met Lewis while working as a singer with Jimmy Dorsey’s Orchestra, according to Gary.
“She was always singing songs and playing the piano around the house, and I know that’s where my love of music came from,” Gary recalled.
Gary Lewis, a musician in his own right, is best known as the frontman of the rock band Gary Lewis & The Playboys.
Palmer “was never sick and would be humming all the time at the nursing home,” he explained.
“She lived a full life for 99 years and is now singing with the angels in paradise,” he added, noting that she was assisted by a memory care unit in a Las Vegas nursing facility until her death.
Palmer and Lewis were married from 1944 until 1980, according to People magazine, and had six children: Gary, 74, Ronald, 71, Scott, 65, Christopher, 63, Anthony, 61, and Joseph, who died in 2009.
Palmer and their six children were reportedly left out of the comedian’s will after their divorce, according to the site.
Lewis was well-known for being disloyal to his wife, admitting to GQ shortly before his death that he had affairs with Marilyn Monroe and possibly Marlene Dietrich.
According to People, Palmer filed for divorce in 1980, citing “an obvious disrespect for our marriage” and his frequent expenditures. She also asked for $450,000 each year.
Palmer also performed with the Ted Fio Rio Orchestra, according to Rick Saphire, a close friend and Hollywood manager.
She was also “responsible for Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ first bookings and early fame.”
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