He died in 1939, but his musical legacy would live on in Williams. Thomas, 58, traveled from Tennessee to Florida for liposuction and a procedure to remove previous breast implants witha breast lift at Bafitis Plastic Surgery, locatedin Jupiter, investigators say in the documentsobtained by USA TODAY. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Williams was born with a mild undiagnosed case of spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him . 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. 2022-03-30. All rights reserved. . There is a framework of events that is largely agreed upon, starting with Williams being chauffeured to a planned New Years Eve show in Charleston, W.Va. Hank Williams + Audrey Williams' Love Story. Mary Jane Thomas' cause of death has reportedly been confirmed. 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 . Who knew that the Beach Beauty would turn out to be a world-class hunter and adventurer? The house formerly belonged to country music legend Hank Williams. 1.4M monthly listeners. He made ends meet performing in small medicine shows, pitching cure-alls to crowds from a flatbed trailer. Market data provided by Factset. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. She says Wynette's drug problems were linked to her disastrous marriages and stormy affairs, as with actor Burt Reynolds. But suspicions about this final journey arose immediately. In his free time, Williams began to perform on the sidewalk outside of Montgomery's radio station, WSFA. While on tour in Shreveport, he met a young woman named Billie Jean Jones. I Saw The Light, the Hank Williams biopic, will be playing in theaters around the country on Friday (March 25). Where Did Hank Williams Die. Days after Sam made the claims,TMZconfirmed through court records that Hank filed a petition for an emergency conservatorship in August 2020 for Sam. The specifics of Williams' demise are unknown. Mary Jane was Williams' third wife. According to TMZ, country musician Hank Williams Jr's wife, Mary Jane, died on Tuesday at the age of 61. Hank Williams Jr.'s wife Mary Jane Thomas unexpectedly died on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the event confirmed to CMT. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. Later he shared more photos and thoughts. Williams-Dunning died in 2020 in a car accident in Tennessee. Wynette died in the same room where Williams' widow Audrey Williams died in 1975 of alcoholism. The family spent the early years of Hank's life moving around southern Alabama, following the work. Sam, 25, paid tribute to his late mother in a statement to PEOPLE shortly after her death. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. By the age of 14, he was making $15 a week performing on WSFA, via the Montgomery Advertiser. Her spirit was gentle and giving. She moved the family first to Garland and then to Georgiana, Alabama, where she successfully ran a series of boarding houses. Mary Jane Thomas the wife of Hank Williams Jr. reportedlydied after undergoing plastic surgery in Jupiter, Fla. An autopsy rules that her cause of death was accidental, and she died due to a collapsed lung that was punctured the day before. Hank was born with a spinal condition, known as spina bifida occulta, which was not well understood at the time. Hank Williams first auditioned for the Grand Ole Opry in 1946, but he did not make the cut. He responded to an ad from Kaiser Shipbuilding, a shipyard company in Portland, Oregon that promised a free one-way ticket, training, free rent, and a steady wage for anyone willing to work. Grace Lenehan Vaughn Published: April 7, 2022. 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. And a few, such as country music legend Hank Williams, have expired from other causes while they happened to be in vehicles. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. It was something he apparently saw coming. Williams would return to Georgiana the following year with more sophisticated interests. It was also something that was suggested by the initial police report. Regardless, they began touring together. HeWilliams Jr. has threechildren from previous marriages: Hank Williams III, Holly Williams and Hilary Williams. Thomas was released from the facility at 7 p.m. on March 21 and was "sitting up in bed, speaking normally" the next day, the reports said, only to "suddenly" become unresponsive. or redistributed. Receive daily updates with the best country music videos, news, and more! Hiram "Hank" Williams died on January 1, 1953, at the age of 29. She did not discover she was Williams' daughter until her adoptive father disclosed the information when she was 21. Her husband, Tyler Dunning, was in the vehicle and survived with critical injuries. Tom [Hiddleston, the actor portraying Williams] puts across that impending sense of doom. He and his cousin, J.C. McNeil, with whom he was almost inseparable, spent their time listening to gospel music on Sunday mornings and lively string band performances at the raucous parties held in the camps on Saturday nights. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. They shared daughter Katherine, who died in a car crash in 2020, and son Samuel, a musician. On the evening of Dec. 30, 1952, the restless, rail-thin 29-year-old tossed and turned in bed at his home in Montgomery, Ala. The former model, who was married to American singer-songwriter and musician Hank Williams Jr., passed away on March 22, 2022 aged 58. It was the biggest city Williams had ever lived in, and opportunities for the young musician abounded. Answer (1 of 6): Randall Hank Williams (AKA Hank Williams, Jr) is alive and well. 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.". Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. My father fell in love with the Daytona Beach beauty the minute he set eyes on her in the early '80s. But one big thing is left out of the movie: the singers mysterious death. Thomas died March 22 at age 58. 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. After his wife's tragic death, Hank Jr said: "Her kind spirit and beautiful and endearing love carries on in the hearts of our son, Sam, grandsons Beau and Tennyson, and granddaughter Audrey Jane.". It is unclear if the arrangement is still in effect. Mary Jane Thomas died on March 22 of a collapsed lung that was punctured during an elective surgery the day before, according to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office. When new wife Billie Jean asked what was the matter, she claimed his reply was, I think I see God comin down the road.. While his WSFA solo shows were successful, it was decided that in order to take his career as a country star to the next level, he would need to form a band. Her death was ruled an accident. Years later he had the car restored and displayed it in his Nashville museum. His spina bifida, never properly treated in childhood, was a chronic source of agony. The WSFA radio station was also fed up with his behavior, and in August 1942, Williams was let go from his job at the WSFA for "habitual drunkenness," according to I Saw the Light. 7/25/2022 2:31 PM PT. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. It was at one of these medicine shows in Banks, Alabama in the summer of 1943 that he met Audrey Sheppard, a beautiful blonde with a figure that could "melt the wax off a Dixie cup," per Lovesick Blues. In Georgiana, Lillie landed a coveted job at a cannery, according toSing a Sad Song. The death of Hank Williams, country music's first huge superstar, is still a bit of a mystery. Hank Williams, the country legend and Hillbilly Shakespeare, didn't have the opportunity to live in the world long. As did other family members, like Hank Williams, Jr., who . Williams was living his dream, but it would only last three years. His long term substance abuse also began to put a strain on his body, and at the end of 1951, he suffered a minor heart attack, according to Biography. Wynette's daughters obtained a court order last year to have Wynette's body exhumed for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Could you send someone, please? ", 911 operator: "Well, we have been getting several calls and I'm not going to put this over the radio. On July 1, 1990, the couple tied the knot in Missoula, Montana, per the . After meeting in 1985 at one of Williams shows in Washington state, the pair tied the knot in 1990. Ultimately, that would never happen. Music was a big part of life in the lumber camps, and Williams received his first exposure to true Southern country music. But inclement weather meant they couldnt get to Charleston, so the concert was canceled and they instead made a pit stop at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tenn. Williams had already been drinking when he was given a shot of B12 and morphine by the hotel doctor. The performance was so successful that the audience demanded six encores from Williams before the show could go on, according to History. However, he discovered shortly before his wedding to Jones that Jett was pregnant. Reps for Hank and Sam did not respond immediately to the Suns request for comment. On February 8, 1999, the Death Car returned to Montgomery with the opening of the Hank . 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Only George Jones, Daly says, truly loved Wynette, but she writes that his own addiction to alcohol doomed their marriage from the start. 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. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. When new wife Billie Jean asked what was the matter, she claimed his reply was, I think I see God comin down the road.. While heart failure was reported as the official cause of death, officials observed that the man's body . . Mary Jane, who appeared alongside Williams Jr. when he was recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, is survived by the singer, their son, and three grandchildren. In June 2020, the couple's 27-year-old daughter,Katherine Williams, died in a car crash inHenry County, Tennessee. Billie Jean claimed that Williams couldnt stop tossing and turning and said I think I see God comin down the road. Less than 48 hours later, Hank Williams was dead. 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. Legal Statement. Whiskey Riff. She could take down a ten-point buck and fix dinner for her grandchildren at the same time! In 1952, Hank Williams had the bad luck of meeting a man who went by the name Doc Marshall. She died from a collapsed lung, TMZ reported Monday. Thanks for contacting us. 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. The former model, who lived in Nashville, had traveled to Jupiter, Florida to undergo liposuction, as well as to remove previous breast implants at Bafitis Plastic Surgery. But Williams wasn't cut out for shipyard work, and didn't last long in Oregon. ", The 25-year-old made the allegations in a silent YouTube video, holding up a sign that said: "I want out.". After the procedure, Mary Jane went to a recovery facility where she was "speaking normally" and sitting up. He thinks Williams died -- the official cause was heart failure -- somewhere between Bristol, Tenn., and Oak Hill on the way to a New Year's Day 1953 show in Canton, Ohio. She was released from the facility on March 21 and taken to a recovery facility nearby. Bop Shop: Songs From J-Hope And J. 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This is Hank Williams, Audrey Sheppard Williams and the . "He would try most anything he was pretty independent.". At the time, a family source speculated that it may have been a blood clot after an undisclosed medical procedure. HANK Williams Jr's wife's cause of death has been revealed after her tragic passing at age 61. His father was a railroad engineer who was also a victim of shell shock after a year of fighting in France in 1918 during World War I and spent many years in veterans hospitals. July 26, 2022 3:44 PM. (Ron Galella). 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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The first concert was scheduled to be performed in Charleston, West Virginia, but his plans were disrupted by an ice storm that delayed his travel. Breaking News. Tracy Wright is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. I actually wrote 13 pages for that scene but took them out because they felt superfluous, explains Abraham. The next day, Williams was still unwell, curling up in the backseat and saying all he wanted was to sleep. The hotel doctor gave Williams an injection of B12 and painkiller after he'd already been drinking. The pairraised two children daughter Katie Williams-Dunning and son Samuel Williams. Carr called a doctor to Williams' room. Thomas, who lived in Nashville, traveled to Jupiter, Fla., for the procedure. 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The wife and former model had traveled from Nashville to Jupiter, Florida to undergo liposuction and get previous breast implants removed, People reported. 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. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. 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). Market data provided by Factset. 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. In the summer of 1952, Hank Williams had a brief affair with a dancer named Bobbie Jett. The exact cause of death, and what happened in the last 48 hours of his life will perhaps never really be known. His parents meant to christen him Hiram Williams, after Hiram of Tyre, the Biblical king, but he didn't end up becoming Hiram either. The former models cause of death was listed in the official autopsy as "pneumothorax due to perforated parietal pleura during liposuction with autologous fat reinjection procedure," according to medical reports obtained by Fox News Digital. The cause of death for Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of country singer Hank Williams Jr., has been revealed. The new biopic I Saw the Light, in theaters Friday, traces country legend Hank Williams struggles with alcohol, infidelity and the weight of being one of the biggest music stars in the United States, following hits such as his cover of Lovesick Blues (1949) and his own Why Dont You Love Me (1950). The new biopic I Saw the Light, in theaters Friday, traces country legend Hank Williams struggles with alcohol, infidelity and the weight of being one of the biggest music stars in the United States, following hits such as his cover of Lovesick Blues (1949) and his own Why Dont You Love Me (1950). (Carr died in 2013 and, for much of his life, kept silent on his journey with Williams.). Hank Williams died on January 1, 1953, at the age of 29. Daly writes that she herself had been to the house earlier that day and had found Wynette asleep or at least totally unresponsive on the couch, with Richey sitting in a bathrobe, uncommunicative. 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Per the agreement, Williams' mother adopted the baby. Hank Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died after undergoing an elective cosmetic surgery, reports from Florida's Palm Beach County medical examiner reveal. 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. The daughter of country music star Hank Williams Jr. has died in a car crash. Mary Jane's cause of death. In October of 1939, he dropped out so he could tour with the band full time, per Lovesick Blues. I want out of this, and I don't mind people knowing. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. Theres so much conjecture that both I Saw the Light and the 1964 biopic, Your Cheatin Heart, chose to avoid depicting the final journey altogether. He pulled into a gas station to receive directions to the nearest hospital, but it was too late. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner also listed her death as "accidental" after a surgeon punctured the membrane close to her chest wall following her breast lift procedure. The doctor injected him with B6 and B12 vitamins and declared him fit for travel the next morning. She died at home, on a living-room couch, with her fifth husband, country music producer and songwriter George Richey, present. More celebrity deaths:Mira Sorvino mourns father, 'Goodfellas' actor Paul Sorvino: 'My heart is rent asunder'. The cause of death was listed as accidental. There, Thomas became unresponsive while sitting upright in bed, according to the outlet. Ajax, in which his skull was split from forehead to chin, knocking out several teeth, dislodging an eye from its socket, and . She could take down a ten-point buck and fix dinner for her grandchildren at the same time! All the responsibility for supporting the family now fell to Lillie. Billy Dukes Published: July 25, 2022. Thomas, 58, died on March 22 of a collapsed lung that . Peter . A 19-year-old high school dropout, Jones had recently separated from her husband when she met Williams. 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. Charles Carr, who was just 18 and a college freshman when he drove country music legend Hank Williams on his final journey more than 60 years ago, died July 1 after a brief . . Lon made his living as a logger, so they didn't stay in Mount Olive for long. All rights reserved. Marshall was a skilled conman. I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of I Saw The Light. Thomas was "sitting up in bed, speaking normally" the next day when she "suddenly" became unresponsive. He married Gwen Yeargain from 1971-77, and the former couple had one son, musician Hank Williams III. Now she gets to radiate from above with my sister Katherine Diana right by her side," he shared. He says Williams was conscious and joking when he left. ", 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. Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. in 2021. Prior to confirmation of his sister's passing, Williams asked followers on Facebook . Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of Hank Williams Jr., died suddenly on Tuesday at the age of 58 following a "medical procedure." Country music legend Hank Williams Jr. is in mourning today after the sudden death of his wife Mary Jane Thomas "following a medical procedure" that was carried out in Florida. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The cause of death was listed as heart failure, but the exact cause is unknown. Initial reports suggest that Mary Jane may have passed away due to complications from . In recent years, a Knoxvillian . Nobody would know where he was," via Sing a Sad Song. Officials listed his cause of death as heart failure but noted that body contusions meant he had recently been in a fight. Sam shared the post as he wrote: "It's my second one not free.". They were married from 1977-to 1983. 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. Mary Jane was a former model for Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion. On Saturday, it was reported that Williams-Dunning, the daughter of country singer Hank Williams Jr., died as a result of a car crash. The Darkness of Hank Williams. The autopsy determinedshe died of a collapsed lung sustained during the surgery. 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. 3.7K. Due to a misspelling on his birth certificate, his official name was recorded as "Hiriam," according toLovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams. Check out what clicked this week in entertainment. Hank Williams Jr. has broken his silence regarding the tragic death of his wife, Mary Jane Thomas. Mary Jane was released from Bafitis Plastic Surgery at around 7pm on March 21 where she was reportedly "sitting up in bed, speaking normally.". According to the Guardian, her identity was undisclosed for years. It was 60 years ago today that the legendary Hank Williams passed away in the back seat of his powder blue Cadillac in Oak Hill, West Virginia en route to a performance in Charleston, W. Va. Hank died of heart failure thought to be brought on by the combination of alcohol, pills, and morphine administered for an ailing back, but the death continues to be shrouded in some mystery to this day. 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. Lemon, Marshall wrote Williams a series of fraudulent prescriptions for drugs including morphine, barbiturates, amphetamines, and chloral hydrate that no doubt contributed to his failing health. I'm still climbing out of it. Williams lived fast, both personally and . On March 22, she suddenly became unresponsive, the report says. Unfortunately, his fast living also contributed to his downfall. "I think he had a profound sadness in him," says Marc Abraham, writer . Williams, the son of country music legend Hank Williams, had been married with Thomas for 32 years at the time of her death. Thomas was married to singer Williams, 72, for over 30 years. All rights reserved. Thomas was rushed to a local hospital and died in the emergency room, the report said. Hank Williams Jr. drove it when he was in high school. The "All My Rowdy Friends" singer and ex-"Monday Night Football" crooner met Thomas in 1985 at one of his concerts in Washington state.