Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. Thanks for contacting us. That'll just always be a big part of my story.". Hank Williams Jr.'s wife Mary Jane Thomas' cause of death revealed 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. She received a $30,000 settlement, but gave up all rights to his estate and name. While on his . Marshall was a skilled conman. 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. The parietal pleura is a membrane that's bound by connective tissue to the inner surface of the chest wall, and plays a major role in the formation and removal of pleural fluid, according to Science Direct. 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, Priscilla Presley Shares Emotional Post On Lisa Marie's Birthday, Jay Leno Appears On First Talk Show Since Burn & Motorcycle Accidents, Sam Elliott Reunites With Big Lebowski Co-Star Jeff Bridges At SAG Awards, Florida Man Faces Legal Consequences For Hammer Attack On Shark, Dukes Of Hazzard Car Driven By Cast Members Has Been Totaled, Tom Sizemores Manager Releases Upsetting Update On His Condition, Austin Butler Called A True Gentleman For Helping Winners Up Steps At SAG Awards, Actor Who Plays Jamie On Yellowstone Addresses Rumors Of Behind-The-Scenes Drama. Years later he had the car restored and displayed it in his Nashville museum. There, Thomas became unresponsive while sitting upright in bed, according to the outlet. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. Daly writes that after the veins in Wynette's arms collapsed, she resorted to shooting the drugs between her toes and ultimately had a permanent catheter inserted into her side, into which a needle could be inserted for shooting the drugs directly into her bloodstream. Jupiter's police department got "a medical call to the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa" around 5pm the following day. However, when Hank was only six, Lon suffered facial paralysis as a result of what was most likely a brain aneurysm. All rights reserved. . College student Charles Carr had been hired to drive the Im So Lonesome I Could Cry Singerto West Virginia, but winter weather made it impossible to reach the venue. Hank Williams Jr.'s Wife Mary Jane Thomas Has Died: 'A Beautiful Soul'. 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. 7/25/2022 2:31 PM PT. 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. 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. She says Wynette's drug problems were linked to her disastrous marriages and stormy affairs, as with actor Burt Reynolds. Regardless of how Williams got his first guitar, it is a largely undisputed fact that the credit for teaching him how to play the instrument goes to a man named Rufus Payne. Hank Williams was born in September 1923 in a small Alabama farming community about 70 miles south of Montgomery. Hank Williams died on January 1, 1953, at the age of 29. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Country music singer Hank Williams Jr daughter's accident in Henry County, Tennessee, about 100 miles west of Nashville on Saturday night (June 13, 2020) resulted in her death. Did Hank Aaron Die From COVID-19 Vaccination? | Snopes.com Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. 1 (three . Hank Williams died on New Year's Day 1953, Montgomery funeral drew His real name was Horace "Toby" Marshall, and he was not a real doctor. 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. He married Gwen Yeargain from 1971-77, and the former couple had one son, musician Hank Williams III. But one big thing is left out of the movie: the singers mysterious death. Wynette died in the same room where Williams' widow Audrey Williams died in 1975 of alcoholism. The famous Hank Williams was dead at 29 from whiskey, hard living, and heart failure. All are shocked about the longtime wife of country music legend Hank Williams Jr., Mary Jane Thomas' cause of death that was released after she reportedly passed away on Tuesday (March 24, 2022) at the age of 61. Two months after daughter Katie's death, Hank Jr's son Samclaimed he was in a conservatorshipand begged to be "freed. She died from a collapsed lung, TMZ reported Monday. Hank Williams - Wikipedia 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). According to TMZ, country musician Hank Williams Jr's wife, Mary Jane, died on Tuesday at the age of 61. (They later dropped Richey from the suit.). 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. His official cause of death was heart failure, though it is widely believed that he died due to a lethal mix of morphine and alcohol. In 1937, Williams moved with his mother and sister to Montgomery. "Please pray for them so hard! Payne, who also went by the nickname Tee-Tot, was a busker who performed blues on the streets of Georgiana and Greenville when Williams was a boy, per Britannica. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. During her life, Wynette underwent more than three dozen major surgeries, primarily due to abdominal adhesions. Hank Williams Jr. Speaks Out After the Untimely Death of His Wife Once called the King of Country Music, he died in 1953. He was born in Georgiana, Al., in 1923 as Hiram King Williams, and he died of a heart attack in 1953. Williams had already been drinking when he was given a shot of B12 and morphine by the hotel doctor. They began to tour around Alabama, charging 25 cents a show. "I think he had a profound sadness in him," says Marc Abraham, writer . He checked into the North Louisiana Sanitarium at the fall of 1951, but was unable to quit drinking for good. 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 Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died after undergoing an elective cosmetic surgery, reports from Florida's Palm Beach County medical examiner reveal. I think I see God comin down the road.. In 1952, Williams began performing with the Louisiana Hayride. Today you can still visit the spot where Hank's legendary journey ended. I'm still climbing out of it. Williams was born with a mild undiagnosed case of spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him . Katherine Williams-Dunning, the daughter of country music singer Hank Williams Jr. and his third wife, Mary Jane, died in a car accident in . Hank Williams Jr.'s Wife Mary Jane Thomas' Cause of Death Confirmed - CMT Tracy Wright is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mary Jane Thomas's Cause of Death: New Details Announced - Distractify Daly says that the National Enquirer knew about the death long before Nashville authorities were summoned. Her Cheated Heart : Hank Williams Sr. Recognized Her Birth, But Jett 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. But their marriage was tumultuous, and provided much of the raw fodder for Williams' more lonesome melodies, most famously "Cold, Cold Heart." "He would try most anything he was pretty independent.". Hank felt there was something bad around the corner.. In June 2020, the couple's 27-year-old daughter,Katherine Williams, died in a car crash inHenry County, Tennessee. Hank Williams Jr Daughter's Accident Resulted in Her Death. Just before midnight, Carr set about getting Williams to a planned New Years Day show in Canton, Ohio. 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). In November 1942, he headed back to Alabama, working on and off for the rest of the war at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company in Mobile. (AP Photo/FILE) The new biopic "I Saw the Light," in theaters Friday, traces country . By the age of 14, he was making $15 a week performing on WSFA, via the Montgomery Advertiser. DeadDeath - Death and Obituary Blog His parents meant to christen him Hiram Williams, after Hiram of Tyre, the Biblical king, but he didn't end up becoming Hiram either. Despite his volatile first marriage, Hank Williams wasn't scared away from the institution entirely. At midnight, Carr began arranging to transport Williams to an early morning performance in Canton, Ohio. Where Did Hank Williams Die. On June 11, 1949, Williams made his live Grand Ole Opry debut. Thomas and Williams were married for over 20 years and shared two kids, son Sam and the late Katherine, who died in 2020. 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. While Lillie worked hard for the band, she wasn't all too popular with the members. The Darkness of Hank Williams. 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. Hank Williams Jr's wife dead at 61: Country singer's spouse Mary Jane The time of death Wynette was 55 was never established, and no autopsy was performed. The hotel doctor gave Williams an injection of B12 and painkiller after he'd already been drinking. Hank Williams' last ride: Driver recalls lonesome end - ajc "My dear Mama Mary Jane was a beautiful soul who forever affected everyone who knew her. Hank Williams Jr. has broken his silence regarding the tragic death of his wife, Mary Jane Thomas. Mary Jane Thomas, wife of Hank Williams Jr., reportedly died after - al The "Family Tradition" singer married Thomas in 1990. 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. Driver recalls Hank Williams' last ride - Chron Following his death, Williams' family received a bill for $736.39 from Marshall for his services, per Hank Williams, So Lonesome. Hank Williams Jr Daughter's Accident Resulted in Her Death - US day News ", The 25-year-old made the allegations in a silent YouTube video, holding up a sign that said: "I want out.". 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. I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of I Saw The Light. I want out of this, and I don't mind people knowing. He was admitted to a Veterans Administration hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana, where he remained hospitalized for most of Hank'schildhood. Hank Williams Jr.'s Wife Mary Jane Thomas' Cause of Death Confirmed By You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Mary Jane was a former model for Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion. Williams picked up a drinking habit as an early teen that he would never be able to beat. ", 911 operator: "Well, we have been getting several calls and I'm not going to put this over the radio. Hank Williams performing "Hey Good Lookin' "#HankWilliams #HeyGoodLookin #Vevo or redistributed. 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. Williams. Hank Williams Jr.'s Wife Mary Jane Thomas' Cause of Death Confirmed Williams was still set on marrying Jones, so he and Jett devised an arrangement. Hank Williams was undeniably a talented young musician. In his first statement since the death of his wife, Mary Jane, Hank Williams Jr. thanks fans and friends for their prayers. Hank's mother, Lillie, and father, Lon, had briefly settled in a rural area of Alabama called Mount Olive, to start their family. The singer's wife was released from the hospital March 21 and was transported to a resort for recovery. Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. (Terry Wyatt). . The Medical Examiner's report corrects that and specifies the procedure, statingshe had gone from Nashville to Jupiter, Fla. to undergo liposuction and to remove previous breast implants. But Lillie was a remarkably resourceful woman. ", Caller: "Uh, it was kind of unexpected, but it was a natural death, yes. The famed country star's wife had suddenly become unresponsive and was "transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.". After meeting in 1985 at one of Williams shows in Washington state, the pair tied the knot in 1990. MTV, EMA and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Star hooked on painkillers, Jackie Daly writes. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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How Did Hank Williams Really Die? - Country Rebel Hank Williams Jr's wife Mary Jane Cause of death | SmileTimes Cras nunc lectus, tempor sit amet ex sed, malesuada malesuada justo. He had no intention of staying with Jett, as by this point he was already infatuated with Billie Jean Jones. The body remained there for hours as friends and relatives came and went and everyone waited for her private physician to fly in on a chartered plane from Pittsburgh to determine the cause of death. All rights reserved. No cause of death was provided at the time. <p>Her cause of death was ruled accidental.</p> Her . 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 . They divorced in 1952. She was a headstrong, recently divorced mother of a 2-year-old, six months his senior and also a musician. In recent years, a Knoxvillian . Singer Hank Williams Jr.'s Wife Dead at 58: Cause of Death Suspicious Booze was freely available at most of their gigs, and Williams took full advantage, which caused tension in the band. Hank Williams Jr. and wife Mary Jane Thomas arrive for the 37th annual Country Music Association Awards show Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2003, in Nashville, Tenn. . In his grief, on March 29 . 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. 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. Music was a big part of life in the lumber camps, and Williams received his first exposure to true Southern country music. The exact cause of death will never be known and what played out over Williams' final 48 hours is . Hank Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, has unexpectedly died on Tuesday. Hank Williams wasn't born Hank Williams. As the end of World War II neared, Hank Williams returned to performing, but he had fallen far from his days as a star with his own radio show. In recent years, a Knoxvillian . She did not discover she was Williams' daughter until her adoptive father disclosed the information when she was 21. Katherine Williams-Dunning was 27. 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. But, a Knoxville native who claims to have been adoorman at the Andrew Jackson Hotel shared a different story. Sam, 25, paid tribute to his late mother in a statement to PEOPLE shortly after her death. On Saturday, it was reported that Williams-Dunning, the daughter of country singer Hank Williams Jr., died as a result of a car crash. Thomas was taken to Jupiter Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room. Suspendisse condimentum eu arcu vitae hendrerit. "I'm certainly not an . The autopsy indicates that Thomas' lung collapsed after her surgeon punctured the membrane while completing the fat transfer as part of a breast lift following a breast implant removal. The autopsy lists the cause of death as "pneumothorax due to perforated parietal pleura during liposuction with autologous fat reinjection procedure.". Despite persistent health problems, Hank Williams decided he wanted to go ahead with the performances he had scheduled on New Year's Eve of 1952 and New Year's Day. Receive daily updates with the best country music videos, news, and more! Hank Williams Jr.'s wife Mary Jane Thomas unexpectedly died on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the event confirmed to CMT. While the official cause of death has been debated for more than 60 years, there is a timeline of events leading up to his death that those around him agreed upon. 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. "A family member verified Mary Jane died Tuesday in Jupiter, Florida, and we're told the early indication is that she died as a result of a medical procedure problem - probably a blood clot.". Richey recently sold the luxurious Nashville mansion where they lived for $1.2 million. Hank Williams, the country legend and Hillbilly Shakespeare, didn't have the opportunity to live in the world long. He "knew a good 'patient' when he saw one and he hinted at a 'pleasant' way to handle the problems of exhaustion, depression, insomnia, and all the other assorted ills that tend to beset a harried man," according to Coronet magazine. I actually wrote 13 pages for that scene but took them out because they felt superfluous, explains Abraham. He married Becky White from 1977-83, and they had two children together, daughters Holly and Hilary Williams. Hank Williams' Death Car - Montgomery, Alabama - Atlas Obscura Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of country singer Hank Williams Jr., died from a collapsed lung just one day after having liposuction surgery, officials said. The wife of country music legend Hank Williams Jr., Mary Jane Thomas, reportedly died from complications related to cosmetic surgery. The possibility was even suggested in the initial police report. But suspicions about this final journey arose immediately. He said: "I definitely broke and went through a really, really, really hard time. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. On December 30, 1952, Williams was in bed at this Montgomery, Alabama, home with new wife Billie Jean. Katie Williams and Tyler Dunning.". The couple married in 1990 and had two children: a daughter, Katherine Williams-Dunning, and son, Samuel Williams. Hank Williams Jr.'s Wife Mary Jane Thomas Dies | News | CMT 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 car in which Hank Williams passed his last few hours and died on New Year's Day, 1953 is exhibited at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. Legal Statement. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. To have a kid [Carr] turn around, feel his pulse and realize [Williams] was dead, it felt anticlimactic.. This was the scene in Montgomery's Municipal Auditorium Jan. 4, 1953 as thousands filed past the open casket of singer-composer Hank Williams who died Jan. 1 . When America joinedWorld War IIin 1941, the Drifting Cowboys were starting to come apart. A Medical Mistake Became Mary Jane Thomas' Cause of Death She was released from the facility on March 21 and taken to a recovery facility nearby. 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. She became an accomplished musician in her own right, performing under the name Jett Williams. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. I Saw The Light, the Hank Williams biopic, will be playing in theaters around the country on Friday (March 25). 3 min read. She was private, compared to her country star husband, and although they separated in 2007, they reconciled in 2011. I think he had a profound sadness in him, says Marc Abraham, writer and director of the new biopic. A representative for Bafitis Plastic Surgery did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Williams. Mary Jane Thomas' cause of death has reportedly been confirmed. Hank Jr has forged his own path in the country world and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last November. Her cause of death was ruled accidental, according to the Palm Beach County medical examiner. Carr stopped at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Williams began to feel ill, hiccuping and convulsing, according to Lovesick Blues. 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. At the time, a family source speculated that it may have been a blood clot after an undisclosed medical procedure. 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. She played the bass and sang with the reformed Drifting Cowboys, per Biography. I reached over and touched him. Hank Williams - Biography - IMDb Published on July 25, 2022 04:52 PM. Tragedy has struck the Williams family previously. The "All My Rowdy Friends" singer and ex-"Monday Night Football" crooner met Thomas in 1985 at one of his concerts in Washington state. But, it's the 'still climbing' part that is the most important. Days after Sam made the claims,TMZconfirmed through court records that Hank filed a petition for an emergency conservatorship in August 2020 for Sam. Marshall convinced Williams to make him his personal physician, for the price of $300 a week. His shtick as the "Singing Kid" was so popular that he became a regular feature, hosting his own show twice a week. She had a smile and presence that lit up every room and she never met a stranger she didn't befriend. Just before midnight, Carr set about getting Williams to a planned New Years Day show in Canton, Ohio. In light of the sad news, her brother and county music star, Williams, is now expressing his pain over the loss of his sister. The truth about Hank Williams death may never be known. 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). As did other family members, like Hank Williams, Jr., who . The producers noticed his talent, and invited him to perform on air. Wife of Hank Williams Jr. dies in Jupiter - WPTV 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. . He claimed his famous father and half-sister,Holly, put him under a conservatorship in August 2020. On Jan. 22, 2021, Aaron died in his sleep, according to the Atlanta Braves, his long-time team. They agreed that Williams' mother, Lillie, would raise the baby, with Williams and Jett having visitation rights. The daughters then filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the doctor and Wynette's widower, Richey. Audrey Mae Sheppard was born in Banks, Alabama in 1923. This is Hank Williams, Audrey Sheppard Williams and the . NASHVILLE Country superstar Tammy Wynette, who died at home under tangled circumstances on April 6, 1998, had become hopelessly addicted to powerful painkillers, primarily Demerol, Dilaudid and Versed, according to a controversial new book by one of Wynette's daughters. Mary Jane's cause of death was announced on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. But Williams wasn't cut out for shipyard work, and didn't last long in Oregon. Wife of Hank Williams Jr.Mary Jane ThomasDies Unexpectedly 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.