Jerry Lewis apparently died on such bad terms with his five living sons that he made it very clear he didn’t want them to get anything from his estate when he was gone.
In his Last Will and Testament, executed in 2012, the recently deceased comedy legend stated he wanted to intentionally exclude sons Gary, Ronald, Anthony, Christopher, Scott and Joseph from benefiting from his estate in any way, according to the documented obtained by The Blast.
In his will, he noted that Joseph is deceased, having died of a drug overdose in 2009.
Lewis, who died at age 91 of natural causes on Aug. 20, instead left his potentially massive estate to his widow SanDee, his second wife, and his will states that his next in line would be their 25-year-old adopted daughter Danielle.
The sons are all the offspring of his marriage to Patti Palmer, a singer he met and married in 1944, a couple years before he formed his double act with singer Dean Martin.
Lewis’ marriage to Patti lasted 36 years, as Lewis rose to national prominence with Martin and then on his own as the star and director of hit comedy films like “The Nutty Professor.”
The marriage was challenged by Lewis’ trysts with other women, who reportedly included Marilyn Monroe, the Daily Mail said.
Lewis was also rumored to have had a three-year affair with model Lynn Dixon, who gave birth to a daughter, Suzan Minoret in 1952, the Daily Mail said. Minoret came forward earlier this year to reveal that she was living on the streets of Philadelphia and was still waiting for Lewis to acknowledge her as his daughter,
Lewis, who nonetheless became just as famous for his humanitarian work and his advocacy for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, never confirmed or denied that Minoret was his biological daughter.
In 1980, Patti asked for a legal separation, claiming that he “displayed an open disregard for our marriage,” the Daily Mail said. She also ask for $450,000 a year in support for herself and their youngest son.
Their divorce was finalized in January 1983, and Lewis married Las Vegas dancer SanDee Pitnick. Lewis and SanDee adopted Danielle Sara Lewis in 2004 and were married for 33 years until Lewis died.
At some point, Lewis’ estrangement from his sons made headlines. In 2009, his youngest son Joseph committed suicide after becoming a drug addict. He was 45 years old.
In response, Lewis’ oldest son Gary Lewis, a musician known for his band Gary Lewis & the Playboys, blamed his father for his brother’s death, reportedly saying “Jerry Lewis is a mean and evil person. He was never loving and caring toward me or my brothers,” according to the Daily Mail.
Gary Lewis said he believed his brother’s death could have been prevented if he and his father had been on better terms. “I believe he partly died of a broken heart,” he said.
