[Reality_And_Drama_TV_Shows] No laughing matter: Jerry Lewis 'intentionally excluded' his six oldest children

 

WOW never knew this about Jerry Lewis. I didn't think he was hateful but if even part of this is true then he was not a nice person.

cg

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4910594/Jerry-Lewis-intentionally-excluded-oldest-kids-will.html

No laughing matter: Jerry Lewis 'intentionally excluded' his six oldest children from inheriting his estate and ordered that they receive no benefits in final will

• Jerry Lewis wrote in his final will and testament that his six oldest children and their descendants were to receive no part of his estate 
• Lewis' estate will now go to his widow SanDee, 67, a former Las Vegas dancer he married in 1983, and their adopted daughter Danielle, who is 25
• He is only believed to have a few million dollars in cash and real estate, but a vast fortune in terms of his intellectual property as he owned his films outright
• Lewis' youngest son Joseph said in a 1989 interview that he and his five brothers were viciously beaten by their father growing up
• 'Living with him was pure hell. I've tried drugs. I've tried therapy and the truth still hurts, my father doesn't love me,' said Joseph
• Lewis never again spoke to Joseph and refused to pay for his funeral when he died of a heroin overdose in 2009, asking his other sons to keep the death quiet
• It was after Joseph's death that Lewis' other sons also began speaking out, with Gary saying: 'Jerry Lewis is a mean and evil person. He was never loving'

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:14 EDT, 22 September 2017 | Updated: 16:54 EDT, 22 September 2017

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Jerry Lewis had some strong words for his six oldest children in his final will and testament.

The legendary funnyman made a point of clearly stating in the legal filing that his six sons with first wife, British-born singer Patti Palmer, were to get nothing upon his death. 

'I have intentionally excluded Gary Lewis, Ronald Lewis, Anthony Joseph Lewis, Christopher Joseph Lewis, Scott Anthony Lewis, and Joseph Christopher Lewis and their descendants as beneficiaries of my estate, it being my intention that they shall receive no benefits hereunder,' declared Lewis in his will, which was last updated four years before his death.

Lewis kept Joseph in the will despite the fact that he passed away in 2009 - three years prior to the date the document was executed - as the result of a drug overdose.

His estate will now go to his widow SanDee, a former Las Vegas dancer, and their daughter Danielle, who the couple adopted in 1992 after nine years of marriage. 

Nutty: Jerry Lewis wrote in his final will and testament that his six biological children were to receive no part of his estate

Strong words: 'I have intentionally excluded Gary Lewis, Ronald Lewis, Anthony Joseph Lewis, Christopher Joseph Lewis, Scott Anthony Lewis, and Joseph Christopher Lewis and their descendants as beneficiaries of my estate,' wrote Lewis

The Blast was the first to report Lewis' snub of his children. 

It is unclear why Lewis made certain his five surviving children could not inherit his estate, and if the move was due to a personal grudge or simply because they are older than his adopted daughter Danielle, who is 25. 

Lewis was married to his first wife Palmer from 1944 until 1980.

The couple welcomed Gary in 1946, Ronald in 1949, Scott in 1956, Christopher in 1957, and Anthony in 1959.  

The couple's sixth and youngest son Joseph was born in 1965 and passed away at the age of 45 from a heroin overdose.

At the time of his death he had not spoken to his father in 20 years, with Lewis refusing to even pay for his funeral. 

He also allegedly asked Joseph's five brothers to keep his death quiet in hopes that the media would not find out about the overdose. 

Joseph spent his time eating at soup kitchens and living in homeless shelters over the course of his life as a result of his battle with drugs.

He also sold a story about his father in 1989 to the National Enquirer, saying that he and his five brothers were viciously beaten by the entertainer as children.

'Living with him was pure hell. I've tried drugs. I've tried therapy and the truth still hurts, my father doesn't love me,' said Joseph in that interview.

At the time of his death he had three sons, aged 10, 18 and 20, who had never once met their grandfather.

Gary, Lewis' oldest son, found fame as a member of the music group Gary Lewis & The Playboys, who had a number one hit back in 1964 with 'This Diamond Ring.'

He too spoke out against his father after his younger brother's death, saying he blamed the man for Joseph's passing.

Baby boy: Jerry Lewis with his youngest son Joseph (above in 1964) , who he stopped speaking with in 1989 after he sold a story detailing the beatings he and his brothers received from the funnyman

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Tragedy: At the time of his death Joseph had not spoken to his father in 20 years, with Lewis refusing to even pay for his funeral.

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Tortured existence: Joseph spent his time eating at soup kitchens and living in homeless shelters over the course of his life as a result of his battle with drugs

Gary told the National Enquirer in a 2010 interview: 'Jerry Lewis is a mean and evil person. He was never loving and caring toward me or my brothers.'

He went on to say: 'I don't know if Joe's death is drug related, but I believe it could have been prevented if he and my father had been on better terms. I believe he partly died of a broken heart.'

Gary then added: '[My father] doesn't really care. He's more worried about his career and his image than his own family.' 

Lewis lamented the passing of his son however in a 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which came two years after he had executed his final will.

'To this day I don't understand it because it's unfair -- not unfair to me, but unfair to him,' said Lewis. 

'That he went that way made the unfairness stupidity. But he was my son and he's gone, and there's not a lot I can do about that. I beat myself a thousand times. Sam will come to me and say, 'Are we beating ourselves again?' I will say, 'A little bit.''

He went on to say that his wife would then tell him: ''You had nothing to do with that. You sent him out into the world when he was 25. You sent what you thought was a perfect human being. What he did with his time away from you is what the end result showed.'' 

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Bleak portrait: 'Living with him was pure hell. I've tried drugs. I've tried therapy and the truth still hurts, my father doesn't love me,' said Joseph a 1989 interview (Lewis and first wife Patti with sons Ronald, Christopher, Scott and Gary in 1958) 

Happier times: Patti said Lewis had 'displayed an open disregard for our marriage, and I am a 'financial puppet' at the mercy of his office, with no money of my own' (family above circa 1960)

Lewis then added: 'But I'll tell you this: You don't get over that.'

Those comments were a far cry from the ones he had made just five years prior, calling his son a 'dope addict' and showing no emotion over his death. 

Lewis also had a difficult relationship with his first wife, who sued him in 1980 when she filed for divorce, demanding $450,000 a year to support herself and son Joseph.

She said in her filing that her husband had 'displayed an open disregard for our marriage, and I am a 'financial puppet' at the mercy of his office, with no money of my own.'

Patti also cited her husband's affair with SanDee, who would later become his second wife, in her filing, saying that he 'lavished gifts of jewelry and luggage on [his mistress] in Paris, Hawaii, Las Vegas and Florida.'

Lewis also allegedly has an illegitimate daughter Suzann who was born out of wedlock in the 1950s during his three-year affair with model Lynn Dixon.

Suzann is currently homeless. 

The manic, rubber-faced showman who jumped and hollered to fame in a lucrative partnership with Dean Martin before settling down to become a self-conscious screen auteur passed away in August.

He died at the age of 91 in his Las Vegas home surrounded by family, referring to his second wife SanDee and Danielle. 

Just a few weeks after he passed authorities revealed that Lewis he died as a result of end-stage cardiac disease and peripheral vascular disease.

His later years were spent off the big screen but still maintaining his larger-than-life profile as the national spokesperson for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, with his MDA telethons and events raising over $2.5billion over the years.

Lewis is believed to have left behind a rather modest estate in terms of cash and property, but a fortune in terms of intellectual property.

The actor owned almost all of his most famous films outright, including 'The Nutty Professor' and 'Hardly Working.'  

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