Mary Ford & Les Paul

Les Paul and Mary Ford
Divorced
Les Paul and Mary Ford  
03

Mary Ford and Les Paul were married for 14 years. They dated for 2 years after getting together in 1947 and married on 29th Dec 1949. 14 years later they divorced on 16th Dec 1964.

They had 2 children, Mary Colleen and Robert Ralph.

About

American Singer Mary Ford was born Iris Colleen Summers on 7th July, 1924 in El Monte, California, USA and passed away on 30th Sep 1977 Arcadia, California, USA aged 53. She is most remembered for Musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Her zodiac sign is Cancer.

American Musician Les Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss on 9th June, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA and passed away on 13th Aug 2009 White Plains Hospital, White Plains, New York, USA aged 94. He is most remembered for Electric guitar, multitrack recording pioneer. His zodiac sign is Gemini.

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Relationship Statistics

StatusDurationLength
Dating1947 - 29th Dec 1949 2 years, 12 months
Married29th Dec 1949 - Dec 1964 14 years, 11 months
Total 1947 - Dec 1964 17 years, 11 months


(29 December 1949 - 16 December 1964) (divorced) 3 children
A daughter--born prematurely in 1954--died four days after her birth.
In 1945, when Eddie Dean introduced her to guitarist Les Paul, she was a popular western vocalist on KXLA's Dinner Bell Round-Up Time. The two began performing together in 1946. After Summers left the Sunshine Girls to work with Paul and his trio, she was replaced initially by Marilyn Myers Tuttle. After Tuttle left, Summer's older sister, Eva, sang with Earler and Widener as the Three Rays on the Jimmy Wakely Show on CBS.
From 1946 to 1948 Summers was a regular actor in the drama portion of The All-Star Western Theatre, a radio program hosted by Foy Willing and his Riders of the Purple Sage.
By 1947 Summers became romantically involved with Paul, whose first marriage to Virginia M. Webb was failing, as it could no longer endure the stresses and strains of his show-business career. In January 1948, while traveling on Route 66 through Oklahoma, the couple’s car driven by Summers skidded off the road and plummeted 20 feet into a frozen creek bed. After the accident, Summers identified herself to authorities as Iris Watson Among Paul’s many injuries, his right elbow was shattered, and it would be eighteen months before he could play guitar again. After Paul's wife Virginia took their two sons to Chicago, Summers moved in with Paul in his house on Carson Avenue, where she took care of him as he recuperated from the effects of the car accident.
By July 1949 Summers was performing under the stage name of Mary Ford. To avoid confusing her established western music audience, initially Paul named his musical partner "Mary Lou", but later selected the stage name "Mary Ford" from a telephone directory so her name would be almost as short as his.
In 1949, Paul and Webb divorced, and he married Ford on December 29, 1949 in a "small private ceremony without much fanfare" in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ford and Paul had three children: a baby born on November 26, 1954, who died four days later; Mary Colleen Paul, who they fostered since 1958; and Robert Ralph "Bobby" Paul (born in 1959).
She and Les Paul were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1541 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
In 1956 Ford separated briefly from Paul when she ran away to Amarillo, Texas.
In May 1963 Billboard magazine announced that Ford and Paul had separated, with Ford moving to California. In July, Ford filed for divorce from Paul in California charging him with cruelty, alleging that Paul forced her to record and perform even when she was ill. At the end of July 1963 Ford was awarded $5,000 a month temporary alimony.
In October 1963 Paul initiated divorce proceedings in New Jersey against Ford, on the grounds of adultery and cruelty claiming she had committed adultery with cowboy singer Foy Willing during a three-year affair, and also with building contractor Donald E. Hatfield, and "other various men"; had neglected the care of their children; and had humiliated him in public by boasting of her affection for other men and claiming that he had abused her. While not convinced that her husband was in a current sexual relationship with Ford, Sharon Lee Willing, alleges her husband and Ford had a sexual relationship during their time together on The Hollywood Barn Dance in the mid-1940s; that Ford had a proprietary interest in her husband, often phoning him in the middle of the night; and that her husband recommended his own attorney to Ford to handle her divorce, but that the lawyer eventually resigned as Ford was always drunk, often obstinate, indecisive and forgetful about details in their meetings.
After dropping his charges of adultery and desertion, on December 17, 1964 Paul was granted an uncontested divorce on the grounds of extreme cruelty and granted custody of their son.

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Relationship Timeline

16th December, 1964 - Divorce

May, 1963 - Breakup

29th December, 1949 - Marriage

1947 - Hookup

Couple Comparison

Name
Mary Ford
Les Paul
Mary Ford
Les Paul
Age (at start of relationship)
22
31
Zodiac
Cancer
Gemini
Occupation
Singer
Musician
Nationality
American
American
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Children

NameGenderBornAge
Mary ColleenFemale
Robert RalphMale

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