Ernestine Campbell Biography
Ernestine Campbell is a former secretary from Washington, D.C., and one of the celebrity wives in the United States who is widely known for being the ex-wife of Richard Wayne Penniman (Little Richard), a singer, songwriter, and rock n’ roll pioneer.
How old is Ernestine Campbell? – Age
Campbell is 81 years old as of 2020. She was born in 1939 in the United States.
Ernestine Campbell Marriage and Divorce
She married Little Richard on July 11, 1959, in California, after meeting at an evangelical rally in October 1957. The couple divorced in 1964. She and Richard initially shared a peaceful marriage with normal sexual ties, according to Harvin. Harvin believed that it was due to the celebrity status of her husband, which had made life difficult for her. Because of his being a negligent husband and his sexuality, Richard would say the marriage fell apart. Both Robinson and Harvin refuted Richard’s allegations that he was gay and Richard claimed that they did not realize it because he was such a pumper in those days.
Ernestine Campbell Son
Richard and Harvin adopted a one-year-old boy from a late church friend, Danny Jones. With Jones also serving as one of his bodyguards, Richard and his son stayed together. Later, on March 23, 1975, Ernestine married Mcdonald Campbell in Santa Barbara, California.
Ernestine Campbell’s Ex-Husband
Her husband Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) was a musician, singer, and songwriter. For seven decades, Richard was an important figure in popular music and society. The foundation for rock and roll was laid by his energetic showmanship and dynamic songs. As one of the first crossover black stars, Richard is listed, reaching audiences of all races. The Everly Brothers covered his works: Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1986 and in 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2015, the National Museum of African-American Music awarded Richard with a Rhapsody & Rhythm Award. For decades, his music helped define rhythm and blues, and, through efforts to sustain apartheid, drew blacks and whites together. He was the recipient of an award from the Music Academy and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation for lifetime achievement.
Ernestine Campbell Ex husband’s death
In 1985, in West Hollywood, Richard Penniman fatally smashed his sports car into a telephone pole. He sustained a fractured right leg, broken ribs, and bruises to his head and hands. In 2007, because of sciatica in his left leg, Penniman started having trouble walking, forcing him to use crutches. He went to the hospital in November 2009 to undergo replacement surgery on his left hip. Despite returning to performance the following year, he was wheelchair-driven on stage, and could only play sitting down.
He announced to CeeLo Green on September 30, 2013, that the week before, he had suffered a heart attack at his home and claimed that he had used aspirin and had his son turn on the air conditioner, which his doctor confirmed had saved his life. Richard died at the age of 87 at his home in Tullahoma, Tennessee, of bone cancer on May 9, 2020. He is interred at the Memorial Gardens Cemetery of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. Many artists, including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, John Fogerty, and Lenny Kravitz, paid tribute to Richard.
