After revelations that he had fathered two sons outside his marriage, it seemed that all the skeletons in Max Bygraves's closet must surely have emerged.
But yesterday a glamorous 57-year-old revealed that she is the third secret love child of the veteran entertainer.
Beverly Sass said she had made repeated attempts to contact Bygraves, whose wife of 69 years Blossom died in May. She claimed, however, that he had shunned her approaches, leaving her devastated.
'For him, it is like I don't exist,' she told the Daily Mail. 'It's been heartbreaking.'
Bygraves, 88, worked as a singer, actor, comedian and TV presenter for almost 60 years. He married Blossom Murray in 1942 and they had three children, Christine, now 68, Anthony, 64, and Maxine, 59.
In 1987 Bygraves, who cultivated a wholesome, family-man image, admitted he was the father of Stephen Rose, born after a brief affair with actress Pat Marlowe in 1961. Miss Marlowe committed suicide 16 months after Stephen’s birth.
Then in 2002, it emerged that he had fathered another son, John Rice, now 65, during an affair with landlady Margaret Garriock four years after his marriage. The third love child, Mrs Sass, is the daughter of June Mack, who was an 18-year-old showgirl when she met Bygraves in the 1950s.
Despite his infidelities, Blossom stood by her husband, who showed little remorse and was even quoted as saying: ‘My outlook is that life is like a self-service restaurant and you have to help yourself. Sometimes when you see what the other fella has got, you want some of it too.’
Cheshire-born Mrs Sass, who once worked as a backing singer for Lonnie Donegan but is now a church secretary in Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, said she had remained silent until now out of respect for his family.
‘I know that Max has his own life, which I am not part of, but I still thought we may be able to meet once a year and spend some time together,’ the twice-married mother of two told the Mail.
‘I once sent him a Father’s Day card with my telephone number in it. But he never replied. I have really struggled with this, all my life.’
Mrs Sass said her existence was kept a secret by her father’s showbusiness friends. She met him several times when she was around five years old, but saw him for the last time when she was 19 and he was performing in London.
‘There must have been about 50 people waiting backstage for autographs. I worked my way to the front and asked the stage manager to let Max know that Beverly, June Mack’s daughter, is here.
‘He didn’t show and in fact, after an hour, he sent someone down to see if I was still waiting for him. When he thought I had gone, he came down. We then spoke, but he looked at the ground the whole time.
‘He asked me if I was at school, what I was doing, where I was living. But one thing he did say, which I have treasured, was, “I just want you to know, I was once very much in love with your mother.” But then that was it.
‘That was the last time I saw him. I was shocked to find out that he had two other children outside his marriage and that I have two half-brothers who I have never met. I cried when I found out.’
Bygraves and his wife moved three years ago from Bournemouth to Queensland, where they hoped the climate would help her long-term chest complaint. However she had to move into a care home where Bygraves, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, joined her shortly before she died.
Mrs Sass, whose mother died seven years ago, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s.
‘Moving to the States has made things a little easier for me, because I don’t hear anything about him over here,’ she said. ‘It has been less painful because of that. I know he is very ill but I would still like the chance to have a reconciliation.’
sourceBut yesterday a glamorous 57-year-old revealed that she is the third secret love child of the veteran entertainer.
Beverly Sass said she had made repeated attempts to contact Bygraves, whose wife of 69 years Blossom died in May. She claimed, however, that he had shunned her approaches, leaving her devastated.
'For him, it is like I don't exist,' she told the Daily Mail. 'It's been heartbreaking.'
Bygraves, 88, worked as a singer, actor, comedian and TV presenter for almost 60 years. He married Blossom Murray in 1942 and they had three children, Christine, now 68, Anthony, 64, and Maxine, 59.
In 1987 Bygraves, who cultivated a wholesome, family-man image, admitted he was the father of Stephen Rose, born after a brief affair with actress Pat Marlowe in 1961. Miss Marlowe committed suicide 16 months after Stephen’s birth.
Then in 2002, it emerged that he had fathered another son, John Rice, now 65, during an affair with landlady Margaret Garriock four years after his marriage. The third love child, Mrs Sass, is the daughter of June Mack, who was an 18-year-old showgirl when she met Bygraves in the 1950s.
Despite his infidelities, Blossom stood by her husband, who showed little remorse and was even quoted as saying: ‘My outlook is that life is like a self-service restaurant and you have to help yourself. Sometimes when you see what the other fella has got, you want some of it too.’
Cheshire-born Mrs Sass, who once worked as a backing singer for Lonnie Donegan but is now a church secretary in Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, said she had remained silent until now out of respect for his family.
‘I know that Max has his own life, which I am not part of, but I still thought we may be able to meet once a year and spend some time together,’ the twice-married mother of two told the Mail.
‘I once sent him a Father’s Day card with my telephone number in it. But he never replied. I have really struggled with this, all my life.’
Mrs Sass said her existence was kept a secret by her father’s showbusiness friends. She met him several times when she was around five years old, but saw him for the last time when she was 19 and he was performing in London.
‘There must have been about 50 people waiting backstage for autographs. I worked my way to the front and asked the stage manager to let Max know that Beverly, June Mack’s daughter, is here.
‘He didn’t show and in fact, after an hour, he sent someone down to see if I was still waiting for him. When he thought I had gone, he came down. We then spoke, but he looked at the ground the whole time.
‘He asked me if I was at school, what I was doing, where I was living. But one thing he did say, which I have treasured, was, “I just want you to know, I was once very much in love with your mother.” But then that was it.
‘That was the last time I saw him. I was shocked to find out that he had two other children outside his marriage and that I have two half-brothers who I have never met. I cried when I found out.’
Bygraves and his wife moved three years ago from Bournemouth to Queensland, where they hoped the climate would help her long-term chest complaint. However she had to move into a care home where Bygraves, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, joined her shortly before she died.
Mrs Sass, whose mother died seven years ago, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s.
‘Moving to the States has made things a little easier for me, because I don’t hear anything about him over here,’ she said. ‘It has been less painful because of that. I know he is very ill but I would still like the chance to have a reconciliation.’
