Johnny Hallyday has just been joined by his “heart father”. Singer and dancer Lee Halliday, born Lemoine Gardner Ketcham, died at the age of 95 on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, his family revealed to AFP. The man who was Johnny Hallyday’s father figure during his childhood died peacefully in Marseille, where he had been living for a few years.
American music hall singer and dancer, he had brought on stage the very young Jean-Philippe Smet, then only 13 years old. The future singer will even borrow his name, with a y, becoming the Johnny Hallyday that everyone knows. If he is known to be the “father” of Johnny Hallyday, Lee Halliday is in fact his cousin by marriage, after his marriage to Desta Mar, cousin of the French rocker. The latter, abandoned by his very young father, made Lee Halliday his adoptive father, growing up under his wing.
Producer, artistic agent… During his existence, Lee Halliday played a big role in the career of the French star “There are a lot of people to whom I owe a lot. But Lee Halliday, he’s probably the person in my life who fathered me, who raised me, who taught me a little dance, “said the late rocker in the first episode of the series. documentary titled Johnny by Johnny, available on the Netflix streaming platform.
