Latest news with #Corky
Daily Mirror
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Strictly's Shirley Ballas' husband refused to take her back after she left for another man
Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has opened up about her love life, revealing she 'ran off' with her second husband Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed intimate details about her romantic past and how she 'eloped' with her second husband before desperately pleading with her first spouse to have her back. Shirley wed Sammy Stopford, her former dancing partner, when she was merely 18 years old. However, the Strictly Come Dancing star disclosed that she had fled to America with her new dancing partner Corky Ballas, abandoning Sammy in the UK. Just three months later, she was miserable and desperately asked him to reconcile, reports Birmingham Live. Speaking to chef James Martin on his ITV programme, Shirley explained: "I got to know Sammy Stopford and it was a meteoric rise at 17. I married Sammy at 18, we had five years together, we won everything. I was the youngest female to ever do that." The dancer continued: "I ran off with Corky Ballas to America. I was there for three months, decided I had made a mistake, called Sammy and said, 'Can I come back?' and he said 'No'." She remained with Corky and coached him "how to dance from scratch" before they proceeded to claim a dance championship. Shirley subsequently wed Corky in 1985. Their sole child, professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas, arrived the following year but the pair divorced in 2007. Corky allegedly abandoned Shirley for former Strictly professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff. Kristina notably dated Shirley's ex-husband for five years after the couple's divorce, though she has maintained she wasn't responsible for their marriage's collapse. Kristina and Shirley have both asserted that they remain on amicable terms. Shirley, when questioned about the possibility of Kristina returning to Strictly, has previously stated: "It would be absolutely fine. I have no issues with anybody being on the show at all." Shirley has openly discussed her challenging 22-year marriage to Corky in her autobiography, where she disclosed: "He had multiple girlfriends, even when I moved to America. I gave up my life for that man."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Corky's missing guitar
Jun. 11—Daughter continues search for bass that was stolen in 2014 When Summer Lambert's father passed away, one thing that weighed on her mind was his bass guitar. It wasn't just any guitar. It was custom built for Curtis Lee Holbrook, better known as Corky. He is famous for being in ZACHARIAH and then as the bassist of Sly Dog, the band that backed Billy Ray Cyrus as he became a country legend for his first album "Some Gave All." In the early 2000s, he returned to Ashland, Kentucky to make golf clubs and started Thunder Bay Studios to focus on producing records for local artists. In the 1990s, at the height of the popularity of Billy Ray Cyrus, the Fender Guitar company reached out to Corky and offered to build a bass to Corky's specifications — it had the neck of a Jazz Bass, the body of a Precision, electronics identical to a vintage 1962 model and a tobacco sunburst finish that fades from orange to brown to black at the edges. It was marked with the serial number V061100. "It was a hodgepodge of Fender parts and it was absolutely his pride and joy," Lambert said. "He took that on tour with him and it was his go-to bass." Lambert said Corky usually kept his prized bass at home, but took it to the studio one day in 2014 and left it there. Soon after, the bass was stolen. "He didn't even know the exact date it was stolen, because they opened the case, took the bass and left the case behind," Lambert said. "My dad just assumed it was in there until one day when someone asked him what was up with the empty case. He was devastated." For years, Corky tried to track down the guitar, checking pawn shops and even, at one point, offering $3,000 for its return. "I knew it was devastating for him," Lambert said, adding her dad would often go online in an effort to find it. "The bass wasn't even worth more than a couple thousand dollars. But to him, it was worth everything." Lambert said she didn't truly know how much the loss of the bass bothered Corky until the past few months. "He had been really sick and a couple days before his passing, he was in hospice and he mentioned to my aunt how upset he was that he never managed to recover the bass," Lambert said. "He knew he was dying and that was one of his last thoughts." In one of her last phone conversations with her dad, she told him that she loved him and that her best traits came from him including her musical talents. "I just wanted him to know how truly awesome of dad he was. And I made him a promise, I said I was going to find that bass," Lambert said. "My goal is not to get it back for me. My thought is that if I get it back, he can rest in peace. It devastates me that he brought it up on his death bed. It makes me upset that there was 10 years I could have been looking for it while he was still around." Corky passed away on May 14. Less than a week before he passed, Lambert, a violinist who has been learning to play the bass guitar, sent him a video of her playing a version of The Pixies' song "Where is my Mind?" "He watched the video and it brought such joy to his eyes. It was so worth all the time I spent to learn it," Lambert said. "I have always looked up to him and his talent." Lambert has taken to the Internet to bolster the search for that custom bass. She started a thread on Reddit in the r/Bass forum and on She created a computer-generated image of the bass to give people an idea of what it looks like. She even set up a for people to aid in her search. "I don't have any leads yet," she said. "Whoever took it may not even know the sentimental value of it. It could just be sitting in someone's closet. It could be sitting ins someone's pawn shop or used music shop. It is just sitting somewhere and I just want to get it back." You Might Like Lifestyles Villages plan activities around July 4 News Withrow chosen for council seat News Area students named to OU's Spring 2025 President's List News DeWine, mental health leaders unveil 988 license plate
Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Shirley Ballas' ex makes rare appearance as he dances with their famous son
Shirley Ballas said her ex-husband Mark's fat-shaming used to be so bad that she can no longer eat donuts but he and the Strictly star's son Mark Jr remain close Judge Shirley Ballas' former husband took the rare step of venturing onto social media as he put on TikTok show with their son. The Strictly Come Dancing judge is twice divorced - having been married first to ballroom dancer Sammy Stopford, 68, from 1980 until 1984, then to dancer Corky Ballas, 63, from 1985 until 2007. While married to Corky - whose real name is Mark Alexander Ballas Sr - Shirley welcomed her son Mark Ballas Jr, 38, who is an established performer himself and has competed as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars in the USA. He showed off his skills with his dad as the pair strutted together in a short video on the platform. They looked like they were taking things seriously as they captioned the clip: "Father son Samba whisk vibes" as they danced away in front of a stunning backdrop. Shirley's second marriage to American ballroom dancer Corky came after she met him at a dance competition in Canada. They wed in 1985 and remained married for 22 years before splitting in 2007. But it wasn't a happy marriage for Shirley and she detailed the problems. In her 2020 memoir, Behind The Sequins, Shirley revealed Corky had "multiple girlfriends" even when she moved to America for him, adding: "I gave up my life for that man." Shirley claims Corky fat-shamed her throughout their marriage - even when she was pregnant with their son. She alleged Corky would say: "Get too big and I'm out the door. I don't do fat, Shirley." After she developed a craving for doughnuts during her pregnancy, she claimed Corky hid a cockroach in one in a bid to stop her eating them. My husband at the time thought I was too heavy for being three months pregnant so he put a roach underneath my doughnut." Shirley said. "When I ate it, the cockroach crackled in my mouth with the legs dangling outside. This made me vomit straight away." The horrific experience meant Shirley has never eaten a doughnut again. Corky has never publicly commented on the claims. Opening up on Great Company with Jamie Laing, the four-time-engaged star said: "I'm not sure I was always in touch with my feelings. I think my first true love where I felt something really passionate was when I left Sammy and I thought I was moving in with Corky to Houston, Texas. "Six weeks after being with him and after I left my husband I realised that wasn't right either. I tried to come back but my first husband said...[Shirley threw up her middle finger] he said, 'see you'... I said to my mum, 'I'm not sure this is right for me.' She said, 'you made your bed you better lie in it.'"
USA Today
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Lulu Roman, gospel singer and longtime 'Hee Haw' castmember, dead at 78
Lulu Roman, gospel singer and longtime 'Hee Haw' castmember, dead at 78 Lulu Roman, a gospel singer and longtime star of country music variety show "Hee Haw," has died, a close friend confirmed to USA TODAY on April 24. She was 78. Roman died April 23, in Bellingham, Washington, where she had moved last year to be closer to him. The cause of death was not shared. Getting her start as a scrappy comedian and Go-Go dancer in the Texas nightclub scene, Roman's fame grew exponentially when she became a regular on "Hee Haw" − the long-running comedy sketch show that offered country music stars guest spots to perform. From 1969 well into the 1990s, Roman delighted "Hee Haw" audiences with wry humor and later a knack for gospel vocals. A bout with drug addiction sidelined her from the show briefly in the 1970s, after which she discovered Christianity and went on to record a dozen albums, including duets with Dolly Parton and George Jones. Roman performed at the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in 1980 and was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in the late 1990s. "Lulu Roman was a dear friend of 40 years and she will always be remembered as one who made people laugh and smile. What better tribute is there?" country music singer T. Graham Brown said of her death in a release. "I talked to her a few days ago. We shared one last laugh and I told her that I loved her. I will really miss her. May God bless her soul." Equal parts singer and actress, Roman appeared on "Hee Haw Honeys," a spin-off of the original show, as well as the movie "Corky" and an episode of "The Love Boat." Born Bertha Louise Hable in 1946, she was placed in an orphanage at two and a half years old, where she would live until she graduated high school. Battling a thyroid issue and struggling with her weight throughout her life, Roman later discussed how growing up overweight led to bullying and how a dramatic slim-down in later years helped her to understand how sugar had been a coping mechanism during a tough childhood. Roman is survived by her eldest son, Damon. Her youngest son, Justin, died in 2017.
