Engelbert Humperdinck is an English pop singer that becomes an icon in the United Kingdom. He rises to stardom in the 1960s and 1970s. He rose to success on the strength of singles such as 1967’s “The Last Waltz” and 1966’s “Release Me”. Engelbert marries 1964 a woman, Patricia Healey. Despite his cheating on her in the early days of their marriage, they stayed together until her recent death. Before her death, she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for around a decade. She dies soon after having COVID-19 in early 2021. Engelbert was desperate during her last days, inciting fans to pray for his wife’s failing health. Join Facts Verse as we explore these final moments. Engelbert Humperdinck is desperate – hear his plea.
Engelbert Humperdinck was born Arnold George Dorsey on May 2 of 1936. He is born in Madra, British India, which is famous as Chennai, India. His father was of Welsh descent and a member of the British Army. His mother was of German descent. When Engelbert was 10 years old, the family moved to Leicester, England. It was here that Engelbert began showing his first signs of interest in music. His instrument of choice in his early years wasn’t his voice, but the saxophone. As a teenager in the 1950s, Engelbert is playing the saxophone at various nightclubs around England. He becomes most prominent as a singer. He didn’t develop an interest in singing until he becomes proficient at the saxophone. Most say that he began singing in his late teens.
During the mid-1950s, Engelbert’s pursuit of fame in the music industry interrupts by conscription into the army. Engelbert summons into the British Army Royal Corps of Signals. Despite this minor setback, Engelbert discharges by 1958. That year, he receives an opportunity to record with Decca Records. He chooses to perform the single “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”. It is a surefire hit with radio listeners at the time. However, the single underperformed. Although initial success eluded him, Humperdinck went on to see massive success later on. In the meantime, he continued performing at clubs. There was a minor interruption caused by a tuberculosis diagnosis in 1961. However, Engelbert kept at it. He knew that he was one day going to be famous, whether for singing or playing the saxophone.
Engelbert is famous to be a womanizer, and he marries Patricia Healey in 1964. The two went on to have four children, Bradley, Scott, Jason, and Louise. Engelbert was often unfaithful to his wife during the peak of his career. Two women successfully sued the singer in separate paternal lawsuits during the 1970s and the 1980s. However, he and his wife maintained a strong marriage regardless, working through the struggles as they came. The marriage lasted until Healey’s death in 2021.
Soon after becoming married, Engelbert found the success that he had always dreamed of. The singles “Release Me” and “The Last Waltz” became massive hits in the United Kingdom. Engelbert is famous to be a womanizer, and he marries Patricia Healey in 1964. Although fame across shores eluded him at first, he soon attained stardom status in America during the 1970s. Engelbert retains consistent success as a performer for the remainder of the century. He’s no longer being a mainstream draw in the 1980s. He was still a prominent performer into the 2000s. However, his wife’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease around 2010 changed and the singer focused a lot of his energy.
He’s still performing, Engelbert begins devoting a lot more time to helping his wife overcome her diagnosis in the 2010s. On top of love, attention, and traditional medicine, he utilized numerous alternative methods of therapy to try and help his late wife overcome Alzheimer’s. Always the mystic, Engelbert was no stranger to alternative medicine.
One time, Engelbert was visiting an alternative medicine therapist who diagnosed the singer with mystical powers. According to the therapist, Engelbert had a healing aura that could benefit those around him through prayers and the laying of hands. The therapist didn’t specify whether or not Engelbert’s voice could do the trick, which might increase the value of some of his old records. However, the therapist did specify that Engelbert couldn’t use his newfound powers to heal his wife. This wasn’t anything specific to Engelbert, but a general rule when it came to mystic healers.
According to Engelbert, he “just laughed at [the therapist]” when he heard this. However, that didn’t stop him from trying these supposed powers out. According to him, there have been numerous occasions where he attempted to heal others with his healing aura and actually saw results. According to the singer, he didn’t care if “people [thought he was] crazy”. If he could “help somebody in any way”, he was going to try and do it.
However, the alternative therapist’s warning about these healing powers not being affective on spouses proved true. Still, his own mystical healing powers were just one of many tricks that Engelbert had up his sleeve when attempting to help his late wife overcome her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! As well, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse content is on it’s way!
Whether or not Engelbert Humperdinck has magical powers is debatable, but he does seem to have eternal youth. Despite his late wife experiencing failing health before her tragic passing, Engelbert remained seemingly virile as ever. Despite apparently having been dyeing his hair since the 1950s, the 84-year-old singer was still an active musical performer at the time of his wife’s passing.
Given that the singer always has a lot of eyes staring at him when he’s on the stage, he has always liked to keep in shape. In his 80s, his fitness routine has included “drinking shakes” and “working out in [his] gym”, as well as “spending half an hour in [his] sauna”. He has also always liked to keep a tan, and has shared his unique methods for doing so. Instead of traditional suntanning lotion, Engelbert has always opted for a pure mixture of olive oil and vinegar. According to him, the mixture “makes your skin smooth and darkens you in a real hurry”.
In the last years of her life, Patricia Healey seemed to retain fairly impressive control over herself, although that didn’t stop the Alzheimer’s disease from showing many signs. She was cared for night and day at the couple’s home in Bel Air, California. Humperdinck used his fortunes to procure a constantly rotating cast of alternative healers to come and work their magic on his wife. Even if the therapies didn’t always work, Engelbert felt that he should be doing everything he possibly could just in case something proved effective. According to Engelbert, various methods had some success, leading to his wife staying in fairly consistent condition when other Alzheimer’s cases might’ve seen the patient getting much worse.
On top of trying out every medical option that he could find, whether traditional or alternative, Engelbert also believed in the healing power of love. He gave his all to keep the status quo maintained in their home, talking to his wife as if nothing was wrong regardless of whether or not she chose to respond. Some days she could be worse, but other days she was better. Regardless, Engelbert continued trying to push through.
Things remained consistent for Engelbert and Patricia up until early 2021, when the couple was diagnosed with COVID-19. While Engelbert recovered from the virus just fine, his wife’s Alzheimer’s symptoms prevented her from getting some of the same traditional treatments. As a result of these complications, Patricia ended up passing away on February 4 of 2021. Given all that him and his wife had overcome in the past decade, Engelbert was devastated. Upon his wife’s diagnosis, the singer had taken to social media in a plea to try and get fans to pray for his wife to overcome her failing health. The virus hit Patricia incredibly hard, preventing her from eating or drinking.
Upon hearing about the diagnosis, Engelbert fans around the world banded together to try and spread his message. However, it appeared to be too late. After a decades-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Patricia was pronounced dead from COVID-19. Engelbert and his wife had been married for over 50 years, and the news of his wife’s passing was incredibly hard for him to take. After doing so much to help see her through her battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the sudden blow from an unrelated virus was a huge shock to Engelbert and the rest of the family.
Given that the death occurred so quickly, it is likely that the family has not had time to process. However, the battle with Alzheimer’s disease over the past decade had certainly prepared them for the notion that Patricia wasn’t always going to be there the way they remembered her. If COVID-19 hadn’t taken her away, it’s certain that Engelbert could be counted on to have taken care of his wife for many more years to come. Engelbert always maintained hope that he was one day going to be able to beat his wife’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Although everyone around him considered him a fool, he was adamant that he was going to be able to do the impossible. He tried his hardest, which is all he could do.
Engelbert Humperdinck had many hits in both the United Kingdom and across the world. Comment down below to share your favorite pop hit from the singer’s long career, or if you’d simply like to put some positivity out there for the beloved star. As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
