Late Irish comedian and actor Spike Milligan was married three times. At the time of his death in 2002, he was still married to his third wife, Shelagh Milligan. His wife, Shelagh (now deceased), and his children from his previous marriage had a legal dispute after the actor left his estate to the former.
Milligan was the father of six children from his relationships—four from his marriages and two from his extramarital affair.
The Irish actor had bipolar disorder for most of his life, which caused him serious breakdowns.
Spike Milligan was a famous Irish actor, writer, and comedian widely recognized for the groundbreaking radio series The Goon Show. He also acted in movies and TV series, such as The Big Freeze, Super Gran, No 73, and Gormenghast.
Milligan was also a talented writer. He was born to an English mother and an Irish father in British India. He wrote and edited numerous books, including Puckoon, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, and Silly Verse for Kids.
In 1957, Milligan won the BAFTA TV Award (Best Writer). Spike has various television credits as a comedian, including Don’t Spare the Horses, A Show Called Fred, The World of Beachcomber, and Oh In Colour.
Spike remained active until his death on February 27, 2002. Despite his death, his fans and followers still ask questions about Milligan’s married life, which has been shared here.
Spike Milligan’s Was Married To His Third Wife, Shelagh Sinclair, Until His Death
Milligan was married thrice, and his last marriage was with Shelagh Sinclair. Sinclair was a well-known actress and production assistant who had a successful career in the entertainment industry.
She worked on the production team of Connections, a 1978 television miniseries. According to her IMDb bio, Shelagh has other credits, such as The Unforgettable Spike Milligan and The Unseen Spike Milligan.
Spike and Shelagh married in 1983. The couple mainly kept their wedding information out of the public eye. They remained a strong couple until Spike died in 2002.
Despite being married for 19 years, Milligan and his third wife didn’t welcome kids. Reportedly, Sinclair was 25 years younger than her husband, Milligan. Sadly, she passed away in June 2011 (nine years after her beau’s death) at 67 in England.
There was a controversy when Spike’s headstone was removed after Sinclair’s death as she was buried in the same plot at St Thomas’s Church in Winchelsea, East Sussex.
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Spike Milligan Left His Entire Estate To Shelagh Sinclair But Not For His Children
Upon marrying Shelagh Sinclair, Spike Milligan made a controversial decision in his will: He left his entire estate to his third wife rather than his children from his previous marriages.
As said earlier, Spike was married to Shelagh until he died in 2002. In his will, Milligan left his whole estate, including his literary rights and royalties, to Sinclair.
The decision made by Spike was seen as controversial, mainly by his kids, who were reportedly upset by the exclusion from the will. This event created tensions in the Milligan family as his children felt that they had been mistreated.
Likewise, Shelagh angered Spike’s kids by auctioning off £75,000 worth of his mementos against the children’s will. Despite Sinclair having vowed to act as a lifelong “custodian” of Spike’s archive, her decision to auction the items was seen as a betrayal by the children.
In 2005, three of Spike’s kids tried to legally revoke his final will in favor of an earlier one, which gave them a share of the £500,000 family house in East Sussex, which Sinclair later sold.
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Spike Milligan’s Past Marriage With June Marlow and Patricia Ridgeway
Spike Milligan was first married to June (Marchinie) Marlow, also named Ann Howe. They married in 1952, and Peter Sellers was their best man.
June was also engaged in the entertainment industry. She was an actress who appeared in various movies and T.V. series. She debuted on the big screen by landing the role of Patty in ITV Play of the Week, released in 1960.
Five years later, she appeared in a T.V. miniseries titled Buddenbrooks. June also starred in two episodes of a 1978 T.V. series, A Horseman Riding By. She got more projects like Penmarric, Into the Labyrinth, Diana, The Pickwick Papers, and C.A.T.S. Eyes.
After working in Casualty, Down to Earth, M.I. High, and Rosamunde Pilcher, June’s last acting credit was in Doc Martin, where she played multiple roles from 2009 to 2019.
After eight years of marriage, Spike and June divorced in 1960.
Two years later, in June 1962, Milligan married again; his second wife was Patricia Ridgeway, also known as Paddy. At their wedding, English record producer & musician George Martin served as the best man.
The actor’s second spouse, Patricia, was diagnosed with cancer. Following many years-long battle with breast cancer, Paddy passed away in 1978.
Five years after Paddy’s demise, Spike married for the third time and remained with Shelagh Sinclair until his death.
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Spike Milligan Was The Father Of Six Children: Jane, Silé Harrower, James, Laura, Romany, And Seán
As mentioned earlier, Spike Milligan was married three times. From his first two marriages, he welcomed four children. When he married his first wife, June Marlow, they welcomed three children: Laura, Seán, and Síle.
Laura and Sean’s birthdates are not publicly available, but Sile was born in 1956 and is 68 years old as of 2024. Following Spike’s divorce in June, he got full custody of his three children.
From Spike’s second marriage with Paddy, they welcomed a daughter named Jane in April 1966. Jane is also an actress and has starred in Puckoon, Smooth Operator, and The Borghilde Project, among others.
While in a marital relationship with Paddy, Milligan had extramarital affairs, from which he fathered two children.
In his relationship with a woman named Margaret Maughan, he became the father of a son named James Milligan, born in June 1976.
Also, Milligan dated a journalist named Roberta Watt and gave birth to a daughter, Romany Milligan, in 1975.
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