Nothing bothered him except bothering other people,” Trina Edwards said.Īccording to the statement, she said his dying words were to his 7-year-old son: “Eli told him every night, ‘I love you.’ And he told Eli, ‘I love you, too.’ Those were his last words.”Ī lawyer, Edwards began his political career on the City Council in the town of Crowley in 1954 before moving on to the state Legislature, then Congress. They had a son, Eli, in 2013 - Edwards’ fifth child - and starred in a short-lived reality TV show, “The Governor’s Wife.” “I would have walked into prison a happy man had I known how it was going to end,” he said at his lavish 90th birthday bash in 2017. They divorced after he went to prison, but he found a third wife in Trina Grimes, then 32, a pen-pal who visited him behind bars. Five years later, at 66, he married 29-year-old Candy Picou in a ceremony at the governor’s mansion. He had four children during a 40-year marriage to his high school sweetheart, the former Elaine Schwartzenburg, before they divorced in 1989. Despite his unabashed fondness for high-stakes gambling, dirty jokes and his reputation as a womanizer, he earned a following among Catholics and fundamentalists. ![]() Raised a Roman Catholic, Edwards preached in the Church of the Nazarene as a teen and didn’t drink or smoke. According to his authorized biography, his father’s ancestors were Welsh his mother’s continental French but Edwards always considered himself a Cajun. 7, 1927, to a sharecropper and a midwife in Avoyelles Parish, in the region settled by 18th century French exiles from Nova Scotia who came to be known as Cajuns. Edwin Edwards at a gala party in Beverly Hills, Calif., in February 1977.Įdwards was born on Aug. But the dealmaking Edwards had a cooler demeanor.Īctress Gloria Swanson is crowned Queen of the Mardi Gras festivities by Louisiana Gov. They shared a populist appeal to the state’s downtrodden, and political fortunes that flowed in part from taxes on oil. Silver-haired and gifted with an easy charm, Edwards dominated Louisiana politics in the late 20th century much as Huey P. I’ve rarely seen a wider chasm between the promise for greatness and reality.” “He had everything, and yet squandered it by devoting much of his time to enriching his friends. He could relate to crowds better than almost any politician I ever knew,” Louisiana State University journalism professor Robert Mann said in an email Monday. ![]() “He had eloquence, creativity, a razor-sharp mind, executive abilities that many lacked, and leadership skills that many envied. Edwards maintained the case was built on secretly taped and misinterpreted conversations and the lies of his former cronies, who made deals to avoid jail.īut the conviction and the numerous investigations and allegations were an unavoidable stain on his legacy. The federal case that led to his May 2000 conviction involved him taking payoffs from interests seeking riverboat casino licenses during his final term in the 1990s. Infamously, the lifelong Democrat said once said that the only way he could lose to a particularly lackluster Republican was if he were “caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.”Ī native of Louisiana’s Acadiana region who swore his 1972 oath of office in French and English, Edwards enjoyed renewed popularity after emerging from prison in 2011 at age 83, with his flamboyant character intact. He was a transformational figure creating policies that assisted all the people of the state including African Americans.The “Cajun King” was known for delivering a steady supply of memorable one-liners as well as for his deft political instincts. Throughout his life he was a bridge builder, bringing many varied interests to the table to get things done.Īs of press time no announcement has been made about his funeral arrangements and other services celebrating his life.įormer Governor Edwin Edwards passed away at 93. Today as the infrastructure spending is being debated, Edwards, while in office he funded schools roads, bridges, and hospitals. The statement did not cite a cause of death.Įdwards, a Democrat, announced July 5th that he had entered hospice care after suffering respiratory problems for several years, according to media reports.ĭuring his long and colorful life Edwards built a political machine that helped champion African American causes throughout the state. ![]() “Edwin was a larger-than-life figure known for his wit and charm, but he will be equally remembered for being a compassionate leader who cared for the plight of all Louisianans,” the statement said. ![]() Eric Connerly Data News Weekly ContributorĮdwin Edwards, who was a 4-term Governor, died on July 12, 2021, at age 93, according to a statement from current Gov.
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