The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-06-14
MRS, DEMPSEY
GIVEN SETBACK
COunter-Suit Dismissed as
Substantiating Witness
Fails to Appear

White Plains, N. Y, June IA. -
CUP)-Supreme Court Referee j.
Addison Young dismissed Mrs.
Hannah Williams Dempsey's coun-
ter-suit for divorce against Lieut..
Comdr. William H. (Jack) Dempsey
today when her substantiating wit
ness failed to appear
When the trial of the double bar
relied divorce suit resumed this
morning, Gerald Donovan, attorney
for the former Broadway musical
comedy star, called for Yvette Col
bert to take the stand.
Miss Colbert, described as a sing
er, was to have been Mrs. DempSey's
witness in support of her contention
that Dempsey, now Coast Guard
officer, had committed adultery
with one Jane Doe"
When Miss Colbert did not re-
spond, Donovan advised referee
Young that he desired to withdraw
that portion of the charge from the
countersuit. Young ruled thereupon
that without the substantiating por-
ton, he could only order the coun-
ter-suit withdrawn.
That left only Dempsey's suit, al
leging that his wife had committed
adultery with two men, and Mrs.
Dempsey'S suit for separation, still
to be resolved. The men involved in
Dempsey's action are two prize
fight figures, Benny Woodall, Dali
las, Tex, promoter, and Lew Jen-
kins, former lightweight boxing
champion.
During the trials weekend recess
the Dempseys witnessed the first
Holy Communion of their daughter
Barbara 6, from opposite sides Of
the chapel.
The couple ignored each other at
the service yesterday.
Mrs. Dempsey sat on the right.
Dempsey sat on the left.
After the service, Barbara and
her sister Joan, 8, talked with their
mother, then joined Dempsey. Both
parents seek custody of the girls,
students at the Academy of Our
Lady of Good Counsel.
Dempsey took the girls to his
Scarsdale, N. Y, home after the
service.
When Donovan rested Mrs.
Dempsey's counters suit, her hus-
bands attorney, Arthur F. Driscoll,
called two rebuttal witnesses and
announced that a third would be
the former heavyweight champion
himself. Dempsey was not in the
room when the hearing convened.
The first witness was Herman
Souza, hotel bartender of Las Vegas,
New, who gave testimony intended
to refute Woodall's claim that he
had never boosted of his relation
ship with Mrs. Dempsey.
Souza said Woodall told him in
Los Angeles that Hannah doesn't
love Lew Jenkins any more, she
loves me-"
The witness also quoted Woodall:
I'VE have been living together from
time to time and it won't be long
before we'll be living together again
and married"
The bartender said Woodall boast
ed that Mrs. Dempsey had gone to
California to see him. Mrs. Dempsey
had testified that she went to Hol-
lywood because she was in poor
health and because she hoped ito
get into pictures.
Souza said Woodall had called
Hannah lovely and sweet and dis
played a photograph of her and let
tiers he said she had written to him.
Sophie Hohler. a maid in the
Dempsey New York apartment, then
testified that she had never seen
Dempsey push Mrs. Dempsey
around" as Mrs. Dempsey had tes-
tilted. She said Dempsey was always
"modestly dressed Mrs, Dempsey
had testified that he was always
going around the apartment" scam
tily dressed before their two daugh-
terS.