Who is Connie Francis son Joseph Garzilli Jr and is he still alive? All we know about late singer’s only child

Singer Connie Francis, who passed away on July 16, is survived by her son, Joseph Garzilli Jr., also known as Joey.

Francis, who rose to fame in the late 1950s after recording a hit cover of Who's Sorry Now?, adopted Garzilli Jr. while she was married to her third husband, Joseph Garzilli.

Garzilli Jr. came into Francis’ life at a critical juncture. Francis, who had suffered two miscarriages, received a mail from a fan during the winter of 1974 who offered Francis a chance to adopt her son in order to give him a better life, as per The Washington Post. During a conversation with the publication in 1981, Francis herself recalled the day, and said,

“In it were pictures of a beautiful 2-month-old baby boy from a woman who had read in Earl Wilson's column that the reason I was going back to work was because I'd had a miscarriage and was depressed about losing the baby.”

The mail prompted the singer to ask her lawyer to put the process in motion, however, merely an hour later, she was r*ped in a horrific crime in her motel room.

Recalling the incident to The Washington Post, Francis said at the time,

“I went 'Wonderful, I have a baby!' I'm impulsive, called my husband, couldn't reach him; reached my lawyer at 2:30 in the morning. 'Call this number tomorrow and get this baby for me.' He said I was a lunatic, but finally wrote it down. An hour later, I was r*ped.”

Connie Francis formally adopted Joseph Garzilli Jr. six months later

After being a victim of r*pe, the perpetrator of which was never found, Connie Francis became depressed. She told The Washington Post that the baby she was keen on adopting arrived at her door a month after the assault, but because of the trauma she underwent, she found it difficult to care for the baby initially. She said,

“All my life I'd wanted a baby . . . But I found I couldn't even handle my baby. I had to hire someone to come into my house to take care of my baby.”

Despite difficulties, including in her marriage to Joseph Garzilli, Francis formally adopted the child six months later.

The late 70s did not bring an end to Francis’ troubles. She lost her voice as a consequence of nasal surgery, her husband left her and her brother was gunned down in a shooting in front of his house. Amid all of these difficulties, she told The New York Times that her son was her only source of happiness.

The bond between mother and son remained strong through the years. In 2024, Francis took to Facebook to share photographs from her son’s 50th birthday, and wrote,

“I am delighted to share with you pictures taken during a three-day trip to New Jersey last week. It was a happy visit from start to finish, and one in which I got to together with my son, Joey Garzilli, to celebrate his milestone 50th birthday!”

Connie Francis was appointed to the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. She also used the $1.5 million she was awarded after winning the lawsuit against the motel company for not providing strong locks to strengthen security at hotels.