He followed it with Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent, I Want You to Be My Girl and other songs characterized by his trademark piercing high voice. As a child star, however, I was subjected to discipline from agents, managers and lawyers, but it was a discipline that protected me from myself so to speak. LYMON REESE OBITUARY. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. Her singing group, the Platters, had been even more successful than the Teenagers, and the group was sometimes referred to as the Four Platters and a Dish. "Knowing the facts like I know them, I feel confident there will be an appeal," McCracken predicted. With the trial about to begin and still believing that he had a firm agreement with Emira, Ronnie ran a second benefit concert in the fall of 1985 to raise additional funds for Frankie Lymons tombstone. Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both were apparently correct. Music Stephen James Taylor. Lymon in February 1967 talked about his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. Hell, the boy had so many needle marks on him, I thought he was a God-damned . Why Do Fools Fall in Love is not quite the question asked by this up-tempo, relentlessly cartoonish biopic focusing on the tangled romantic life of an early rock star. Macron wont let go off Africa so easily, he is love sick, Canadas Debt Crisis: A Never-Ending Burden Passed On From Generation to Generation, Alcohol tax in Canada: Canadian government is taking a sip out of your beer. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? Her sister's boyfriend introduced them; soon, Emira was cooking meals for Frankie and they were shopping for wedding rings. * Playing in general release throughout Southern California. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. Visit Sat. He moved into her home and her bedroom. According to Paula Spans story, he was arrested a least three times in New York for grand larceny or heroin possession, and the Selective Service, hungry for recruits as the war in Vietnam escalated, was after him. Similar to the stars of today, whenever the press cites "exhaustion" it's drug related. Interment: Whispering Pines Cem. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters : You see, y'all gotta understand. "She did not know the druggie described in this trial She knew a soldier.". Span wrote that Rubin gets his share too. I loved him like a brother.". I know its been good for me.. Her adversary, Morris Levy, was a powerful force in the music business. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. He had the type of personality that would draw people, she said. After learning of this, Elizabeth went to court to request the suspension of the law. Lymon's work had largely been reduced to lip-syncing at record hops; he said Zola could help get him some gigs in Los Angeles. According to Paula Span, people sometimes compared Frankie with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. Similarly, one of the unexamined factors in his turning to hard drugs was apparently the difficulties caused by his voice beginning to change. Though other people testify in the trial, notably Little Richard playing himself and saying things like I am the originator, the emancipator, the motivator, most of Fools is told in flashback as each woman takes the stand and relates her portion of Lymons life. According to Spans reporting, Emira paid the $2,000 bill. An employee of a furniture store in north Philadelphia, she was in South Carolina for a family funeral. It teaches him responsibility and how to stand on his own two feet. As legacies go, it's not bad. All rights reserved. Waters, who on the witness stand acknowledged a long struggle with drugs and prostitution during her tempestuous relationship with the onetime star, got the news from her attorney Monday night. Zola never saw him alive again. He changed the spelling of the group's name on the record label to "Kodoks" to avoid a possible lawsuit from Eastman Kodak, and released their first single, "Teenager's Dream" and . Zola, the second supposed wife, got to be pretty friendly with the first. The Lymon she knew was more of a homebody than a homeboy--someone so different than the man the other two women married that, as someone sarcastically comments, it seems like anything in a skirt was Frankies type.. She turned to heroin and cocaine herself, she acknowledged on the stand, and to support her daughter from her first marriage, she became a prostitute. She's going to call it "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. One of his records with the Teenagers was called "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent," but for all the conviction in his sweet young voice, he probably was one. When asked about his association with alleged mob figures, Levy, who was Jewish, responded: "I've been on Broadway 47 years. Paula Span revealed that if Elizabeth or Zola was found to be his widow, they agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insisted, "Up to a point." They were married in June 1967 at the Beulah Grove Baptist Church, with 50 members of Emiras family in attendance and a reception afterward at the Capri Lounge. Rodgers, who had been Roulettes top-selling artist in the 50s and early 60s with his #1 hit Honeycomb and 26 other charting singles, suffered traumatic head injuries from a blunt instrument in the beating. "A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.". You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Also Read Inside Data and Cyber Security issue in Barbados Europe plays chess with Wagner's African moves, imposes sanctions If none of the women was found to be Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stood to inherit. Executive producers Gregory Nava, Mark Allan, Harold Bronson. The opinion dismisses the claims of Taylor, who was unable to produce "credible proof" of her marriage to Lymon or her divorce from her previous husband, both of which she said occurred in Mexico. Visit our Frankie's particular scam, she believed, was getting married. Final briefs are due next week, with a decision expected later this spring. The names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy were now listed as the songwriters. Obituary. Her complaint charged fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. Both Zola and Elizabeth think their agreements with Levy fair, and neither plans to take legal action against him if she is found to be Lymon's widow. The signs were plain, she says now, that Lymon was floundering, working only intermittently, addicted to drugs and probably to alcohol as well. But "I couldn't get my hands on him, couldn't find him." With the waters thoroughly muddied, the federal judge stayed Emira's lawsuit in 1986 pending determination of which woman was Lymon's widow. But Anne Pomeroy of the Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. (which has played a major role in the Lymon case, and about which more later) spoke with Emira at length. "Frankie had a very good appetite for the best of life," she says. Best Answer. NEW YORK The judge who last winter heard three middle-aged women testify to their heartaches with the late Frankie Lymon the doo-wop idol who cowrote and sang "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and died 20 years ago of a heroin overdose has found Elizabeth Waters, 46, of Philadelphia, to be Lymon's legal widow. ", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was part of the American Graffiti film soundtrack and album, a big pop hit single and album for Diana Ross in 1981, and had been used in a greeting card commercial. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth told the court, he pulled a gun on her and fled. He was clean for a time when she became pregnant in 1963, and he was deeply saddend by the death of their infant daughter. She and Frankie began living together in 1962, she testified. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. Emira's attorneys argue that Elizabeth and Frankie separated in mid-1965 and never lived together as man and wife thereafter, invalidating her claim to a common-law marriage. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Levy declined direct comment on the Lymon matter. Zola: "I perform all over the world"), she arrived at court daily in a limousine. Editor Nancy Richardson. Undisputed, however, was the song's impact. Levy was aware of all the details of Frankie Lymons love life, and he used it to his advantage by bringing in Elizabeth Waters and Zola Taylor to challenge Emiras claim to be Frankies widow and, by having the court determine her marraige to be invalid, derail her lawsuit. What is less clear from the file is why, 20 years afterward, it has become so important to be Frankie Lymon's legal widow. A pop record seemed disposable then, before the rise of the nostalgia industry. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. Check places of employment, social media profiles, work history, photos and videos, resumes and CV, arrest records, publications, public records and business records . No one could have foreseen that the people who grew up with the music would refuse to relinquish it, and the songs would be repeatedly recycled into movie soundtracks and albums, cover versions, oldies compilations, and television commercials. Emira came to New York to arrange for his funeral mass and burial, and she paid the bill -- $2,000. The beautiful granite tombstone that Ronnie ordered weighed over 1,000 pounds. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Evan Rachel Wood denies allegation that she manipulated Marilyn Manson accuser, Ben Kwellers son Dorian Zev killed in car crash: No idea how to deal with this , Justin Biebers Justice world tour canceled after several postponements, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Newsom rescinds Californias COVID-19 state of emergency, marking an end to the pandemic era, Blake Shelton embarks on last season of The Voice before doing a little bit of nothing, Madonna salutes late brother Anthony Ciccone for blowing my mind as a young girl, L.A. Phils 2023-24 season lineup celebrates the 20th anniversary of Walt Disney Concert Hall, Cardi B changes tune on community service, calls it best thing, spiritual journey, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Im visiting all 600 L.A. spots on the National Register. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she said, "you know that he went through hell.". He can't remember what Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers sounded like that day -- the girls' shrieks all but drowned them out -- but he recalls the excitement. Ash Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Amira Eagle reached out to Morris Levy, a music entrepreneur who retained Lymons copyrights and copyrights, claiming to be Lymons legal widow; Lymon didnt bother to divorce any of them. Zola Taylor Lymon. The Happenings' 45. He also represented several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. Like the jazz and blues artists before them, the rock 'n' rollers of the '50s and '60s were often ripe for rip-offs. It was also not uncommon for an agent, producer, or record label head to name himself co-writer of a groups songs, thereby entitling him to half of the authors publishing royalties. Her divorce didn't come through until 1965. Though Navas soapy directing style makes Fools watchable enough in a campy way, the films unsophisticated nature undermines its better qualities. Zola has been unable to locate records documenting their Mexican wedding, or documenting her Mexican divorce from her previous marriage (her second). For his part, Rubin's not opposed to generating new income from old music. The trial of the three wives went forward, and final briefs were due in early 1988. Frankie Lymon/Wife. Then he called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. Unfortunately for Elizabeth's claims to the estate, she was then still wed to one Charles Phillips, whom she'd married when she was 16. Family and friends said goodbye Friday to Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, who. Zola got to be pretty friendly with the first wife. Set decorator Jackie Carr. Not to mention that two other members of the Teenagers have filed suit claiming they cowrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" Ah, Frankie. The elephant in the room was the large sum of money that would be awarded to whoever was determined to be the songwriters of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love. It was copyrighted in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy. Producers Paul Hall, Stephen Nemeth. They wanted to impress their friends in school by being on the radio. Zola's attorneys argue that California law makes her a "putative spouse" entitled to share in Lymon's property. Elizabeth, now 46, says she's been born again, but she still strives for glamor, her skirt fashionably above the knee, her fingernails long and orange. Span wrote that Frankies relationship with Zola was not entirely maternal. Zola and Elizabeth didn't get close to Emira; she didn't have anything much to say to them, either. That don't make me a Catholic. ("I thought royalties was a dessert," says Elizabeth.). Then, two months after his dishonorable discharge (for repeatedly being AWOL), he went to New York, telling Emira he wanted to see about reviving his career. Levy had been arrested earlier in 1986 as part of the F.B.I. Emira came to New York to arrange for Frankies funeral mass and burial. An act could rise and fall with astonishing swiftness then. "He had the type of personality that would draw people," she said. It was Bryant who was depicted in the 1998 movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein says. She had insisted that he check himself into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit. He was previously married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. ", Doo-wop historian Philip Groia, author of "They All Sang on the Corner," attended one of Alan Freed's legendary rock 'n' roll shows at the Brooklyn Paramount in the spring of 1956. Emira refused their counter offer. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Watch a performance of "Little Boy And Girl" by Pearl McKinnon and the Kodakshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6P329DMKY. Waters Residence Hall is centrally located in the heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota. Chuck Rubin. Fox), a prison-hardened former shoplifter and prostitute. Friday, November 06 2020. She said he didn't mean to hurt her, and blamed his behavior on his addictions. Sound Veda Campell. Frankie was that kind of person, Your Honor, Elizabeth said. But the case may not end there, of course. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. Paralleling the spectacle of these three women battling over Lymons heritage is the way different elements of this film, directed by Nava from a script by Tina Andrews, are in conflict with one another. Get our L.A. Unfortunately, shes also involved in the films least convincing area, the jarring sections that deal with the troubles brought on by Lymons habit. 22, 2021. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. The next month, according to Zola, she and Frankie drove to Tijuana and got married in a small chapel. Frankie Lymon had been on his record label for most of his career, and Levy knew much more about the singer than Emira, who had only been with him for a year. He was the . View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. The film travels back and forth in time to explore their relationship with the singer. I often tell people that Frankie didnt end up living a glorified life. He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. She also turned to prostitution to support her daughter from her first marriage, to one Charles Phillips, when she was just 16. He left no fortune, but his name was listed as one of the songwriters of Why Do Fools Fall In Love. If the judge's ruling stands, "then we go to federal court and advise the judge that the party who commenced the action is the wrong party," says Levy's attorney in the case, Leon Bornstein. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. And yet -- what was it about him? The court found that "the decedent and Elizabeth {Waters} have satisfied the requirements of common law marriage in the State of Pennsylvania." He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. Artists Rights helped secure a financial settlement for Richard Berry, composer of "Louie, Louie" just before the song was used in a wine cooler ad. Why Do Fools Fall In Love was a prime example, and its publishing rights may have earned a lot of money by 1984, according to Chuck Rubin of Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. Rubin established his organization in 1981 to represent artists who he believed had been deprived of their earnings by their record companies. Frankie, by 1965, had pretty much been reduced to lip-synching at record hops on the East Coast. In one disturbing incident, James wrote that Levy arranged a 1967 attack on former Roulette artist Jimmie Rodgers by an off-duty police officer in response to Rodgers repeated demands for unpaid royalties he was owed by the label. Rubin's 200 or so clients, from the Del Vikings to the Coasters, constitute an honor roll of early rock 'n' roll. Army discipline, I think, teaches a man how to protect himself. By the time Frankie showed up, unannounced, in Los Angeles, Zola had done well for herself. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. He once told a magazine interviewer that he'd been a pimp since he was 10. It also dooms, at least for now, the hopes of singer Zola Mae Taylor of Los Angeles, the female member of the original Platters, and Emira Eagle, a schoolteacher from Augusta, Ga., each of whom had claimed in court that she was Lymon's widow and heir. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. became part of the "American Graffiti" sound track and album, was a No. She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. "I'm not going to wear mink coats with {you} in jeans," she announced. He is skeptical, too, about some of the harrowing descriptions of Lymon that have surfaced during the legal jousting. Her singing group, the Platters, was sometimes referred to as the Four Platters and a Dish; Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. Though Waters was not yet divorced from her first husband when she and Frankie Lymon married in a civil ceremony in Alexandria in 1964, their union became valid when that divorce became final in 1965, the judge found. By 1962, Frankies career had been in decline for several years but she had nevertheless come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. Key parts of this chronology are in dispute, of course. "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. Frankie could fool you, he could fool me; Frankie could fool God. In fact, Rubin calls them "mundane, everyday.". She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. ", Like the jazz and blues artists before them, the rock and rollers of the 1950s and 1960s were often ripe for rip-offs, and royalties were underestimated or simply never paid. Heres the glamorous Zola Taylor (Halle Berry), a member of the Platters, one of early rocks supergroups. Elizabeth testified that she did not object. I know some of these characters, and some I like very muchI knew Cardinal Spellman, too. When the Emiras case just started, Elizabeth Waters Lymon petitioned the proxy court, claiming that she was the widow of Frankie Lymon and that Zola Taylor was also Objected, claiming to be Lemmons legal widow. He was told, after he raised the money, that she didnt want the headstone for the grave and that he wasnt authorized to put it on there.. He and two codefendants are busy preparing for their April 11 trial for extortion and conspiracy in federal court in Camden, N.J., stemming from an FBI investigation of organized crime in the recording industry. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. What was there about Frankie Lymon? Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. It teaches him responsibility and how to stand on his own two feet. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. Elizabeth, now 46, said she had been born again, but she still strove for glamor, her skirt fashionably above the knee, her fingernails long and orange. He then was a private in the Army taking basic infantry training at Fort Gordon and assigned to Company D, 16th Battalion, 2nd Training Brigade. Recording costs and commissions for everyone from managers to choreographers could siphon off much of a group's earnings. Zola, the older woman, was 17. When a star-struck group like the Teenagers finally got to audition for a doo-wop impresario, such matters as copyright barely figured in the conversation. The female lawyer stated that the battle began shortly after Emira asked the Georgia court to declare her as the administrator of Lemmons Estate. US fails miserably against Russia at the crucial UN Vote. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Cheesborough. Span wrote that she was conscious of her stardom and arrived at court daily in a limousine. Her published account of the trial and the three women contesting to be named Frankies legal wife and heir was titled The Three Wives: The Legacy Of Love. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. Paula Span, Frankie was addicted to drugs and alcohol and Elizabeth, who was 19 at the time, was sympathetic. As Water's claim went to court, Zola Taylor ex-member of the Platters, claimed that she had been sexually active with Lymon as early as the "Biggest Rock "n" Roll Show of 1956" tour. During the trial, the judge even raised the disquieting possibility that none of his three supposed marriages was legally contracted, that Lymon has no widow. Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. When she recovered, she declared that "she knew it; she'd had faith all along," Peterson said. 8822 County Road 64. Emira Lymon, who was appointed administrator of his estate in Georgia in 1973, sued her dead husband`s record company in 1984 for $500,000 in royalties. The opinion by Surrogate Court Judge Marie Lambert entitles Waters to an estate that may be worth $750,000 in accumulated royalties from Lymon's 1956 hit and its more recent incarnations. DAPHNE, AL 36526. She and Frankie became teenaged lovers in 1956 while they were on an Alan Freed bus tour of 81 one-nighters, each performing with their group along with an all-star cast. Also a plus is the entertainment value of the films infectious classic rock soundtrack, which (besides the Teenagers hits sung by Lymon) includes songs like The Great Pretender, Try a Little Tenderness and Heat Wave., Hampering this on the negative side, besides the films awkwardness with its dark moments, is an inability to provide more than the most superficial look at anything. Emiras attorneys argued that Elizabeth and Frankie separated in mid-1965 and never lived together as man and wife thereafter, invalidating her claim to a common-law marriage. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. In January 1964, he began a relationship with Elizabeth Mickey Waters, from whom he gave birth to his only daughter Francine, who died two days later. Back in New Jersey, Ronnie Italiano and the UGHA had adhered to Emiras aforementioned wishes and held off on moving forward with their project to acquire and place a memorial tombstone on Frankie Lymons grave until her lawsuit was settled. During 1965, the copyright for Why Do Fools Fall In Love was changed. The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. * MPAA rating: R, for language and some sexuality. Frankie Lymon Music - Singer Why Famous: Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, band Age: 25 (8/30/1942 - 2/27/1968) Frankie Lymon's Relationships (3) Elizabeth Waters Other - Spouse He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. Id have killed him, I was so angry, Zola told Span. "Some drug users, they rob, they steal, they do everything to sustain that habit." Elizabeth Waters was a struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia. She plays Lemmons second wife. He had the looks; he had the voice; he had the moves. But her secretary and her booking agent both testified that they were witnesses to the wedding. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. with Frankie Lymon, and they have filed their own federal suit against Levy et al., with Emira also named as a defendant. Elizabeth Waters may be entitled to an estate worth $750,000 in accumulated royalties from Lymon 1956 hit and its more modern iterations, according to Surrogate Court Judge Marie Lamberts ruling. Paula Span reported that neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Georgia. Her divorce from Phillips was not finalized until 1965. "He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother," Elizabeth explained during the trial. Zola Taylor Lymon, now 50, one of the original Platters, had flown in from Los Angeles. Maybe it was the afterglow from her Tijuana marriage that induced Zola to trust a junkie like Frankie to take care of her financial affairs when she left to tour Japan with the Platters in December 1965. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. Artists Rights helped secure a financial settlement for Richard Berry, composer of "Louie, Louie" (just before the song starred in a wine cooler ad), and represents several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. Last in line is Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon), a demure, well-bred Southern educator. Elizabeth, 43, of Philadelphia, claims she married Lymon in Alexandria, Va., in 1964, and that the couple had a child who died. Gender inclusive room options available. "Frankie wasn't much older, either, when he met the third Mrs. Lymon, Emira Eagle. Production design Cary White. He was a hustler, a liar and a thief. Borstein, Levy's attorney, says the charges are "complete speculation; there's absolutely no proof.". Lymon, known for being the lead vocalist of the world-wide popular rock group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, died less than a year later on Feb. 27, 1968, at age 25 in New York City, reportedly of a heroin overdose. "I can't just sit here and tell the court anything different. There may be further delays, though, while that executive faces federal extortion charges. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. The monetary figure was estimated by Chuck Rubin, a former agent, who Paula Span described as a kind of musical bounty hunter. She also wrote that he established his Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. in 1981 to hound, bully, or sue record companies that he thought were depriving artists of their earnings, while taking a substantial cut for his efforts. There was nothing in writing in regards to the fundraisers or purchasing the headstone, Olb said. 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