She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Friday, November 06 2020. 22, 2021. If Elizabeth or Zola is found to be his widow, they have agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. "He had the type of personality that would draw people," she said. The Happenings' 45. "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein says. An act could rise and fall with astonishing swiftness then. It makes him not only a good soldier, but a better individual. "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. They were married in June 1967 at the Beulah Grove Baptist Church, with 50 members of Emira's family in attendance and a reception afterward at the Capri Lounge. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. 2010-02-12 00:06:12. She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. He was energetic; dynamic; charismatic. She says she's never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated," yet she also talks about Lymon's ruptured family, and, again, his drug dependency. I often tell people that Frankie didnt end up living a glorified life. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. Believing that she had the stronger case, Big Seven agreed to pay Elizabeth an additional $5,000 if the federal lawsuit was dismissed because the plaintiff (Emira) was determined to not be the legal widow. The first decision was made in Waterss favor; Eagle appealed, and in 1989 the New York State Supreme Court Appeals Division overturned the original decision and transferred ownership of Lymon to Eagle. Mini Bio (1) Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. "I can't just sit here and tell the court anything different. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. Elizabeth Waters was not yet divorced when she married Lymon, but the marriage became lawful once her first husbands divorce was finalized. His attorney called the charges complete speculation claimed and that there was absolutely no proof of Levy's guilt. "She never disputed his role in the creation and authorship of this song," her attorney says. "Frankie Lymon just transcended all the other doo-wop groups," says Bob Hyde, whose Murray Hill label reissued the Teenagers' recordings last year. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. Zola: "I perform all over the world"), she arrived at court daily in a limousine. * MPAA rating: R, for language and some sexuality. 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. Borstein also said that Lymon, who was always pestering Levy for money, sold Levy the copyright to all his songs and that Levy has a signed document to that effect. Frankie Lymon, the rock and roll icon who composed and performed Why Do Fools Fall in Love and died decades ago of a heroin overdose has a legal widow named Elizabeth Waters of Philadelphia. Waters Residence Hall is centrally located in the heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota. Emira came to New York to arrange for Frankies funeral mass and burial. Aside from Waters, the winner of this legal round is Morris Levy, head of Roulette Records, among the defendants when Eagle brought a federal suit in 1984. 1200 Observatory Drive | Madison, WI 53706-1212 | Map. He had the looks; he had the voice; he had the moves. Last to the altar is Eagle, the sister of one of the singers Army buddies. She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? The only child he is known to have fathered died hours after her birth. It was Bryant who was depicted in the 1998 movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" It was put on hold until the completion of a new trial to determine which of three women Frankie Lymon was said to have married, but none of whom he ever divorced, was his rightful widow and heir. Frankie was arrested at 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. He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! Visit our He left no fortune, but his name was listed as one of the songwriters of Why Do Fools Fall In Love. Frankie's particular scam, she believed, was getting married. He then called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. Cinematographer Ed Lachman. He was inducted into the Army in December 1966, and sent to Fort Gordon, Ga. By the time Pvt. Copy. Opened 1940 | Named after Elizabeth Waters. Zola and Elizabeth declined, but say they were willing to accept an equal, three-way split. Owning the rights to 1950s rock and roll songs meant more in the 1980s than it did when they were hits. Thats why were here today.. Her obituary was posted on February 9, 2023. "Sell, sell, sell," he advises. Its a mark of how shallow Fools is that even as gifted an actor as Tate (excellent in Menace II Society and Dead Presidents) cant turn Lymon into anything more than a cipher. Times guidelines: a bloody beating and some genteel scenes of lovemaking. Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. 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. In fact, Rubin calls them "mundane, everyday.". Back in the 1950s, when a star-struck group like the Teenagers finally got to audition for the head of a record company, such matters as copyright barely figured in the conversation. It didnt last long, however. The signs were plain, she says now, that Lymon was floundering, working only intermittently, addicted to drugs and probably to alcohol as well. She and Frankie began living together in 1962, she testified. The Teenagers tried recording on their own, with a new lead singer. Lymon was discharged a year later, he'd said "I do" once more. But he will apparently have little trouble with Elizabeth Waters. ", 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. Director Gregory Nava. Your email address will not be published. Her divorce didn't come through until 1965. 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. She was 19 and sympathetic; she wanted to help him regain what he'd lost. DAPHNE, AL 36526. He left no fortune; when he died of a heroin overdose 20 years ago, he was broke and troubled, trying again for a comeback he never achieved. "Frankly, we do not believe that the claims set forth in the federal court case have merit," says Terrance McKnight, one of Zola's attorneys. Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. That eventually led to singing on street corners with friends and being discovered at age 12 by George Goldner of GEE Records. He claimed that both women thought that their agreements with Levy were fair, and that neither planned to take legal action against him if she is found to be Frankies widow. Parts of the above testimony and chronology of events were disputed in court. 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. Span wrote that back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration with a cake and champagne. In a matter that grew steadily more complex, Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, the two surviving members of the original Teenagers, filed their own federal suit against Levy and his companies, with Emira also named as a defendant. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. The trial of the three wives went forward, and final briefs were due in early 1988. ", Meanwhile, Paula Span used both interviews and court testimony to profile each of the widows in her story. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. Id have killed him, I was so angry, Zola told Span. By 1964 he was using again, and she was hiding the money from his occasional gigs in a hole in the wall of their apartment to keep him from buying heroin with it. Similar to the stars of today, whenever the press cites "exhaustion" it's drug related. ", "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. Lymon and his group followed up with three more hits in 1956 and another in 1957. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. The female lawyer stated that the battle began shortly after Emira asked the Georgia court to declare her as the administrator of Lemmons Estate. So estimates Chuck Rubin, a former agent who's become a kind of musical bounty hunter. 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. "The only thing {Morris Levy} had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago says. And then he went out and proved it. He once told a magazine interviewer that he'd been a pimp since he was 10. Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters : You see, y'all gotta understand. Lymon related that he started singing publicly with his three brothers in a choral group at Gospel Church in New York City. Elizabeth Waters may be entitled to an estate worth $750,000 in accumulated royalties from Lymon 1956 hit and it's more modern iterations, according to Surrogate Court Judge Marie Lambert's ruling. He told Zola that the new guest was a friend from New York, Zola recalled. 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. "They wanted to impress their friends in school" by being on the radio. Emiras Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum, Pomeroy said. I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. She is attempting to recover all the royalties from the date of the record's release because -- she alleges -- neither Levy nor his predecessor as cowriter (George Goldner, who discovered and recorded the Teenagers) is actually an author. Frankie Lymon died in New York. He probably found out through her attorney, who Ronnie now had to deal with during the lawsuit., His dealings with Emira had all been oral. Emira's attorneys have alleged that the other two widows "acted in concert" with Levy, and point to contracts that Zola and Elizabeth each signed with Levy's publishing business, Big Seven Music Corp. Each assigned the song's copyright to Big Seven in exchange for an advance ($10,000 in Elizabeth's case, $7,500 in Zola's) against her share of future royalties. He was a hustler, a liar and a thief. 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. When asked about his association with alleged mob figures, Levy, who was Jewish, responded: "I've been on Broadway 47 years. He was busy preparing for an April 11 trial for extortion and conspiracy in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, stemming from an F.B.I. Both Elizabeth's and Zola's attorneys say Emira offered their clients 20 percent (for Elizabeth) and 5 percent (for Zola) of the estate. Depending on how the judge rules, the decision may reactivate a federal suit to wrest Lymon's royalties and publishing rights from the record industry executive who claims to own them. It was engraved with the words, In Memory Of Frankie Lymon Sept. 30, 1942 - Feb. 27, 1968 "We Promise To Remember". 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. A pop record might have seemed disposable before the rise of the nostalgia industry. The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Funeral services have been held for the widow of '50s rock star Frankie Lymon. The film travels back and forth in time to explore their relationship with the singer. That wasn't his style. She also turned to prostitution to support her daughter from her first marriage, to one Charles Phillips, when she was just 16. Published by Legacy on Jul. Undisputed, however, was the song's impact. There was nothing in writing in regards to the fundraisers or purchasing the headstone, Olb said. co-starring Halle Barry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? ("I thought royalties was a dessert," says Elizabeth.). At the age of 13 little Lymon and his group of singers Teens signed a recording contract. "He had been busted in California again for drugs. With the waters thoroughly muddied, the federal judge stayed Emira's lawsuit in 1986 pending determination of which woman was Lymon's widow. Lymon was only 12 when he hooked up with the foursome that became the Teenagers, but there was an aura about him that the city's doo-wop entrepreneurs recognized. And that song, which he wrote or helped to write and which will bear his boyish vocal signature forever. "He had the type of personality," says Elizabeth Waters Lymon, Wife No. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. His widow in 2013 said she was lucky to know and love Lymon at a good time in his life when he was happy being in the Army and still had hopes for the future. ", But in 1984 (as the original copyright term of the song was expiring) Emira Eagle Lymon brought suit in U.S. District Court in New York against Levy, his attorney, his record label and his publishing company. For part of Lymons appeal to women was how uncommonly young he was; the singers first hit came before he was 14, younger than most romantic leads can play. 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. Zola Taylor had also been a teen-aged star. Big Seven agreed to pay Elizabeth an additional $5,000 if the federal lawsuit is dismissed because the plaintiff (Emira) is not the legal widow. He moved into her home and her bedroom. Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 - February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group The Teenagers.The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The sum, he said, "might have been $1,500. If Emira won, she would share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." 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, taking a substantial cut for his efforts. When she left to tour Japan with the Platters in December 1965, she says, she left Frankie living in her hillside house with instructions to pay the bills out of an allowance forwarded by her attorney. As a been-around woman never at a loss for an insulting put-down (He dropped you like a whores panties is one example), Fox gives Fools most engaging performance. He told Zola that the new house guest was "a friend from New York," Zola remembers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. He was previously married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. 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. Recording costs and commissions for everyone from managers to choreographers could siphon off much of a group's earnings. Wiki User. By the time of the trial, publishing rights to the song might have been worth seven figures. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. Taylor, of Los Angeles, a singer with the Platters, contends she married Lymon in 1965 in Tijuana, Mexico. Elizabeth testified that she saw him on that visit, as she had a number of times both before and after his wedding (which Elizabeth says she knew nothing of). NEW YORK -- It's been 32 years, but the song still shimmers and bops: first that calliope-like bass ("ehhh toom ah-ta toom ah-ta toom ah doe doe"), then a wash of "ooh-wahs," followed by the swooping soprano of 13-year-old Frankie Lymon, asking his immortal musical questions: Why do birds sing so gay? He died on February 28, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA. 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