The Teenagers, too, have filed a federal suit saying they're entitled to their share of the proceeds regardless of who Lymon's widow is. 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. Zola and Elizabeth didn't get close to Emira; she didn't have anything much to say to them, either. 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. So estimates Chuck Rubin, a former agent who's become a kind of musical bounty hunter. Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. Frankie could fool you, he could fool me, Frankie could fool God. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. Copy. 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. 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. He was energetic; dynamic; charismatic. She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. Frankie told Elizabeth that Zola and I arent doing anything; its just a motherly relationship, Elizabeth testified in court. I know some of these characters, and some I like very muchI knew Cardinal Spellman, too. Opened 1940 | Named after Elizabeth Waters. Elizabeth Waters Found 1,173 people in Florida, Georgia and 49 other states. He then called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. Taylor's attorneys could not be reached for comment. "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. 8822 County Road 64. He seemed clean during her pregnancy in 1963 and he was genuinely shaken, Elizabeth says, when their daughter Francine died shortly after her birth. Mini Bio (1) Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. Frankie Lymon died in New York. 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. 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. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth told the court, he pulled a gun on her and fled. The marriage to Eagle is valid, so she is entitled to a fief. By the time Frankie showed up, unannounced, in Los Angeles, Zola had done well for herself. Zola got to be pretty friendly with the first wife. 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. They fought and separated continually. He was previously married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. If Elizabeth or Zola is found to be his widow, they have agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. And if Zola wins she's also decided to record an album of Frankie's hits -- "I Want You to Be My Girl," "I Promise to Remember," all the big ones. The following month, Zola testified that she and Frankie drove to Tijuana and got married in a tiny chapel. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone with the money. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. * MPAA rating: R, for language and some sexuality. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. 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. Zola testified that their affair continued off and on for several more years. Also Read Inside Data and Cyber Security issue in Barbados Europe plays chess with Wagner's African moves, imposes sanctions He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? She's going to call it "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". Her adversary, Morris Levy, was a powerful force in the music business. The origins of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" 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. 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. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. Lymon is always short of money, no childhood, and, in most descriptions, lacks calmness, but when a small star appears on the stage, he always steals the limelight. 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. Elizabeths attorneys argued in response that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law. Although most of Rubin's cases don't wind up in court, the allegations Emira made are not unusual. "The only thing {Morris Levy} had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago says. 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. The only child he is known to have fathered died hours after her birth. Eagle's New York counsel Ira Greenberg agreed that his "current inclination" was to appeal. He once told a magazine interviewer that he'd been a pimp since he was 10. His in the end was a wasted life ruined by drugs. 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. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoed Zola. Elizabeth Waters was a struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia. Required fields are marked *. Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. None of the three women in court, all of whom he deceived and betrayed, seemed willing to condemn him. ", Meanwhile, Paula Span used both interviews and court testimony to profile each of the widows in her story. Undisputed, however, was the song's impact. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoes Zola. She and Frankie began living together in 1962, she testified. Instead of filling my house with old moldy magazines, I scanned them (in most cases, photographed them) and filled a storage area with moldy magazines. Here are 10 you cant miss, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, Moroccan singer convicted of rape in Paris, gets 6-year term, Jonas Brothers promise Broadway residency will be a walk down musics memory lane, Toxic sex, social anxiety, 90s guitars: How L.A.s Blondshell pulled off the rock debut of 2023, Rihanna making the FCC work, work, work, after Super Bowl viewers file 103 complaints, Brad Paisley drops new song featuring President Zelensky to mark one year of Ukraine war. The names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy were now listed as the songwriters. Costumes Elisabetta Beraldo. 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. Celebrity Biographies Frankie Lymon's relationship with Elizabeth Waters ended when Frankie Lymon died on February 28, 1968. He was back in New York where, Elizabeth and several other witnesses swore, he said that his marriage to Zola had been only a publicity stunt. 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. Zola and Elizabeth declined, but said they were willing to accept an equal, three-way split. 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. Their affair continued off and on for several years. Then he called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. According to Paula Span, her sisters boyfriend introduced them, and soon after, Emira was cooking meals for Frankie and they were shopping for wedding rings. She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. 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. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. Taylor,. Levys attorney responded that the agreements with Elizabeth and Zola amounted to standard industry contracts. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". He had a bad year in 1966. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. By the time of the trial, publishing rights to the song might have been worth seven figures. This trio first meets as a group in 1985 in the offices of Morris Levy (Paul Mazursky), the shrewd operator whose company released Lymons hits. But "I couldn't get my hands on him, couldn't find him." In 1986, the women, who were never divorced from Lymon, filed copyright claims in federal court in New York for Lymons songs. 1200 Observatory Drive | Madison, WI 53706-1212 | Map. 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. According to Bill Olb, the idea was suggested to Ronnie by Pearl McKinnon, who had recently left the reunited Teenagers. -- those he abused and betrayed seem loath to condemn him. Frankie had started using heroin again, and she was forced to hide the money from his occasional gigs in a hole in the wall of their apartment to prevent him from using it to buy drugs. 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. Smalls Mortuary - Eastern Shore. Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both apparently were correct. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. ", 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. Frankie, by 1965, had pretty much been reduced to lip-synching at record hops on the East Coast. 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. 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. 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. Times guidelines: a bloody beating and some genteel scenes of lovemaking. Next comes the feisty Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Elizabeth Waters - Director STEM Outreach - The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | LinkedIn Elizabeth Waters Director STEM Outreach at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of. Id have killed him, I was so angry, Zola told Span. Zola Taylor said she married Lymon on Oct. When you made a deal with Ronnie, it was usually oral, a real old-school type of business person. The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. 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. The death certificate said he died of "acute intravenous narcotism.". 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. Frankie Lymon/Wife. ELIZABETH OGLE WATERS OBITUARY. 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. Thats why were here today.. He didn't mind. "I can't just sit here and tell the court anything different. Im sure it probably would bring back some good memories, she said of the show that was being staged at the Imperial. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. McCracken said his client "has a strong religious background and beliefs, so I don't think she'll be devastated, but I know she's disappointed to say the least. "Kids didn't know about royalties," says Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." It was Rubin who, several years earlier, came to the conclusion that Lymons estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. Lymon's managers tried packaging him as a solo crooner in a cravat. ", 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. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? Neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite. Sound Veda Campell. He figured that once the case was over there would be no problem," Olb recalled. He was apparently a bigamist, or maybe a trigamist. Zola never saw him alive again. Emira refused. Emira came to New York to arrange for Frankies funeral mass and burial. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. Best Answer. "I'm not going to wear mink coats with {you} in jeans," she announced. "He had the type of personality," says Elizabeth Waters Lymon, Wife No. 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. The retired Richmond County schoolteacher in her years after Lymon was married to Augustan Leroy Bryant. According to Spans story, Frankie moved into Zolas home and her bedroom. Paula Span reported that Frankie and Elizabeth got married in Alexandria, Virginia, in early 1964. It is in fact three wives who face the camera, one after another, each claiming to be Lymons true love and legal spouse. 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. 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. According to Spans reporting, Emira paid the $2,000 bill. "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein said. 05:00 PM - 08:00 PM. When asked about his association with alleged mob figures, Levy, who was Jewish, responded: "I've been on Broadway 47 years. She did not object when he decided to head for California in 1965. Screenplay by Tina Andrews. In fact, Elizabeth says she saw him the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. Instead, he has posthumously provoked a trial that will determine which of the three women he is said to have married -- without ever scrupling to divorce any of them -- is really his widow and heir. Levy had been arrested earlier in 1986 as part of the F.B.I. "Sell, sell, sell," he advises. Who owns the rights to old songs matters as much or more now than it did when they were hits. Frankie, bouncing at the mike, was "this adorable little boy, with this little smile, the little suit; you wanted to take him home All I remember was the girls screaming about how cute he was.". His bride was Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. 1/28/23, noon until 2pm service at Small's Mortuary. 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. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. 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. Unfortunately for Zola, she was unable to locate records documenting her Mexican wedding to Frankie, or documentation of her Mexican divorce from her previous marriage (her second). * Playing in general release throughout Southern California. After learning of this, Elizabeth went to court to request the suspension of the law. Donald Ray Lymon Sep. 6, 1964 - Jan. 23, 2023 Lie in State Fri. 1/27/23, 4-8pm at Small's Mortuary. Her only marriage lasted 4.1 years. 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. He had the type of personality that would draw people, she said. Her complaint charged fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. Set designers Clare Scarpulla, Michael Bernard. Elizabeths claim to be Frankies wife and heir was weakened by the fact that she was still legally married when she wed Frankie in 1964. He also represented several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. For his part, Rubin's not opposed to generating new income from old music. In his book, Me, the Mob, and the Music, Tommy James characterized Levy as willing to strong-arm the artists signed to Roulette, and that the label was notorious for not paying its artists for their record sales. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she says, "you know that he went through hell.". 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. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. 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. "A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.". and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Ms. Like the jazz and blues artists before them, the rock 'n' rollers of the '50s and '60s were often ripe for rip-offs. When Frankie Lymon died from a heroin overdose in 1968, he was broke and trying again for a comeback that he never achieved. 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. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. US fails miserably against Russia at the crucial UN Vote. 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. It was Bryant who was depicted in the 1998 movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Rubin gets his share, too: Emira testified in Surrogate Court that her arrangement called for any money recovered through her suit to be shared 50-50 with Rubin, after expenses and legal fees, which have already reached a substantial subtotal. The Teenagers tried recording on their own, with a new lead singer. A memorial service. The Platters. Yet she also talked about Lymon's ruptured family, and, again, his drug dependency. The stone was dedicated by his fans and friends on February 27, 1988, the 20th anniversary of Frankie's death and one month before the opening arguments in the case that would determine his legal wife and rightful heir. DAPHNE, AL 36526. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6P329DMKY.

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