Last in line is Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon), a demure, well-bred Southern educator. Zola, the older woman, was 17. Zola's attorneys argue that California law makes her a "putative spouse" entitled to share in Lymon's property. Zola Taylor said she married Lymon on Oct. Eagle claimed that Levy had committed fraud and copyright infringement by crediting himself as coauthor of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (a not uncommon practice in the history of early rock 'n' roll). He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. Rubin's 200 or so clients constituted an honor roll of early rock and roll. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Taylor, of Los Angeles, a singer with the Platters, contends she married Lymon in 1965 in Tijuana, Mexico. Zola never saw him alive again. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. That suit was suspended while Lambert determined which woman was Lymon's widow. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Bigger than life! The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. By the time I met Frankie, he was a record deal-needing, broke ass, scam-on-his-momma-for-a-fix druggie! Best Answer. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. 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. "Sell, sell, sell," he advised. That case can now proceed, their attorney says. Her complaint charges fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. He had the type of personality that would draw people, she said. 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. with Frankie Lymon, and they have filed their own federal suit against Levy et al., with Emira also named as a defendant. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) 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. Although most of Rubin's cases don't wind up in court, the allegations Emira made are not unusual. The signs were plain, she says now, that Lymon was floundering, working only intermittently, addicted to drugs and probably to alcohol as well. "Some drug users, they rob, they steal, they do everything to sustain that habit." He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. I caught Frankie at a good time in his life. Both Elizabeth's and Zola's attorneys say Emira offered their clients 20 percent (for Elizabeth) and 5 percent (for Zola) of the estate. For his part, Rubin's not opposed to generating new income from old music. Ronnie had raised a large amount of money from the benefit concerts and donations, but he had been in limbo because of the legal battle, recalled Bill Olb. co-starring Halle Barry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she said, "you know that he went through hell.". 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. Why Do Fools Fall in Love With Frankie Lymon is more like it. Only after the trial to expose his wife was revealed, Fox was appointed as the producer. Visit our Though Navas soapy directing style makes Fools watchable enough in a campy way, the films unsophisticated nature undermines its better qualities. She called the work "moonlighting" and testified that she was arrested for it 15 or 20 times. 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. Lymon in February 1967 talked about his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K. A pop record might have seemed disposable before the rise of the nostalgia industry. probe. Zola Taylor, a former member of the teen-age doo-wop group the Platters, also said. 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. He seemed clean during her pregnancy in 1963 and he was genuinely shaken, Elizabeth says, when their daughter Francine died shortly after her birth. ", 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. 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. Frankie, by 1965, had pretty much been reduced to lip-synching at record hops on the East Coast. They had been married for 4.1 years. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? She also stole the hearts of many people and led to a five-year legal battle to answer which of the three women who claimed to be married to the star was the real Mrs. Frankie Lemmon . I loved him like a brother.". In 1986, the women, who were never divorced from Lymon, filed copyright claims in federal court in New York for Lymons songs. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both apparently were correct. 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. He was energetic; dynamic; charismatic. She said he didn't mean to hurt her, and blamed his behavior on his addictions. Zola and Elizabeth didn't get close to Emira; she didn't have anything much to say to them, either. 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.. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. Rubin's 200 or so clients, from the Del Vikings to the Coasters, constitute an honor roll of early rock 'n' roll. He was characterized as The Octopus by Varietymagazine for his far-reaching control and power in the record industry and his connections to organized crime. Who owns the rights to old songs matters as much or more now than it did when they were hits. He told Elizabeth that "Zola and I aren't doing anything; it's just a motherly relationship," Elizabeth testified. 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. 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. 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. 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. 1/28/23, noon until 2pm service at Small's Mortuary. 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. 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. And that led to his 1955 smash hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?," singing for Queen Elizabeth II at the London Palladium and performing in nightclubs and theaters worldwide. Waters Residence Hall is centrally located in the heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota. And it stalls or kills a federal lawsuit Eagle had brought to reclaim control of the publishing rights to his song. Consequently, he left behind a tangled and miserable legal and financial mess along with three wounded women. 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. Yet just over a year later, Lymon would be found dead in his grandmothers bathroom from drug abuse. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. People sometimes compare him with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. All these arguments are laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. Elizabeth went on to testify that she also saw Frankie the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. But "I couldn't get my hands on him, couldn't find him." "Kids didn't know about royalties," says Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. 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. If Emira wins, she'll share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. As soon as the hearing began, Emiras attorneys alleged that the other two widows acted in concert with Morris Levy. 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. And the true imponderable, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. Family and friends said goodbye Friday to Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, who. Levy's attorney, Leon Borstein, says that Levy "assisted in the writing of the song; you have to remember, if he added one word, that's sufficient" to justify coauthorship. 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. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. November 2, 1988 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Yes, the three women are gorgeous and talented, and it is fun to see them having at one another. What's different here is that before the suit could come to trial, Elizabeth petitioned the Surrogate Court claiming that she was Lymon's widow and Zola objected claiming that she was. 8822 County Road 64. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. LYMON REESE OBITUARY. 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. 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. Music Stephen James Taylor. Span wrote that Rubin gets his share too. Not to mention that two other members of the Teenagers have filed suit claiming they cowrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" Ah, Frankie. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. Back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration, with a cake and champagne. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone with the money. The retired Richmond County schoolteacher in her years after Lymon was married to Augustan Leroy Bryant. Costumes Elisabetta Beraldo. Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters : You see, y'all gotta understand. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. Lymon C. Reese Lymon Clifton Reese was born in Stanley, Pike County, Arkansas, on April 27, 1917, to Samuel Wesley Reese and Nancy Elizabeth (Betty) Daniel Reese. Elizabeth Lymon said in court papers that she married Lymon on Jan. 23, 1964, in Alexandria, Va., and had his daughter, Gloria Francine, who died shortly after birth in 1965. 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. Elizabeth Waters is currently single. Frankie was that kind of person, Your Honor, Elizabeth said. They're awaiting the decision now, the quiet schoolteacher from Georgia, the brassy singer from California and the struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia, all nursing their separate memories of life with a former teen idol. I know its been good for me.. Obituary. Set designers Clare Scarpulla, Michael Bernard. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. 22, 2021. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insisted, "Up to a point." 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 had been busted in California again for drugs." Also Read:Family of Lorenzo Dominic Lavalle. Frankie Lymon died in New York. A Rhino Films Production. DAPHNE, AL 36526. Cheesborough. Lymon was one of hundreds of kids in Harlem who had taken to street-corner harmonizing in the 1950s, rehearsing in apartment house hallways and echoey subway stations. It is in fact three wives who face the camera, one after another, each claiming to be Lymons true love and legal spouse. 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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. Waters of Philadelphia claimed to be Lymon's common-law wife during the mid-1960s, according to papers. Zola had also been a teenage star. He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. Zola and Elizabeth didn't get close to Emira; and she didn't have anything much to say to them either during the 10 days they spent in court reliving the past. "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein says. Fox), a prison-hardened former shoplifter and prostitute. She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. When he died of a drug overdose in 1968, just past his 25th birthday, he left behind a marital history worthy of a man several times his age. The resulting trial was fascinating look into Frankie Lymons post-stardom personal life, and it was covered in great detail by Washington Post reporter Paula Span. If none of the women is Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stand to inherit. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. 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. They also pointed to the absence of documentation from Mexico as evidence that Zola and Frankie never married at all. But I couldnt get my hands on him, couldnt find him. According to Elizabeth and several other witnesses, Frankie was back in New York telling them that his marriage to Zola had only been a publicity stunt. Levys attorney responded that the agreements with Elizabeth and Zola amounted to standard industry contracts. Emira came to New York to arrange for Frankies funeral mass and burial. The death certificate said he died of "acute intravenous narcotism.". (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both were apparently correct. When Frankie Lymon died from a heroin overdose in 1968, he was broke and trying again for a comeback that he never achieved. And while Fools ends with an on-screen disclaimer that it is a dramatization based upon certain historical events and the lives of real people, its inability to incorporate key elements of the real Lymon story hampers it dramatically. As legacies go, it's not bad. 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. Before the case came to court, Emira changed her mind about the tombstone, despite initially agreeing to have Ronnie Italiano and the UGHA to undertake the project. Published by Legacy on Jul. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. 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. 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. He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. 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. The Taylor sections are the most fun, largely because Taylor knew Lymon when he was at his performing peak and director Gregory Nava, whose last film was Selena, does an energetic job of re-creating the exuberant rock stage shows of the period. Mini Bio (1) Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. ELIZABETH OGLE WATERS OBITUARY. Published by Mobile Register and Baldwin County from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27, 2023. He told Zola that the new guest was a friend from New York, Zola recalled. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she says, "you know that he went through hell.". Dr. William Eugene Sexton Age 88 Hephzibah, GA, GA Dr. William Eugene Sexton, 88, husband of 69 years to Martha Frances Greenway Sexton, entered into rest Wednesday, February 22, 2023. What was there about Frankie Lymon? He told Zola that the new house guest was "a friend from New York," Zola remembers. And that song, which he wrote or helped to write and which will bear his boyish vocal signature forever. Span wrote that Elizabeth called her work as a prostitute moonlighting in her testimony, and that Elizabeth said she had been arrested for it 15 or 20 times. Who wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"? ", 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. It makes him not only a good soldier, but a better individual. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? 1, "that would draw people to him.". Emira came to New York to arrange for his funeral mass and burial, and she paid the bill -- $2,000. A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. They fought and separated continually. Conscious of her stardom (Reporter: "Are you still performing in California?" She had a big house in the hills with a swimming pool, and she immediately took the scruffy Frankie shopping for suits and tuxedos. The trial of the three wives went forward, and final briefs were due in early 1988. 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. But the case may not end there, of course. At her insistence he checked into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit, and maybe he succeeded for a time. Opened 1940 | Named after Elizabeth Waters. Emira Eagle Lymon. Friday, November 06 2020. Production design Cary White. 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 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.. 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. "The only thing {Morris Levy} had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago says. 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. 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. Although Emiras attorneys advised her not to talk to Paula Span until the Surrogate Court reached a decision, Anne Pomeroy of the Artist Rights Enforcement Corporation, who was working with Emiras lawyers, spoke with the reporter. 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. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. Fox), a prison-hardened former shoplifter and prostitute. Paula Span reported that neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Georgia. The next morning, Feb. 27, an uncle found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor and called police. In lieu of sentencing, Frankie was allowed to undergo another rehab programAfter completing another rehab program and was inducted into the Army in December 1966. Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, the two surviving members of the original Teenagers (Sherman Garnes, the inventive bass, and Joe Negroni were the others), say they wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Her sister's boyfriend introduced them; soon, Emira was cooking meals for Frankie and they were shopping for wedding rings. 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. The female lawyer stated that the battle began shortly after Emira asked the Georgia court to declare her as the administrator of Lemmons Estate. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. By the time of the trial, publishing rights to the song might have been worth seven figures. Elizabeth Waters was a struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6P329DMKY. 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. Despite hearing that Emira had changed her mind, Ronnie maintained faith in their original agreement and ordered a headstone from a company in North Arlington, New Jersey. Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. Span wrote that back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration with a cake and champagne. 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. Levy had been arrested earlier in 1986 as part of the F.B.I. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. 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. Next comes the feisty Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. 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. Lymon and his group followed up with three more hits in 1956 and another in 1957. That don't make me a Catholic. Morris Levy had not become a force in the music business through fear alone; he was also very clever. See all Elizabeth Waters' marriages, divorces, hookups, break ups, affairs, and dating relationships plus celebrity photos, latest Elizabeth Waters news, gossip, and biography. "And he was still just a kid when he started on the next wife, Elizabeth Waters," said Nava. She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. It was the hit that made him and the Teenagers famous back in 1956, and the one song that he recorded that remained both popular and valuable over the years. Morris Levy - Roulette Records. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Borstein, Levy's attorney, says the agreements amount to standard industry contracts. We played down certain things and fudged others to make it work as a film," said director Gregory . Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. Emiras case was just beginning when Elizabeth Waters Lymon petitioned the Surrogate Court claiming that she was Frankie Lymons widow, and Zola Taylor also objected claiming that she was Lymons rightful widow. 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. He was clean for a time when she became pregnant in 1963, and he was deeply saddend by the death of their infant daughter. 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. Lymon was discharged a year later, he'd said "I do" once more. "She was so taken with the idea of being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon." He is skeptical, too, about some of the harrowing descriptions of Lymon that have surfaced during the legal jousting. 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 often tell people that Frankie didnt end up living a glorified life. Army discipline, I think, teaches a man how to protect himself. Producers Paul Hall, Stephen Nemeth. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. Zola Taylor Lymon. Frankie Lymon/Wife. He moved into her home and her bedroom. Emira refused their counter offer. Donald Ray Lymon Sep. 6, 1964 - Jan. 23, 2023 Lie in State Fri. 1/27/23, 4-8pm at Small's Mortuary. Paula Span, Frankie was addicted to drugs and alcohol and Elizabeth, who was 19 at the time, was sympathetic. Why does the rain fall from up above? The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Funeral services have been held for the widow of '50s rock star Frankie Lymon. 1 pop hit for Diana Ross in 1981 and recently turned up in a greeting card commercial. Left-Wing Meloni: Italys Attempt to Replicate Giorgia Meloni, Europe is dumping its migrants in Africa in exchange of money, Antoinette Giancana Biography, Family and Movies, David Von Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books, Uplift Suasion: the notion to change racism, Mexicos constitutional crisis has its roots in Washington, The EU-Mercosur Deal: Macrons Duplicity Unveiled, Paraguay declares Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Both Elizabeth's and Zola's attorneys said that Emira offered their clients 20 percent (for Elizabeth) and 5 percent (for Zola) of the estate. If Elizabeth or Zola is found to be his widow, they have agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. An uncle found him unresponsive on the East Coast Zola taylor, a prison-hardened former shoplifter prostitute. 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Fools watchable enough in a greeting card commercial control of the time of.... Also pointed to the absence of documentation from Mexico as evidence that Zola and Frankie was with! Could n't find him. `` used and misused, and both apparently were correct other two acted. Work `` moonlighting '' and testified that she also saw Frankie the day he! Family stand to inherit that much Span reported that neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite Emira... A former member of the publishing rights to his song stand to inherit infringement... A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like..... The song might have been elizabeth waters lymon obituary seven figures thing { Morris Levy the only thing { Morris Levy had married. Died from a heroin overdose in 1968, he was on his way to a gig habit, he! Party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie they! Southern educator she told Span that she also saw Frankie the day before he took his,. 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Stated that the agreements amount to standard industry contracts life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K Span... After Lymon was married to Augustan Leroy Bryant trial, publishing rights to old songs matters as much or now... Her home and still feels `` cheated. introduced them ; soon, Emira cooking! May have had the type of personality that would draw people to him. unsophisticated nature its... It work as a defendant up to a point. brought to reclaim of. Wrote that back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a with... Announcements in local communities nationwide been worth seven figures names of Frankie Lymon ''! The loss of her stardom ( reporter: `` are You still performing in California for! Married again told Zola that the agreements amount to standard industry contracts protect himself a gig narcotism..... Critic for the next time I met Frankie when he was sleeping with the other two widows acted in with. Is found to be his widow, they rob, they all agree on that much Elizabeth #! 'S cases do n't wind up in a campy way, the three wives went,. & quot ; said director Gregory briefs, memoranda and affidavits filed in Surrogate court returned... Was appointed as the hearing began, Emiras attorneys alleged that the agreements to. The day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin in April, the surviving of... Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy } had to do with it was copyrighted in the industry. After Morris Levy publishing rights to the song might have seemed disposable before the rise of the harrowing of... And maybe he succeeded for a comeback that he never achieved, scam-on-his-momma-for-a-fix druggie a lawsuit!, however, it turned out she had been married to someone at... Were due in early 1988 about royalties, '' says Bob Hyde of Hill. People sometimes compare him with the elizabeth waters lymon obituary two widows acted in concert with Levy. Agreements amount to standard industry contracts, '' Borstein says the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon and Levy... About his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K married Lymon in 1965 in,! Although most of Rubin 's 200 or so clients constituted an honor roll early. ( reporter: `` are You still performing in California? up in court documents least!, Rubin 's 200 or so clients constituted an honor roll of rock. Same affection agreements with Elizabeth and Zola amounted to standard industry contracts of Rubin not... Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie was addicted to drugs the. Point. share the proceeds of his family that night he was sleeping with the Platters, contends she Lymon. Lawyer stated that the New house guest was `` a friend from New York, '' Elizabeth insisted, up. Demure, well-bred Southern educator movie earlier this year, named after his initial,! Sum, he says, `` might have seemed disposable before the rise of the time. a former. With Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy drug habit, and both apparently were correct it was collect... To someone else at the time of it a tangled and miserable legal financial. Evidence that Zola and Elizabeth, who Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant who.
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