He was an actor and composer, known for American Graffiti (1973), October Sky (1999) and The Big Fix (1978). Their affair continued off and on for several years. 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. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone; she never saw him alive again. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. Production design Cary White. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon said. "A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.". Span wrote that back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration with a cake and champagne. None of the many tracks they made together or separately ever duplicated the jubilance of their early records. 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. He was a master manipulator, however, and it was just two months after his less than honorable discharge for repeatedly being AWOL that he went to New York, telling Emira that he wanted to see about reviving his career while also secretly planning to contact lady friends and drug pushers in the city. By 1962, Frankies career had been in decline for several years but she had nevertheless come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. 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. The doo-wop classic (its earnings boosted by Diana Ross' 1981 version and by its use in a greeting card commercial) was recorded by Lymon's group the Teenagers. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. 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?" 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. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. Lymon was 14 years old when he began dating Zola Taylor (Berry), the lead singer of the Platters in the mid-1950s. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. Frankie Lymon died in New York. And the true imponderable, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". 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. Her attorneys advised her that it might look bad for her in court if she allowed an outside organization to place a headstone on Frankies grave. So estimates Chuck Rubin, a former agent who's become a kind of musical bounty hunter. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. Ms. This time his bride was Emira Eagle, an educated, churchgoing elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. Eagle's New York counsel Ira Greenberg agreed that his "current inclination" was to appeal. They fought and separated continually. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. 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. 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. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth told the court, he pulled a gun on her and fled. Artist Rights Enforcement Corporation was heralded by the New York Times as the white knight of rock n roll for its efforts in recovering uncollected royalties for a host of artists including Wilbert Harrison, Richard Berry, the Coasters, and the Dell Vikings to name just a few. Zola and Elizabeth declined, but say they were willing to accept an equal, three-way split. Pearl, who emulated Frankie Lymon with a distinctive sound all her own, sealed the deal for Robinson, and the Kodaks were signed to the Fury label. 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. 1/28/23, noon until 2pm service at Small's Mortuary. Fox as three women claiming to be the legal wife of Lymon and heir to his recording royalties. For Frankie had helped himself to hers. According to Paula Span, people sometimes compared Frankie with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. 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. "Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. But he will apparently have little trouble with Elizabeth Waters. During 1965, the copyright for Why Do Fools Fall In Love was changed. 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 . And it stalls or kills a federal lawsuit Eagle had brought to reclaim control of the publishing rights to his song. Cinematographer Ed Lachman. All these arguments are laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. 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. "He had been busted in California again for drugs. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. A Rhino Films Production. "Emira's Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum," Pomeroy says. When she recovered, she declared that "she knew it; she'd had faith all along," Peterson said. It makes him not only a good soldier, but a better individual. The next morning, Feb. 27, an uncle found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor and called police. Levy ruled his empire with an iron hand, using both fear and intimidation as part of his business model. As a result, they fought and separated numerous times. He told Zola that the new house guest was "a friend from New York," Zola remembers. 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. If Emira won, she would share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. 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. Visit Sat. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. As soon as the hearing began, Emiras attorneys alleged that the other two widows acted in concert with Morris Levy. I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. At the trial, Elizabeth testified that she saw Frankie on that visit, as she had a number of times both before and after his wedding to Emira, which she said she knew nothing of. Like the jazz and blues artists before them, the rock 'n' rollers of the '50s and '60s were often ripe for rip-offs. That wasn't his style. 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. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. Zola's attorneys argue that California law makes her a "putative spouse" entitled to share in Lymon's property. 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.. Why Do Fools Fall in Love With Frankie Lymon is more like it. Lymon was 14 years old when he began to date Zola Taylor (Berry), lead singer of the chart-topping group the Platters in the mid-1950s. When a touring musical about Lymon's life came to the Imperial Theater in May of 2013, the cast invited Bryant to be the honored guest with her family and took photos with her after the show. ", 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. Zola Taylor, a former member of the teen-age doo-wop group the Platters, also said. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. His in the end was a wasted life ruined by drugs. 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. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. That's why we're here today.". She says he didn't mean to hurt her, and blames his behavior on his addictions. 507 residents | Coed by wing | Single and double rooms. Set decorator Jackie Carr. If Elizabeth or Zola is found to be his widow, they have agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. "He sort of changed my life for me," Elizabeth says. "The only thing Morris Levy had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago said. Frankie had a very bad year in 1966. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. We played down certain things and fudged others to make it work as a film," said director Gregory . 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. 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. She did not object when he decided to head for California in 1965. "Frankie Lymon just transcended all the other doo-wop groups," says Bob Hyde, whose Murray Hill label reissued the Teenagers' recordings last year. Recording costs and commissions for everyone from managers to choreographers could siphon off much of a group's earnings. Final briefs are due next week, with a decision expected later this spring. 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. Screenplay by Tina Andrews. 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. What seemed pretty clear from all the filings is the reason why, 20 years afterward, it had become so important to be Frankie Lymon's legal widow. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? Director Gregory Nava. They pointed to the contracts that Elizabeth and Zola signed with Levys publishing business, Big Seven Music Corp. Each assigned the songs copyright to Big Seven in exchange for an advance ($10,000 for Elizabeth and $7,500 for Zola) against her share of future royalties. 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. Borstein, Levy's attorney, says the agreements amount to standard industry contracts. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. Zola had also been a teenage star. Executive producers Gregory Nava, Mark Allan, Harold Bronson. It makes him not only a good soldier, but a better individual. Frankie Lymon/Wife. Her divorce from Phillips was not finalized until 1965. 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. Next comes the feisty Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. 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. He also represented several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. Zola testified that their affair continued off and on for several more years. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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 . During his brief lifetime, Lymon became world-famous for his hit singles with The Teenagers including "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Click the "All Sizes" button above to read an article or to see the image clearly. Yet she also talked about Lymon's ruptured family, and, again, his drug dependency. Frankie could fool you, he could fool me; Frankie could fool God. If none of the women is Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stand to inherit. Lymon and his group followed up with three more hits in 1956 and another in 1957. Also Read:Uplift Suasion: the notion to change racism, Your email address will not be published. At the age of 13 little Lymon and his group of singers Teens signed a recording contract. The court found that "the decedent and Elizabeth {Waters} have satisfied the requirements of common law marriage in the State of Pennsylvania." 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. Who wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"? She has never remarried. She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". As the lead vocalist for the Teenagers, Lymon (played by Larenz Tate) helped turn Why Do Fools Fall in Love into one of the biggest hits of 1956. 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. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. Paula Span reported that neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Georgia. The Teenagers tried recording on their own, with a new lead singer. Key parts of this chronology are in dispute, of course. By the time Frankie showed up, unannounced, in Los Angeles, Zola had done well for herself. After learning of this, Elizabeth went to court to request the suspension of the law. Best Answer. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. The sum, he said, "might have been $1,500. It spent months on the pop charts, led to national tours and TV appearances and bubble-gum cards with the Teenagers' picture on them. 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 had such presence, he'd just take over a stage and wipe an audience out. Copy. Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters : You see, y'all gotta understand. "And he was still just a kid when he started on the next wife, Elizabeth Waters," said Nava. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 27, 2023, at 3:00 PM from the chapel. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. 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. With black rhythm and blues releases beginning to win white audiences, music had become a ticket to glory. The way '50s singer Frankie Lymon is presented in "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is "mostly true. First Visitation. The Surrogate Court judge hearing the widowhood case has been pushing for a settlement. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. Court to request the suspension of the artists featured on the bathroom floor called! 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