Paula Span reported that Frankie and Elizabeth got married in Alexandria, Virginia, in early 1964. He once told a magazine interviewer that he'd been a pimp since he was 10. Waters bore Lymon's only known child, a daughter who died shortly after birth. He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. 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. 22, 2021. 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. "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein says. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. Levy was the head of Roulette Records, the independent label that bought out the Gee label which originally released the record. Zola Taylor said she married Lymon on Oct. Consequently, he left behind a tangled and miserable legal and financial mess along with three wounded women. All rights reserved. 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. An act could rise and fall with astonishing swiftness then. 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. Zola's attorneys argue that California law makes her a "putative spouse" entitled to share in Lymon's property. Key parts of this chronology are in dispute, of course. Director Gregory Nava. At one point, Levy owned more than 90 companies that employed 900 people.These included record pressing plants, tape-duplicating plants, a distribution company, a prominent New England chain of record stores, and numerous record labels. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. Lymon was discharged a year later, he'd said "I do" once more. 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. Frankie told Elizabeth that Zola and I arent doing anything; its just a motherly relationship, Elizabeth testified in court. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. Years later, in the wainscoted courtroom where Lymon's love life was being retraced in painful detail, Elizabeth turned to the judge. Why Do Fools Fall in Love With Frankie Lymon is more like it. 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. 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 had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. 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. Frankie Lymon died in New York. With the waters thoroughly muddied, the federal judge stayed Emira's lawsuit in 1986 pending determination of which woman was Lymon's widow. 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. 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. 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. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. 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. 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. "Sell, sell, sell," he advised. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 27, 2023, at 3:00 PM from the chapel. The marriage to Eagle is valid, so she is entitled to a fief. Taylor,. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. Emira Eagle Lymon. Celebrity Biographies Frankie Lymon's relationship with Elizabeth Waters ended when Frankie Lymon died on February 28, 1968. 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. "Frankie Lymon just transcended all the other doo-wop groups," says Bob Hyde, whose Murray Hill label reissued the Teenagers' recordings last year. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. Fox as three women claiming to be the legal wife of Lymon and heir to his recording royalties. 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. Zola testified that their affair continued off and on for several more years. Her complaint charges fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. Why does the rain fall from up above? Zola Taylor Lymon. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. 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. probe. But her secretary and her booking agent both testified that they were witnesses to the wedding. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. Frankie, by 1965, had pretty much been reduced to lip-synching at record hops on the East Coast. "As far as I know, he was a very nice guy. 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. * MPAA rating: R, for language and some sexuality. I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. 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. When asked about his association with alleged mob figures, Levy, who was Jewish, responded: "I've been on Broadway 47 years. 1200 Observatory Drive | Madison, WI 53706-1212 | Map. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. In fact, Elizabeth says she saw him the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. Emira refused. She's going to call it "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". Span wrote that she was conscious of her stardom and arrived at court daily in a limousine. He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. Most record buyers did not become aware of this latest change until the Happenings recorded a cover version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" in 1967 with Levy's name listed on the label. Levys attorney responded that the agreements with Elizabeth and Zola amounted to standard industry contracts. A headstone was not part of the package, however, and Frankie Lymon was buried in an unmarked grave at St. Raymonds Cemetery. 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. 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. Back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration, with a cake and champagne. ELIZABETH OGLE WATERS OBITUARY. Gender inclusive room options available. Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters : You see, y'all gotta understand. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoed Zola. Elizabeths attorneys argued in response that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law. It was engraved with the words, In Memory Of Frankie Lymon Sept. 30, 1942 - Feb. 27, 1968 "We Promise To Remember". Paula Span revealed that if Elizabeth or Zola was found to be his widow, they agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. It teaches him responsibility and how to stand on his own two feet. Copy. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. And it stalls or kills a federal lawsuit Eagle had brought to reclaim control of the publishing rights to his song. 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. 1, "that would draw people to him.". Similarly, one of the unexamined factors in his turning to hard drugs was apparently the difficulties caused by his voice beginning to change. I loved him like a brother.". 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. When trading Miss Thing"-type insults doesnt clear the air, a lawsuit to determine the identity of the true widow and heir to Lymons royalties becomes inevitable. Chuck Rubin. He was a soldier for most of their brief marriage, taking the bus from her family's home to the post each day. Unfortunately, shes also involved in the films least convincing area, the jarring sections that deal with the troubles brought on by Lymons habit. With black rhythm and blues releases beginning to win white audiences, music had become a ticket to glory. Borstein also says 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. Span wrote that Frankie was a soldier for most of his brief marriage to Emira. -- those he abused and betrayed seem loath to condemn him. 1/28/23, noon until 2pm service at Small's Mortuary. Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. Best Answer. Also Read:Family of Lorenzo Dominic Lavalle. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. View our. There may be further delays, though, while that executive faces federal extortion charges. 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. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) He decided to head to California in hopes that his old friend Zola Taylor could help him get some singing gigs in Los Angeles. Not that their relationship was entirely maternal. The pair claimed they wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" with Frankie Lymon and asked for a declaration of rights to the copyright of the hit song. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6P329DMKY. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. 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. They point to the absence of documentation from Mexico as evidence that Zola and Frankie never married at all. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? "I didn't want her to hear it on the news," he said. Zola never saw him alive again. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. Then he called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. People sometimes compare him with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. 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. Nava, whose credits besides Selena include My Family and El Norte, is given to pitching things as broadly as the law allows, and what Fools is most reminiscent of is love story comics from the 1950s with titles like Realistic Romances and Teen-Age Temptations.. 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