The essence of their dispute was which of the marriages was legally binding, given a certain laxity in some quarters about divorce. That wasn't his style. But Elizabeth's attorneys argue that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. 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. Set decorator Jackie Carr. Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. Years later, in the wainscoted courtroom where Lymon's love life was being retraced in painful detail, Elizabeth turned to the judge. 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. 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. She'd come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. The losing widows might appeal. 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. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." ", "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 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. That's why we're here today.". She attempted to recover all the royalties from the date of the records release because she alleged that neither Levy nor his predecessor as co-writer, George Goldner who discovered and recorded the Teenagers, was actually a songwriter. -- those he abused and betrayed seem loath to condemn him. "He had the type of personality that would draw people," she said. "I can't just sit here and tell the court anything different. He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. Frankie, by 1965, had pretty much been reduced to lip-synching at record hops on the East Coast. 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. Interment: Whispering Pines Cem. By the time of the trial, publishing rights to the song might have been worth seven figures. The signs were plain, she says now, that Lymon was floundering, working only intermittently, addicted to drugs and probably to alcohol as well. The Platters. It was modified to just Lymon and Goldner on subsquent recordings for the next decade before Goldner's name was replaced by Levy's. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. The two surviving members of the Teenagers claim that they wrote the song with Lymon when they were all Harlem street-corner harmonizers hoping for a break. Morris Levy had not become a force in the music business through fear alone; he was also very clever. Others still do, however. It was Rubin who, several years earlier, came to the conclusion that Lymons estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. Lymon signed with both 20th Century Fox Records and Columbia Records, but both deals were short-lived. Unfortunately, shes also involved in the films least convincing area, the jarring sections that deal with the troubles brought on by Lymons habit. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. This time his bride was Emira Eagle, an educated, churchgoing elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. So estimates Chuck Rubin, a former agent who's become a kind of musical bounty hunter. 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. 1200 Observatory Drive | Madison, WI 53706-1212 | Map. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. Similarly, one of the unexamined factors in his turning to hard drugs was apparently the difficulties caused by his voice beginning to change. Why Do Fools Fall in Love With Frankie Lymon is more like it. Mini Bio (1) Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. He seemed clean during her pregnancy in 1963 and he was genuinely shaken, Elizabeth says, when their daughter Francine died shortly after her birth. 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. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. The marriage to Eagle is valid, so she is entitled to a fief. 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. Neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Ga. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? 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. 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. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she said, "you know that he went through hell.". Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. Waters, who on the witness stand acknowledged a long struggle with drugs and prostitution during her tempestuous relationship with the onetime star, got the news from her attorney Monday night. "Frankie had a very good appetite for the best of life," she says. He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. That eventually led to singing on street corners with friends and being discovered at age 12 by George Goldner of GEE Records. Hell, the boy had so many needle marks on him, I thought he was a God-damned . He moved into her home and her bedroom. 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. All these arguments were laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda, and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. Lymon related that he started singing publicly with his three brothers in a choral group at Gospel Church in New York City. Ms. She had a big house in the hills with a swimming pool, and she immediately took the scruffy Frankie shopping for suits and tuxedos. Yes, the three women are gorgeous and talented, and it is fun to see them having at one another. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth told the court, he pulled a gun on her and fled. Zola and Elizabeth declined, but said they were willing to accept an equal, three-way split. He is skeptical, too, about some of the harrowing descriptions of Lymon that have surfaced during the legal jousting. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoed Zola. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. Required fields are marked *. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Yet she also talked about Lymon's ruptured family, and, again, his drug dependency. Costumes Elisabetta Beraldo. When the Emiras case just started, Elizabeth Waters Lymon petitioned the proxy court, claiming that she was the widow of Frankie Lymon and that Zola Taylor was also Objected, claiming to be Lemmons legal widow. It spent months on the pop charts, led to national tours and TV appearances and bubble-gum cards with the Teenagers' picture on them. Also a plus is the entertainment value of the films infectious classic rock soundtrack, which (besides the Teenagers hits sung by Lymon) includes songs like The Great Pretender, Try a Little Tenderness and Heat Wave., Hampering this on the negative side, besides the films awkwardness with its dark moments, is an inability to provide more than the most superficial look at anything. She told the court that she wanted to help him get back on his feet and regain all he had lost, but that trying to help him wasnt easy. 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. investigation of the infiltration of organized crime in the recording industry. According to Bill Olb, the idea was suggested to Ronnie by Pearl McKinnon, who had recently left the reunited Teenagers. 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 was a hustler, a liar and a thief. View our. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. Family and friends said goodbye Friday to Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, who. Executive producers Gregory Nava, Mark Allan, Harold Bronson. Emiras Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum, Pomeroy said. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. 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. Lymon was discharged a year later, he'd said "I do" once more. ", Meanwhile, Paula Span used both interviews and court testimony to profile each of the widows in her story. At the age of 13 little Lymon and his group of singers Teens signed a recording contract. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. 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. The film travels back and forth in time to explore their relationship with the singer. With the matter now in a confused state, the federal judge stayed Emiras lawsuit. Rubin's 200 or so clients, from the Del Vikings to the Coasters, constitute an honor roll of early rock 'n' roll. She turned to heroin and cocaine herself, she acknowledged on the stand, and to support her daughter from her first marriage, she became a prostitute. By now, publishing rights to the song may have earned $750,000, or even more. Not to mention that two other members of the Teenagers have filed suit claiming they cowrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" Ah, Frankie. 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. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth said in court, he pulled a gun on her and she fled. That case can now proceed, their attorney says. Also Read Inside Data and Cyber Security issue in Barbados Europe plays chess with Wagner's African moves, imposes sanctions Zola has been unable to locate records documenting their Mexican wedding, or documenting her Mexican divorce from her previous marriage (her second). Borstein, Levy's attorney, says the agreements amount to standard industry contracts. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. 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.. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. For Frankie had helped himself to hers. A headstone was not part of the package, however, and Frankie Lymon was buried in an unmarked grave at St. Raymonds Cemetery. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. 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. 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? Levy declined direct comment on the Lymon matter. "They wanted to impress their friends in school" by being on the radio. 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. Zola's attorneys argue that California law makes her a "putative spouse" entitled to share in Lymon's property. He was the . 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. Taylor,. Zola, the older woman, was 17. Leon Borstein, Levy's attorney, said that Levy "assisted in the writing of the song; you have to remember, if he added one word, that's sufficient" to justify co-authorship. Also Read:David Von Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books. Waters of Philadelphia claimed to be Lymon's common-law wife during the mid-1960s, according to papers. Director Gregory Nava. 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. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. Fox), a prison-hardened former shoplifter and prostitute. Id have killed him, I was so angry, Zola told Span. 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. 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. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. And if he put others through hell too, well, didn't he say, right in that song, that love is a losing game? DONALD LYMON OBITUARY. All these arguments are laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. Zola testified that their affair continued off and on for several more years. Has-Been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the age of 13 little Lymon and Goldner on subsquent for... 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