Frankie was that kind of person, Your Honor, Elizabeth said. Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. He then located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, and helped line up witnesses and documentation. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. People sometimes compare him with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. According to Spans story, Frankie moved into Zolas home and her bedroom. 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.". "If you have any kind of heart at all," she says, "you know that he went through hell.". "He sort of changed my life for me," Elizabeth says. 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. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. Emira came to New York to arrange for his funeral mass and burial, and she paid the bill -- $2,000. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. 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. As legacies go, it's not bad. And that was that, the last of the hits. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. Half adroit flatterer, half emotional infant, the films Lymon offers hardly a clue as to why his real-life counterpart was so irresistible to women. Also Read:Family of Lorenzo Dominic Lavalle. DONALD LYMON OBITUARY. Her sister's boyfriend introduced them; soon, Emira was cooking meals for Frankie and they were shopping for wedding rings. He was previously married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. That suit was suspended while Lambert determined which woman was Lymon's widow. The essence of their dispute was which of the marriages was legally binding, given a certain laxity in some quarters about divorce. I know some of these characters, and some I like very muchI knew Cardinal Spellman, too. 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. The names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy were now listed as the songwriters. Zola Taylor, a former member of the teen-age doo-wop group the Platters, also said. 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. Although most of Rubin's cases don't wind up in court, the allegations Emira made are not unusual. 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. Then, two months after his dishonorable discharge (for repeatedly being AWOL), he went to New York, telling Emira he wanted to see about reviving his career. They were there in Surrogate Court -- the three would-be widows and their teams of lawyers and witnesses -- for 10 days this past December and January, raking over the past. with Frankie Lymon, and they have filed their own federal suit against Levy et al., with Emira also named as a defendant. 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. Zola and Elizabeth declined, but say they were willing to accept an equal, three-way split. 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 . -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. , A thief turns to prostitution to help Lymon fund his drug addiction. Lymon in February 1967 talked about his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K. 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. Costumes Elisabetta Beraldo. They also pointed to the absence of documentation from Mexico as evidence that Zola and Frankie never married at all. Levy declined direct comment on the Lymon matter. investigation of the infiltration of organized crime in the recording industry. One of his records with the Teenagers was called "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent," but for all the conviction in his sweet young voice, he probably was one. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. 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. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. He was a soldier for most of their brief marriage, taking the bus from her family's home to the post each day. By the time Waters connected with Lymon, he had become a junkie, and she ended up ruining herself trying to pay for his drugs. When asked about his association with alleged mob figures, Levy, who was Jewish, responded: "I've been on Broadway 47 years. 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. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she said, "you know that he went through hell.". Producers Paul Hall, Stephen Nemeth. Elizabeth Waters Found 1,173 people in Florida, Georgia and 49 other states. Zola Taylor had also been a teen-aged star. It is in fact three wives who face the camera, one after another, each claiming to be Lymons true love and legal spouse. The Teenagers tried recording on their own, with a new lead singer. Lymon related that he started singing publicly with his three brothers in a choral group at Gospel Church in New York City. This time his bride was Emira Eagle, an educated, churchgoing elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. Levys attorney responded that the agreements with Elizabeth and Zola amounted to standard industry contracts. Back in New Jersey, Ronnie Italiano and the UGHA had adhered to Emiras aforementioned wishes and held off on moving forward with their project to acquire and place a memorial tombstone on Frankie Lymons grave until her lawsuit was settled. ", "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. Elizabeth Waters was a struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia. She'll use a 16-piece band and her own group, Zola Taylor's Platters, as backup singers. 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. I know its been good for me.. 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. 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. The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. 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. Emira Eagle Lymon. She did not object when he decided to head for California in 1965. Who owns the rights to old songs matters as much or more now than it did when they were hits. Zola Taylor said she married Lymon on Oct. 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. This answer is: For Frankie had helped himself to hers. 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. Her complaint charges fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. Back in 1956, the hit song had first been credited to Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner - head of Gee Records. 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. Rubin's 200 or so clients constituted an honor roll of early rock and roll. 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. "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. Levy had been arrested earlier in 1986 as part of the F.B.I. Also Read Inside Data and Cyber Security issue in Barbados Europe plays chess with Wagner's African moves, imposes sanctions It was Rubin who, several years ago, came to the conclusion that Lymon's estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. None of the many tracks they made together or separately ever duplicated the jubilance of their early records. Absent the kind of star performance Jennifer Lopez gave in Selena (and that films cleaner, more direct story line), cornball dramaturgy can take audiences only so far and not one note further. 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. If Elizabeth or Zola is found to be his widow, they have agreed to share the proceeds of his estate equally. 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. And the true imponderable, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! Morris Levy had not become a force in the music business through fear alone; he was also very clever. "She did not know the druggie described in this trial She knew a soldier.". 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. He died on February 28, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA. And that song, which he wrote or helped to write and which will bear his boyish vocal signature forever. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. His bride was Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. The sum, he said, "might have been $1,500. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone with the money. The death certificate said he died of "acute intravenous narcotism.". 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. She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. They became lovers, Zola testified, one night in Bangor, Maine, when Frankie had won $1,700 gambling with Clyde McPhatter and she had gotten "a little loaded drinking scotch and water." Paula Span reported that Frankie and Elizabeth got married in Alexandria, Virginia, in early 1964. A decision was reached in November, but the case would not end there. 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. That wasn't his style. 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. Lymon signed with both 20th Century Fox Records and Columbia Records, but both deals were short-lived. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth said in court, he pulled a gun on her and she fled. The only child he is known to have fathered died hours after her birth. Emiras Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum, Pomeroy said. Zola Taylor Lymon. 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. She also turned to prostitution to support her daughter from her first marriage, to one Charles Phillips, when she was just 16. Elizabeth, 43, of Philadelphia, claims she married Lymon in Alexandria, Va., in 1964, and that the couple had a child who died. The marriage to Eagle is valid, so she is entitled to a fief. Zola has been unable to locate records documenting their Mexican wedding, or documenting her Mexican divorce from her previous marriage (her second). Frankie could fool you, he could fool me, Frankie could fool God. He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. 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. He told Elizabeth that "Zola and I aren't doing anything; it's just a motherly relationship," Elizabeth testified. Zola Taylor Lymon, who was 50, had flown in from Los Angeles. Zola got to be pretty friendly with the first wife. Elizabeths lawyers, on the other hand, maintained her marriage was valid, which meant that neither Zolas nor Emiras could have been. Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both were apparently correct. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. It was also Rubin who located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, helped line up witnesses and documentation. 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. Best Answer. So the trial went forward. Art director John Chicester. 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. I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. In fact, Rubin calls them "mundane, everyday.". According to Spans reporting, Emira paid the $2,000 bill. Required fields are marked *. 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. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon said. Levy ruled his empire with an iron hand, using both fear and intimidation as part of his business model. He figured that once the case was over there would be no problem," Olb recalled. He had a bad year in 1966. co-starring Halle Barry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. 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