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She's going to call it "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. 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. "Sell, sell, sell," he advises. He seemed clean during her pregnancy in 1963 and he was genuinely shaken, Elizabeth says, when their daughter Francine died shortly after her birth. Waters of Philadelphia claimed to be Lymon's common-law wife during the mid-1960s, according to papers. 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. Emira refused their counter offer. Frankie had a very bad year in 1966. "Sell, sell, sell," he advised. 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. But "I couldn't get my hands on him, couldn't find him." Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. 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. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. An employee of a furniture store in north Philadelphia, she was in South Carolina for a family funeral. 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. She has never remarried. Her only marriage lasted 4.1 years. By the time Frankie showed up, unannounced, in Los Angeles, Zola had done well for herself. There may be further delays, though, while that executive faces federal extortion charges. She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." 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. * MPAA rating: R, for language and some sexuality. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. "Some drug users, they rob, they steal, they do everything to sustain that habit." She said he didn't mean to hurt her, and blamed his behavior on his addictions. 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.. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. 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. Lymon and his group followed up with three more hits in 1956 and another in 1957. "She was so taken with the idea of being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon." 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. She did not know the druggie described in this trial. The film travels back and forth in time to explore their relationship with the singer. That case can now proceed, their attorney says. The record company executive has other problems: He was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for his conspiracy conviction arising from an FBI investigation of racketeering in the recording industry. 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 time his bride was Emira Eagle, an educated, churchgoing elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. That suit was suspended while Lambert determined which woman was Lymon's widow. 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. Lymon signed with both 20th Century Fox Records and Columbia Records, but both deals were short-lived. "Frankie was that kind of person, your honor," she said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Evan Rachel Wood denies allegation that she manipulated Marilyn Manson accuser, Ben Kwellers son Dorian Zev killed in car crash: No idea how to deal with this , Justin Biebers Justice world tour canceled after several postponements, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Newsom rescinds Californias COVID-19 state of emergency, marking an end to the pandemic era, Blake Shelton embarks on last season of The Voice before doing a little bit of nothing, Madonna salutes late brother Anthony Ciccone for blowing my mind as a young girl, L.A. 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Only after the trial to expose his wife was revealed, Fox was appointed as the producer. "He had been busted in California again for drugs. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." 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. Elizabeth Waters is currently single. He was the . 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 small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. He figured that once the case was over there would be no problem," Olb recalled. It was Rubin who, several years ago, came to the conclusion that Lymon's estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. Royalties were underestimated or simply never paid. It didnt last long, however. He lived for 26 years, was a star for one and a half of them, and left behind a miserable financial and legal mess and three wounded women. He didn't mind. By now, publishing rights to the song may have earned $750,000, or even more. Similarly, one of the unexamined factors in his turning to hard drugs was apparently the difficulties caused by his voice beginning to change. The trial of the three wives went forward, and final briefs were due in early 1988. -- those he abused and betrayed seem loath to condemn him. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. When she recovered, she declared that "she knew it; she'd had faith all along," Peterson said. 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. As a result, they fought and separated numerous times. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. 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. Get our L.A. 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. Elizabeth Waters was not yet divorced when she married Lymon, but the marriage became lawful once her first husbands divorce was finalized. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. 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. The names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy were now listed as the songwriters. None of the many tracks they made together or separately ever duplicated the jubilance of their early records. "They wanted to impress their friends in school" by being on the radio. For his part, Rubin's not opposed to generating new income from old music. The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Funeral services have been held for the widow of '50s rock star Frankie Lymon. 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. Emira refused. "Emira's Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum," Pomeroy says. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three . He then called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. Frankie Lymon died in New York. 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. Director Gregory Nava. 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. 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. 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. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. 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 had already reached a substantial subtotal. She called the work "moonlighting" and testified that she was arrested for it 15 or 20 times. The Surrogate Court judge hearing the widowhood case has been pushing for a settlement. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. 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. Frankie had started using heroin again, and she was forced to hide the money from his occasional gigs in a hole in the wall of their apartment to prevent him from using it to buy drugs. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. 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. 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. A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.. 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. 507 residents | Coed by wing | Single and double rooms. 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 . 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. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth said in court, he pulled a gun on her and she fled. 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. 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. Span wrote that she was conscious of her stardom and arrived at court daily in a limousine. The court found that "the decedent and Elizabeth {Waters} have satisfied the requirements of common law marriage in the State of Pennsylvania." 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. Frankie Lymon/Wife. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. 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. Yet just over a year later, Lymon would be found dead in his grandmothers bathroom from drug abuse. He died on February 28, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA. That don't make me a Catholic. Recording costs and commissions for everyone from managers to choreographers could siphon off much of a groups earnings. 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. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. 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. All rights reserved. Span reported that Zolas secretary and her booking agent both testified that they were witnesses to the wedding, and that her attorneys argued that California law made her a putative (believed to be) spouse entitled to share in Frankie Lymons property. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. His in the end was a wasted life ruined by drugs. 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. For Frankie had helped himself to hers. 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. Ms. Back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration, with a cake and champagne. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. 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. He once told a magazine interviewer that he'd been a pimp since he was 10. No one foresaw that the people who grew up with the music would refuse to relinquish it, repeatedly recycling it into movie sound tracks and albums, cover versions, oldies compilations and TV commercials. It was engraved with the words, In Memory Of Frankie Lymon Sept. 30, 1942 - Feb. 27, 1968 "We Promise To Remember". It was not, for long, a happy one. Zola Taylor Lymon, who was 50, had flown in from Los Angeles. He took the bus to the post from her familys home each day. Check places of employment, social media profiles, work history, photos and videos, resumes and CV, arrest records, publications, public records and business records . It is copyrighted in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy, head of Roulette Records, an independent label that bought out the Gee label, which originally released the record. Elizabeth went on to testify that she also saw Frankie the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. Elizabeth Waters was a struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. According to Bill Olb, the idea was suggested to Ronnie by Pearl McKinnon, who had recently left the reunited Teenagers. Maybe it was the afterglow from her Tijuana marriage that induced Zola to trust a junkie like Frankie to take care of her financial affairs when she left to tour Japan with the Platters in December 1965. He was clean for a time when she became pregnant in 1963, and he was deeply saddend by the death of their infant daughter. 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Their affair continued off and on for several years. In 1986, the women, who were never divorced from Lymon, filed copyright claims in federal court in New York for Lymons songs. 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. See all Elizabeth Waters' marriages, divorces, hookups, break ups, affairs, and dating relationships plus celebrity photos, latest Elizabeth Waters news, gossip, and biography. "Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. The way '50s singer Frankie Lymon is presented in "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is "mostly true. 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. Paula Span, Frankie was addicted to drugs and alcohol and Elizabeth, who was 19 at the time, was sympathetic. Impress their friends in school '' by being on the radio her join. From drug abuse was interviewed by the Augusta Chronicle while he was.! Once the case was over there would be found dead in his turning to drugs... 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