She has never remarried. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. "Up to a point." Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both were apparently correct. Span wrote that Frankies relationship with Zola was not entirely maternal. A headstone was not part of the package, however, and Frankie Lymon was buried in an unmarked grave at St. Raymonds Cemetery. Why does the rain fall from up above? co-starring Halle Barry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. Then he called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. Frankie could fool you, he could fool me; Frankie could fool God. ("I thought royalties was a dessert," says Elizabeth.). The losing widows might appeal. 8822 County Road 64. 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. First Visitation. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. 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. Lymon related that he started singing publicly with his three brothers in a choral group at Gospel Church in New York City. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". The opinion dismisses the claims of Taylor, who was unable to produce "credible proof" of her marriage to Lymon or her divorce from her previous husband, both of which she said occurred in Mexico. 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. 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. 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. Elizabeth's lawyers maintain her marriage is valid, which means that neither Zola's nor Emira's can be. Times guidelines: a bloody beating and some genteel scenes of lovemaking. Opened 1940 | Named after Elizabeth Waters. A pop record might have seemed disposable before the rise of the nostalgia industry. "As far as I know, he was a very nice guy. Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. Privacy Policy Agreement * I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy. Frankie had a very bad year in 1966. He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. 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. The retired Richmond County schoolteacher in her years after Lymon was married to Augustan Leroy Bryant. He was a hustler, a liar and a thief. Eagle's New York counsel Ira Greenberg agreed that his "current inclination" was to appeal. Lymon was discharged a year later, he'd said "I do" once more. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 27, 2023, at 3:00 PM from the chapel. That case can now proceed, their attorney says. Published by Legacy on Jul. * Playing in general release throughout Southern California. 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. And it stalls or kills a federal lawsuit Eagle had brought to reclaim control of the publishing rights to his song. 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. Editor Nancy Richardson. No one could have foreseen that the people who grew up with the music would refuse to relinquish it, and the songs would be repeatedly recycled into movie soundtracks and albums, cover versions, oldies compilations, and television commercials. Click the "All Sizes" button above to read an article or to see the image clearly. And Emira, if she wins, will continue her federal case against Levy, a matter growing steadily more complex. Who owns the rights to old songs matters as much or more now than it did when they were hits. In fact, Elizabeth says she saw him the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. Rodgers, who had been Roulettes top-selling artist in the 50s and early 60s with his #1 hit Honeycomb and 26 other charting singles, suffered traumatic head injuries from a blunt instrument in the beating. She'll use a 16-piece band and her own group, Zola Taylor's Platters, as backup singers. She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." 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. In December 1989, the New York Supreme Court ruled that Bryant was Lymons only legal wife. The names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy were now listed as the songwriters. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. All these arguments were laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda, and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. Zola Taylor had also been a teen-aged star. Lymon's managers tried packaging him as a solo crooner in a cravat. As soon as the hearing began, Emiras attorneys alleged that the other two widows acted in concert with Morris Levy. It was also Rubin who located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, helped line up witnesses and documentation. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! 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. Zola got to be pretty friendly with the first wife. And that was that, the last of the hits. He was energetic; dynamic; charismatic. "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. Zola Taylor Lymon, now 50, one of the original Platters, had flown in from Los Angeles. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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. Consequently, he left behind a tangled and miserable legal and financial mess along with three wounded women. 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 left no fortune, but his name was listed as one of the songwriters of Why Do Fools Fall In Love. 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.. Zola Taylor Lymon. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. Wiki User. She called the work "moonlighting" and testified that she was arrested for it 15 or 20 times. A pop record seemed disposable then, before the rise of the nostalgia industry. LYMON REESE OBITUARY. Chuck Rubin. Set designers Clare Scarpulla, Michael Bernard. He was an actor and composer, known for American Graffiti (1973), October Sky (1999) and The Big Fix (1978). 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. Lymon signed with both 20th Century Fox Records and Columbia Records, but both deals were short-lived. 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. Rochon portrayed Bryant, who married Lymon on June 30, 1967, at Beulah Grove Baptist Church near Paine College when Lymon was stationed that year at Fort Gordon. She was 19 and sympathetic; she wanted to help him regain what he'd lost. The marriage to Eagle is valid, so she is entitled to a fief. Screenplay by Tina Andrews. Span wrote that back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration with a cake and champagne. In his book, Me, the Mob, and the Music, Tommy James characterized Levy as willing to strong-arm the artists signed to Roulette, and that the label was notorious for not paying its artists for their record sales. Elizabeths claim to be Frankies wife and heir was weakened by the fact that she was still legally married when she wed Frankie in 1964. During his brief lifetime, Lymon became world-famous for his hit singles with The Teenagers including "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein said. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone; she never saw him alive again. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. Frankie's particular scam, she thinks, was getting married. He also represented several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. Smalls Mortuary - Eastern Shore. This time his bride was Emira Eagle, an educated, churchgoing elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. He was inducted into the Army in December 1966, and sent to Fort Gordon, Ga. By the time Pvt. 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. At her insistence he checked into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit, and maybe he succeeded for a time. She and Frankie began living together in 1962, she testified. 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. The fact came to notice from a judge during a trial where three middle-aged women (Ash Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Amira Eagle) spoke about their miseries. The next morning, Feb. 27, an uncle found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor and called police. What is less clear from the file is why, 20 years afterward, it has become so important to be Frankie Lymon's legal widow. If Emira won, she would share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. The origins of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" It was not, for long, a happy one. 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. She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. So the trial went forward. He was clean for a time when she became pregnant in 1963, and he was deeply saddend by the death of their infant daughter. "And he was still just a kid when he started on the next wife, Elizabeth Waters," said Nava. Morris Levy - Roulette Records. Art director John Chicester. 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. 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. Required fields are marked *. I loved him like a brother.". 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. "He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother," Elizabeth explained during the trial. 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). Lymon in February 1967 talked about his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K. It was Rubin who, several years earlier, came to the conclusion that Lymons estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. This answer is: Sound Veda Campell. Back in 1956, the hit song had first been credited to Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner - head of Gee Records. Director Gregory Nava. It was Rubin who, several years ago, came to the conclusion that Lymon's estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. He was a soldier for most of their brief marriage, taking the bus from her family's home to the post each day. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone with the money. 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. She did not object when he decided to head for California in 1965. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. A memorial service. Emiras Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum, Pomeroy said. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. The trial of the three wives went forward, and final briefs were due in early 1988. Neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Ga. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? At the least, records and witnesses' recollections seem to indicate that Frankie Lymon did stand before a magistrate or minister on three occasions to promise himself to each of these women until death parted them, which turned out to be a fairly short time. 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. None of the many tracks they made together or separately ever duplicated the jubilance of their early records. Levy was aware of all the details of Frankie Lymons love life, and he used it to his advantage by bringing in Elizabeth Waters and Zola Taylor to challenge Emiras claim to be Frankies widow and, by having the court determine her marraige to be invalid, derail her lawsuit. And if he put others through hell too, well, didn't he say, right in that song, that love is a losing game? 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