Zola had also been a teenage star. "Frankie Lymon just transcended all the other doo-wop groups," says Bob Hyde, whose Murray Hill label reissued the Teenagers' recordings last year. It was modified to just Lymon and Goldner on subsquent recordings for the next decade before Goldner's name was replaced by Levy's. Zola Taylor Lymon, now 50, one of the original Platters, had flown in from Los Angeles. 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. He didn't mind. They point to the absence of documentation from Mexico as evidence that Zola and Frankie never married at all. 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. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. He then located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, and helped line up witnesses and documentation. Key parts of this chronology are in dispute, of course. Royalties were underestimated or simply never paid. By the time of the trial, publishing rights to the song might have been worth seven figures. At her insistence he checked into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit, and maybe he succeeded for a time. 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. Others still do, however. Artists Rights helped secure a financial settlement for Richard Berry, composer of "Louie, Louie" (just before the song starred in a wine cooler ad), and represents several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. Music Stephen James Taylor. Ms. "The only thing Morris Levy had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago said. There may be further delays, though, while that executive faces federal extortion charges. That's why we're here today.". Zola Taylor, a former member of the teen-age doo-wop group the Platters, also said. What is less clear from the file is why, 20 years afterward, it has become so important to be Frankie Lymon's legal widow. Zola Taylor Lymon. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) "Sell, sell, sell," he advises. 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. Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. But Anne Pomeroy of the Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. (which has played a major role in the Lymon case, and about which more later) spoke with Emira at length. 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. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. It didnt last long, however. 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. 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. 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. Although most of Rubin's cases don't wind up in court, the allegations Emira made are not unusual. That wasn't his style. Though Navas soapy directing style makes Fools watchable enough in a campy way, the films unsophisticated nature undermines its better qualities. His in the end was a wasted life ruined by drugs. Thats why were here today.. Levy declined direct comment on the Lymon matter. Why Do Fools Fall In Love was a prime example, and its publishing rights may have earned a lot of money by 1984, according to Chuck Rubin of Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. Rubin established his organization in 1981 to represent artists who he believed had been deprived of their earnings by their record companies. The death certificate said he died of "acute intravenous narcotism.". He was characterized as The Octopus by Varietymagazine for his far-reaching control and power in the record industry and his connections to organized crime. Gender inclusive room options available. The Lymon she knew was more of a homebody than a homeboy--someone so different than the man the other two women married that, as someone sarcastically comments, it seems like anything in a skirt was Frankies type.. 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. First Visitation. Left-Wing Meloni: Italys Attempt to Replicate Giorgia Meloni, Europe is dumping its migrants in Africa in exchange of money, Antoinette Giancana Biography, Family and Movies, David Von Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books, Uplift Suasion: the notion to change racism, Mexicos constitutional crisis has its roots in Washington, The EU-Mercosur Deal: Macrons Duplicity Unveiled, Paraguay declares Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. He was a soldier for most of their brief marriage, taking the bus from her family's home to the post each day. 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. 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. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. Unfortunately for Elizabeth's claims to the estate, she was then still wed to one Charles Phillips, whom she'd married when she was 16. By 1962, Frankies career had been in decline for several years but she had nevertheless come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoes Zola. Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. The sum, he said, "might have been $1,500. By now, publishing rights to the song may have earned $750,000, or even more. She had a big house in the hills with a swimming pool, and she immediately took the scruffy Frankie shopping for suits and tuxedos. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. 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. 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. She had insisted that he check himself into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. Waters provides convenient access to libraries, the . The only child he is known to have fathered died hours after her birth. And the true imponderable, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". "Knowing the facts like I know them, I feel confident there will be an appeal," McCracken predicted. If none of the women is Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stand to inherit. And that song, which he wrote or helped to write and which will bear his boyish vocal signature forever. 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. View our. Her complaint charges fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. 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. As Waters' claim went to court, Taylor claimed that she had been sexually active with Lymon as early as the "Biggest Rock "n" Roll Show of 1956" tour. Pearl, who emulated Frankie Lymon with a distinctive sound all her own, sealed the deal for Robinson, and the Kodaks were signed to the Fury label. 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.. LYMON REESE OBITUARY. This answer is: She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon said. Production design Cary White. 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. 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 . The flyer advertised performances by Pearl McKinnon and the Kodaks, Earl Lewis and the Channels, the Cleveland Still Dubs, and the Impalas. I know its been good for me.. She said he didn't mean to hurt her, and blamed his behavior on his addictions. As a result, they fought and separated numerous times. Final briefs are due next week, with a decision expected later this spring. It spent months on the pop charts, led to national tours and TV appearances and bubble-gum cards with the Teenagers' picture on them. 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. There was nothing in writing in regards to the fundraisers or purchasing the headstone, Olb said. Like the jazz and blues artists before them, the rock 'n' rollers of the '50s and '60s were often ripe for rip-offs. All these arguments are laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. Frankie could fool you, he could fool me, Frankie could fool God. 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. Last to the altar is Eagle, the sister of one of the singers Army buddies. 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. He was busy preparing for an April 11 trial for extortion and conspiracy in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, stemming from an F.B.I. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." Emira came to New York to arrange for his funeral mass and burial, and she paid the bill -- $2,000. 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. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. Lymon's managers tried packaging him as a solo crooner in a cravat. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both were apparently correct. With the matter now in a confused state, the federal judge stayed Emiras lawsuit. If Emira wins, she'll share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. "Some drug users, they rob, they steal, they do everything to sustain that habit." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6P329DMKY. Also Read:Family of Lorenzo Dominic Lavalle. "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. He was apparently a bigamist, or maybe a trigamist. 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