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. Though Waters was not yet divorced from her first husband when she and Frankie Lymon married in a civil ceremony in Alexandria in 1964, their union became valid when that divorce became final in 1965, the judge found. "I'm not going to wear mink coats with {you} in jeans," she announced. Wiki User. 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." She and Frankie began living together in 1962, she testified. It teaches him responsibility and how to stand on his own two feet. The flyer advertised performances by Pearl McKinnon and the Kodaks, Earl Lewis and the Channels, the Cleveland Still Dubs, and the Impalas. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. By the time Waters connected with Lymon, he had become a junkie, and she ended up ruining herself trying to pay for his drugs. Paula Span reported that Frankie and Elizabeth got married in Alexandria, Virginia, in early 1964. Elizabeth 'Mickey' Waters : You see, y'all gotta understand. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three . Frankie had a very bad year in 1966. Lymon was discharged a year later, he'd said "I do" once more. Zola: "I perform all over the world"), she arrived at court daily in a limousine. 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. 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. The Teenagers tried recording on their own, with a new lead singer. I loved him like a brother.". His bride was Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. 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. Why does the rain fall from up above? 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.. 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. And then he went out and proved it. She called the work "moonlighting" and testified that she was arrested for it 15 or 20 times. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth told the court, he pulled a gun on her and fled. 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. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. 1/28/23, noon until 2pm service at Small's Mortuary. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Waters Residence Hall is centrally located in the heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota. Last in line is Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon), a demure, well-bred Southern educator. "I'd have killed him, I was so angry," she says. Zola Taylor Lymon. Art director John Chicester. She says he didn't mean to hurt her, and blames his behavior on his addictions. Zola Taylor Lymon, now 50, one of the original Platters, had flown in from Los Angeles. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insists. "He had been busted in California again for drugs. co-starring Halle Barry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. 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. Taylor's attorneys could not be reached for comment. He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! Frankie could fool you, he could fool me, Frankie could fool God. So the trial went forward. 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Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. When she recovered, she declared that "she knew it; she'd had faith all along," Peterson said. "He had been busted in California again for drugs." Lymon's 1967 marriage to Eagle, marked by a ceremony at the Beulah Grove Baptist Church, was invalid, according to the opinion, because he was still married to Waters. The following month, Zola testified that she and Frankie drove to Tijuana and got married in a tiny chapel. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. Similar to the stars of today, whenever the press cites "exhaustion" it's drug related. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. probe. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoes Zola. Emira Eagle Lymon. Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone with the money. If none of the women is Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stand to inherit. It was not, for long, a happy one. Yes, the three women are gorgeous and talented, and it is fun to see them having at one another. Elizabeth went on to testify that she also saw Frankie the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. If none of the women was found to be Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stood to inherit. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. 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. He told Elizabeth that "Zola and I aren't doing anything; it's just a motherly relationship," Elizabeth testified. Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 - February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group The Teenagers.The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. 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. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) The next morning, Feb. 27, an uncle found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor and called police. Both Elizabeth's and Zola's attorneys say Emira offered their clients 20 percent (for Elizabeth) and 5 percent (for Zola) of the estate. 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. Morris Levy had not become a force in the music business through fear alone; he was also very clever. 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. The court found that "the decedent and Elizabeth {Waters} have satisfied the requirements of common law marriage in the State of Pennsylvania." The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. She'll use a 16-piece band and her own group, Zola Taylor's Platters, as backup singers. She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. 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. There may be further delays, though, while that executive faces federal extortion charges. Then he called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. The next month, according to Zola, she and Frankie drove to Tijuana and got married in a small chapel. I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. McCracken said his client "has a strong religious background and beliefs, so I don't think she'll be devastated, but I know she's disappointed to say the least. 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? This answer is: She also stole the hearts of many people and led to a five-year legal battle to answer which of the three women who claimed to be married to the star was the real Mrs. Frankie Lemmon . He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. 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. 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. "I didn't want her to hear it on the news," he said. She was 19 and sympathetic; she wanted to help him regain what he'd lost. He (Frankie) sort of changed my life, she told the judge. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Their affair continued off and on for several years. Lymon is always short of money, no childhood, and, in most descriptions, lacks calmness, but when a small star appears on the stage, he always steals the limelight. 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. Get our L.A. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." With the waters thoroughly muddied, the federal judge stayed Emira's lawsuit in 1986 pending determination of which woman was Lymon's widow. Elizabeth's lawyers maintain her marriage is valid, which means that neither Zola's nor Emira's can be. 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. Zola Taylor said she married Lymon on Oct. Friday, November 06 2020. Lymon didn't even leave a grieving widow to serve as keeper of his flame. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. Next comes the feisty Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. He was previously married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. 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. Producers Paul Hall, Stephen Nemeth. 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. I know its been good for me.. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. Her obituary was posted on February 9, 2023. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. Cheesborough. 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. Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. "As far as I know, he was a very nice guy. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Levys attorney responded that the agreements with Elizabeth and Zola amounted to standard industry contracts. "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. Also Read Inside Data and Cyber Security issue in Barbados Europe plays chess with Wagner's African moves, imposes sanctions 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 first decision was made in Waterss favor; Eagle appealed, and in 1989 the New York State Supreme Court Appeals Division overturned the original decision and transferred ownership of Lymon to Eagle. 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. It also dooms, at least for now, the hopes of singer Zola Mae Taylor of Los Angeles, the female member of the original Platters, and Emira Eagle, a schoolteacher from Augusta, Ga., each of whom had claimed in court that she was Lymon's widow and heir. Emira refused. It is in fact three wives who face the camera, one after another, each claiming to be Lymons true love and legal spouse. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth said in court, he pulled a gun on her and she fled. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. Final briefs are due next week, with a decision expected later this spring. Yet just over a year later, Lymon would be found dead in his grandmothers bathroom from drug abuse. 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. DONALD LYMON OBITUARY. Fox), a prison-hardened former shoplifter and prostitute. Lymon and his group followed up with three more hits in 1956 and another in 1957. Your email address will not be published. Zola, the older woman, was 17. Elizabeth Waters Found 1,173 people in Florida, Georgia and 49 other states. 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. 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. She had a big house in the hills with a swimming pool, and she immediately took the scruffy Frankie shopping for suits and tuxedos. Paula Span reported that, during the trial, the judge even raised the disquieting possibility that none of his three supposed marriages was legally contracted, that Lymon had no widow. 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. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. Lymon in February 1967 talked about his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K. So estimates Chuck Rubin, a former agent who's become a kind of musical bounty hunter. Also Read:Uplift Suasion: the notion to change racism, Your email address will not be published. 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. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoed Zola. He told Zola that the new guest was a friend from New York, Zola recalled. 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. 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Friday, November 06 2020....
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