Why Do Fools Fall in Love is not quite the question asked by this up-tempo, relentlessly cartoonish biopic focusing on the tangled romantic life of an early rock star. Although Emiras attorneys advised her not to talk to Paula Span until the Surrogate Court reached a decision, Anne Pomeroy of the Artist Rights Enforcement Corporation, who was working with Emiras lawyers, spoke with the reporter. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. The Teenagers, too, have filed a federal suit saying they're entitled to their share of the proceeds regardless of who Lymon's widow is. Frankie told Elizabeth that Zola and I arent doing anything; its just a motherly relationship, Elizabeth testified in court. 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. "He had the type of personality," says Elizabeth Waters Lymon, Wife No. "The only thing {Morris Levy} had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago says. Zola's attorneys argue that California law makes her a "putative spouse" entitled to share in Lymon's property. 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. They fought and separated continually. It teaches him responsibility and how to stand on his own two feet. Most record buyers did not become aware of this latest change until the Happenings recorded a cover version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" in 1967 with Levy's name listed on the label. 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. Lymon's managers tried packaging him as a solo crooner in a cravat. They wanted to impress their friends in school by being on the radio. The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. "She did not know the druggie described in this trial She knew a soldier.". Lymon was 14 years old when he began to date Zola Taylor (Berry), lead singer of the chart-topping group the Platters in the mid-1950s. "Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. "He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother," Elizabeth explained during the trial. He was inducted into the Army in December 1966, and sent to Fort Gordon, Ga. By the time Pvt. It was modified to just Lymon and Goldner on subsquent recordings for the next decade before Goldner's name was replaced by Levy's. It was Bryant who was depicted in the 1998 movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. Emira refused their counter offer. Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. According to Spans story, Frankie moved into Zolas home and her bedroom. He told Zola that the new guest was a friend from New York, Zola recalled. 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. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Frankie was that kind of person, Your Honor, Elizabeth said. Though Navas soapy directing style makes Fools watchable enough in a campy way, the films unsophisticated nature undermines its better qualities. Yes, the three women are gorgeous and talented, and it is fun to see them having at one another. "Sell, sell, sell," he advises. Cinematographer Ed Lachman. Set designers Clare Scarpulla, Michael Bernard. All rights reserved. Owning the rights to 1950s rock and roll songs meant more in the 1980s than it did when they were hits. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. And yet -- what was it about him? Legacy.com reports daily on death announcements in local communities nationwide. 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. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. She let him live in her hillside house with instructions to pay bills out of an allowance forwarded to him by her attorney. Lymon was one of hundreds of kids in Harlem who had taken to street-corner harmonizing in the 1950s, rehearsing in apartment house hallways and echoey subway stations. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. Her sister's boyfriend introduced them; soon, Emira was cooking meals for Frankie and they were shopping for wedding rings. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insisted, "Up to a point." Levy ruled his empire with an iron hand, using both fear and intimidation as part of his business model. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. He told Zola that the new house guest was "a friend from New York," Zola remembers. 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. Frankie, by 1965, had pretty much been reduced to lip-synching at record hops on the East Coast. He also represented several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. It didnt last long, however. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. 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. 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. ("I thought royalties was a dessert," says Elizabeth.). In 1986, the women, who were never divorced from Lymon, filed copyright claims in federal court in New York for Lymons songs. When the Emiras case just started, Elizabeth Waters Lymon petitioned the proxy court, claiming that she was the widow of Frankie Lymon and that Zola Taylor was also Objected, claiming to be Lemmons legal widow. The two surviving members of the Teenagers claim that they wrote the song with Lymon when they were all Harlem street-corner harmonizers hoping for a break. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. But Elizabeth's attorneys argue that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law. At her insistence he checked into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit, and maybe he succeeded for a time. Ronnie had raised a large amount of money from the benefit concerts and donations, but he had been in limbo because of the legal battle, recalled Bill Olb. And Emira, if she wins, will continue her federal case against Levy, a matter growing steadily more complex. She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. The way '50s singer Frankie Lymon is presented in "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is "mostly true. Zola testified that their affair continued off and on for several more years. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. 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. 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. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth said in court, he pulled a gun on her and she fled. Donald Ray Lymon Sep. 6, 1964 - Jan. 23, 2023 Lie in State Fri. 1/27/23, 4-8pm at Small's Mortuary. That don't make me a Catholic. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. He took the bus to the post from her familys home each day. 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. 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? She did not object when he decided to head for California in 1965. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Opened 1940 | Named after Elizabeth Waters. The trial of the three wives went forward, and final briefs were due in early 1988. Thats why were here today.. ", "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. Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. Her complaint charged fraud, misappropriation and copyright infringement, among other offenses. Why does the rain fall from up above? There may be further delays, though, while that executive faces federal extortion charges. Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". 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. When Frankie Lymon died from a heroin overdose in 1968, he was broke and trying again for a comeback that he never achieved. Elizabeth went on to testify that she also saw Frankie the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. She also turned to prostitution to support her daughter from her first marriage, to one Charles Phillips, when she was just 16. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. 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. He had the looks; he had the voice; he had the moves. She said he didn't mean to hurt her, and blamed his behavior on his addictions. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. 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 had insisted that he check himself into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit. Rubin's 200 or so clients, from the Del Vikings to the Coasters, constitute an honor roll of early rock 'n' roll. Here are 10 you cant miss, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, Moroccan singer convicted of rape in Paris, gets 6-year term, Jonas Brothers promise Broadway residency will be a walk down musics memory lane, Toxic sex, social anxiety, 90s guitars: How L.A.s Blondshell pulled off the rock debut of 2023, Rihanna making the FCC work, work, work, after Super Bowl viewers file 103 complaints, Brad Paisley drops new song featuring President Zelensky to mark one year of Ukraine war. When she recovered, she declared that "she knew it; she'd had faith all along," Peterson said. Elizabeths lawyers, on the other hand, maintained her marriage was valid, which meant that neither Zolas nor Emiras could have been. 8822 County Road 64. 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." 2010-02-12 00:06:12. 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. It was Rubin who, several years earlier, came to the conclusion that Lymons estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. She told the court that she wanted to help him get back on his feet and regain all he had lost, but that trying to help him wasnt easy. Visit our Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. 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. "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. When you made a deal with Ronnie, it was usually oral, a real old-school type of business person. Frankie Lymon had been on his record label for most of his career, and Levy knew much more about the singer than Emira, who had only been with him for a year. "A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.". Your email address will not be published. Believing that she had the stronger case, Big Seven agreed to pay Elizabeth an additional $5,000 if the federal lawsuit was dismissed because the plaintiff (Emira) was determined to not be the legal widow. He was used and misused, and he used others also, she concluded. Cheesborough. Taylor, of Los Angeles, a singer with the Platters, contends she married Lymon in 1965 in Tijuana, Mexico. 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. We played down certain things and fudged others to make it work as a film," said director Gregory . Frankie could fool you, he could fool me, Frankie could fool God. The flyer advertised performances by Pearl McKinnon and the Kodaks, Earl Lewis and the Channels, the Cleveland Still Dubs, and the Impalas. Although most of Rubin's cases don't wind up in court, the allegations Emira made are not unusual. 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. In local communities nationwide, he could fool you, he was wearing an uniform. Early 1988 her a `` putative spouse '' entitled to share in 's... Check himself into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit friend from new York, '' Peterson.! Browser for the next time I comment and fudged others to make it as. In Tijuana, Mexico also saw Frankie the day before he took the bus to the post from first... 'S managers tried packaging him as a solo crooner in a campy way, three... 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