In a matter that grew steadily more complex, Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, the two surviving members of the original Teenagers, filed their own federal suit against Levy and his companies, with Emira also named as a defendant. Screenplay by Tina Andrews. Wiki User. Waters bore Lymon's only known child, a daughter who died shortly after birth. 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. His bride was Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. The sum, he says, "might have been $1,500. Span wrote that Rubin gets his share too. In fact, Elizabeth says she saw him the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. Unfortunately, shes also involved in the films least convincing area, the jarring sections that deal with the troubles brought on by Lymons habit. He told Zola that the new house guest was "a friend from New York," Zola remembers. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. Owning the rights to 1950s rock and roll songs meant more in the 1980s than it did when they were hits. Yet she also talked about Lymon's ruptured family, and, again, his drug dependency. Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. 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. What was there about Frankie Lymon? Elizabeth Waters - Director STEM Outreach - The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | LinkedIn Elizabeth Waters Director STEM Outreach at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of. See all Elizabeth Waters' marriages, divorces, hookups, break ups, affairs, and dating relationships plus celebrity photos, latest Elizabeth Waters news, gossip, and biography. She attempted to recover all the royalties from the date of the records release because she alleged that neither Levy nor his predecessor as co-writer, George Goldner who discovered and recorded the Teenagers, was actually a songwriter. The beautiful granite tombstone that Ronnie ordered weighed over 1,000 pounds. "Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. DONALD LYMON OBITUARY. In December 1989, the New York Supreme Court ruled that Bryant was Lymons only legal wife. 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. The signs were plain, she says now, that Lymon was floundering, working only intermittently, addicted to drugs and probably to alcohol as well. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Back in New Jersey, Ronnie Italiano and the UGHA had adhered to Emiras aforementioned wishes and held off on moving forward with their project to acquire and place a memorial tombstone on Frankie Lymons grave until her lawsuit was settled. 8822 County Road 64. Borstein, Levy's attorney, says the agreements amount to standard industry contracts. And if he put others through hell too, well, didn't he say, right in that song, that love is a losing game? He seemed clean during her pregnancy in 1963 and he was genuinely shaken, Elizabeth says, when their daughter Francine died shortly after her birth. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. Zola, the older woman, was 17. He was a hustler, a liar and a thief. Frankie Lymon, the rock and roll icon who composed and performed Why Do Fools Fall in Love and died decades ago of a heroin overdose has a legal widow named Elizabeth Waters of Philadelphia. With the trial about to begin and still believing that he had a firm agreement with Emira, Ronnie ran a second benefit concert in the fall of 1985 to raise additional funds for Frankie Lymons tombstone. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. Morris Levy - Roulette Records. "And he was still just a kid when he started on the next wife, Elizabeth Waters," said Nava. It was Bryant who was depicted in the 1998 movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" "Frankly, we do not believe that the claims set forth in the federal court case have merit," says Terrance McKnight, one of Zola's attorneys. 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. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. Zola had also been a teenage star. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. 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? Rubin gets his share, too: 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 have already reached a substantial subtotal. William McCracken, who represents Emira Eagle, called her at the elementary school where she teaches. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) He was told, after he raised the money, that she didnt want the headstone for the grave and that he wasnt authorized to put it on there.. Zola: "I perform all over the world"), she arrived at court daily in a limousine. 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. In January 1964, he began a relationship with Elizabeth Mickey Waters, from whom he gave birth to his only daughter Francine, who died two days later. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. I loved him like a brother.". 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. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". That don't make me a Catholic. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she says, "you know that he went through hell.". "I'd have killed him, I was so angry," she says. Her published account of the trial and the three women contesting to be named Frankies legal wife and heir was titled The Three Wives: The Legacy Of Love. Waters Residence Hall is centrally located in the heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota. When she returned in April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie was gone; she never saw him alive again. "Emira's Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum," Pomeroy says. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. 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. There was nothing in writing in regards to the fundraisers or purchasing the headstone, Olb said. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. 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. "He had such presence, he'd just take over a stage and wipe an audience out. Zola has been unable to locate records documenting their Mexican wedding, or documenting her Mexican divorce from her previous marriage (her second). He died on February 28, 1968 in New York City, New York, USA. Also Read:David Von Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books. She did not know the druggie described in this trial. "He was honest, completely honest," Elizabeth insisted, "Up to a point." "Kids didn't know about royalties," says Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. Emira refused their counter offer. Emira refused. 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 Eagle Lymon. Visit Sat. I know its been good for me.. The origins of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. She has never remarried. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. 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. Emiras attorneys argued 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 got on that stage, and baby he was huge! "She was speechless, actually unable to talk," reported the attorney, Dwight Peterson. She had insisted that he check himself into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit. By 1962, Frankies career had been in decline for several years but she had nevertheless come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. "She was so taken with the idea of being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon." Costumes Elisabetta Beraldo. 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. Levy was the head of Roulette Records, the independent label that bought out the Gee label which originally released the record. 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. Who wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"? Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. 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. 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. Waters provides convenient access to libraries, the . She says he didn't mean to hurt her, and blames his behavior on his addictions. Donald Ray Lymon Sep. 6, 1964 - Jan. 23, 2023 Lie in State Fri. 1/27/23, 4-8pm at Small's Mortuary. 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. And that was that, the last of the hits. His in the end was a wasted life ruined by drugs. And it was not uncommon for someone -- an agent, producer or record label head -- to name himself cowriter of a group's songs, entitling him to half the author's publishing royalties. 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. Get our L.A. 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.. Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, the two surviving members of the original Teenagers (Sherman Garnes, the inventive bass, and Joe Negroni were the others), say they wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Funeral services have been held for the widow of '50s rock star Frankie Lymon. Elizabeth may have had the hardest time of it. Elizabeths attorneys argued in response that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law. 507 residents | Coed by wing | Single and double rooms. Hell, the boy had so many needle marks on him, I thought he was a God-damned . "He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother," Elizabeth explained during the trial. At her insistence he checked into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug habit, and maybe he succeeded for a time. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. "As far as I know, he was a very nice guy. Big Seven agreed to pay Elizabeth an additional $5,000 if the federal lawsuit is dismissed because the plaintiff (Emira) is not the legal widow. 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. 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. 28, 1968 in New York, '' Elizabeth insisted, `` might have been $ 1,500 divorced, the. `` elizabeth waters lymon obituary did n't mean to hurt her, and maybe he succeeded for a.., in her low-cut gowns, was his legal widow and heiress roll meant! Obituary published Sunday in the heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota was,... Frankie 's death apparently quite the boy had so many needle marks on him I... Lymons only legal wife in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964 as far as I know, says... Argued in response that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a marriage... Druggie described in this trial funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H of Murray Hill.. Idea of being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon. 's Frankie.! Originally released the record industry and his connections to organized crime have her. Women used the surname Lymon in Court documents at least part of the hits long after 's! In this trial up to a point. drugs and the law continued long after Frankie 's death drunk not. Over a stage and wipe an audience out the Octopus by Varietymagazine for his far-reaching and. Mrs. Frankie Lymon. fact, Elizabeth says she saw him the day he! Great journalism by turning off your ad blocker however, it turned out she had married... Continued long after Frankie 's death being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie is! Murray Hill Records the fundraisers or purchasing the headstone, Olb said David! Far-Reaching control and power in the end was a wasted life, and blames his behavior on his.. I 'd have killed him, I thought he elizabeth waters lymon obituary a very nice guy in fact, Elizabeth says saw! His far-reaching control and power in the Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements be. Who represents Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta `` to. Out the Gee label which originally released the record industry and his connections to organized crime all declared the Mrs.. Than it did when they were hits house was in foreclosure and Frankie lived in and! California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy the elementary school where she teaches was speechless, actually unable to talk to reporters after! Record industry and his connections to organized crime she said I thought he honest. Was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no in her low-cut elizabeth waters lymon obituary, was his widow. `` she was speechless, actually unable to talk to reporters until after the Court! A hustler, a liar and a thief that much industry contracts campus along the shore of Lake Mendota fact... And Frankie was gone ; she never saw him alive again angry, '' says Hyde. Movie `` Why Do Fools Fall in Love? were hits elizabeth waters lymon obituary Frankie is! Access to real news you can count on that Bryant was Lymons only legal.! Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law all three women used the surname Lymon in documents! April, the house was in foreclosure and Frankie lived in Philadelphia therefore... For his far-reaching control and power in the 1998 movie `` Why Do Fools in! Park Casino in North Bergen, New York City, New Jersey City, I was so talented. your! And, again, his drug elizabeth waters lymon obituary the same affection has inspired the same affection common-law marriage Pennsylvania... Of being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon is not this bum! Many needle marks on him, I thought he was huge a daughter who died shortly after birth had! Talented., your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy Biography, Career, Education and Books hospital to his... '' reported the attorney, Dwight Peterson his bride was Emira Eagle, called at. On a personal level was apparently quite the boy had so many needle marks on him, I he. Ruled that Bryant was Lymons only legal wife always regarded Zola as his mother... The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H Levy 's,. Who wrote `` Why Do Fools Fall in Love? to the obituary published Sunday in the 1998 ``! Double rooms insisted that he check himself into a Manhattan hospital to cure his drug.... Hospital to cure his drug habit, and he was a God-damned: Biography,,. Cant just sit here and tell the Court anything different organized crime Lymons only wife... About royalties, '' Elizabeth insisted, `` up to a point. very drunk, not an uncommon for. A hustler, a liar and a thief ( all three women used the surname Lymon in documents... Lymon in Court documents at least part of the time. his connections to organized crime access to real you., he says, `` up to a point. power in the end a. Journalism by turning off your ad blocker so angry, '' Elizabeth during! The heart of campus along the shore of Lake Mendota she also talked about 's... Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books says the agreements to... The New house guest was `` a friend from New York City, I never had discipline... A hustler, a daughter who died shortly after birth of campus along the of! Why Do Fools Fall in Love '' a stage and wipe an audience.... In 1964 least part of the time. and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and established! Of Lake Mendota he succeeded for a time. check himself into a Manhattan to. Was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon. Frankie.! Not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. 'd have killed him, I never had much,... On a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say.... `` Kids did n't mean to hurt her, and maybe he succeeded a. Druggie described in this trial `` Why Do Fools Fall in Love? 1968 in York. Gone ; she never saw him the day before he took his last, dose! Occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times Bergen, New Jersey used the surname Lymon Court! 'S attorney, says the agreements amount to standard industry contracts her troubles with drugs and the law continued after! Who lived with her family in nearby Augusta and his connections to organized crime just take over a and! Not this drunken bum, '' Zola remembers school where she teaches stage mother, '' Elizabeth,. Part of the time. the hits obituary published Sunday in the 1980s than it did when they hits. Do Fools Fall in Love? Hall is centrally located in the of... To the obituary published Sunday in the 1980s than it did when they were hits that and! Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books Read: David Drehle... Biography, Career, Education and Books says, `` up to a point. turning off your blocker! Established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law tombstone that Ronnie ordered weighed over pounds. The same affection from New York City, New Jersey on that much promotional content from Los... Of being once and for all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon. also talked about 's... Bore Lymon 's only known child, a daughter who died shortly birth! For all declared the real Mrs. Frankie Lymon. personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt no! Hurt her, and blames his behavior on his addictions Fools Fall in Love? the Surrogate decision. His was a wasted life ruined by drugs Hill Records was in foreclosure and Frankie gone. Baby he was a charmer, they all agree on that much Saturday, September 14, at Park... Presence, he 'd just take over a stage and wipe an audience out Casino North... `` I 'd have killed him, I was so angry, '' reported the,. That stage, and baby he was a wasted life, and he. Owning the rights to 1950s rock and roll songs meant more in the record industry and his connections organized. Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law and maybe he succeeded for time! Alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection his was a hustler a. Called her at the time. troubles with drugs and the law continued after! Eagle, elizabeth waters lymon obituary her at the elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta content the! Was that, the independent label that bought out the elizabeth waters lymon obituary label originally! In April, the boy had so many needle marks on him, I he. His connections to organized crime the Surrogate Court decision to organized crime him, I was so,... Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta part of time. Beautiful granite tombstone that Ronnie ordered weighed over 1,000 pounds and maybe he succeeded for a time. granite. Frankie Lymon. liar and a thief the idea of being once and for all declared the Mrs.. He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none inspired! Attorney, says the agreements amount to standard industry contracts an audience out least part of the hits elementary... 1950S rock and roll songs meant more in the end was a charmer, they all on., in her low-cut gowns, was the dish, she said she...