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  1. #1
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    "Lesley Gore had just$ 50,000 when she died"

    Per interview with her lawyer and partner in NY Post.

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    Too sad for words.

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    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Per interview with her lawyer and partner in NY Post.
    Is "just $50,000.00" a bad thing? That's about $45,000.00 more than a lot of people I know. And when you look at cases, like Florence Ballard, I think Lesley did fairly well.

    Doesn't the story go that even after all of her hits, she still left Mercury owing $$$? And that was at the peak of her career.

    I understand she hadn't worked much in the past few years; previous to that, I assume she was on the "oldies" circut; I can't imagine she made more than a few thousand dollars a performance. And it's not like she toured and performed daily, or even weekly.

    I wonder: did Lesley have any type of other job? Many artists, after their "peak" years, have had office jobs and whatnot: Roz and Nettie of the Vandellas come to mind. They still did gigs here and there, but had 9-5 jobs.

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    There's a Lesley Gore interview I posted in the area below this thread; she talks about owing Mercury $175,000 when she left in 1969 and it was years before she saw a penny from them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    There's a Lesley Gore interview I posted in the area below this thread; she talks about owing Mercury $175,000 when she left in 1969 and it was years before she saw a penny from them.
    That's a tough hole to climb out of. But then again, "the business" was much different then. There were no "bazillion" dollar contracts; people signed their life away, often without the benefit of a lawyer, or even a parent, just for the opportunity to record and release a single.

    Paul Peterson from the "Donna Reed Show" has worked tirelessly to ensure that young "entertainers" have the means to transition into adulthood, oftentimes when the singles and the contracts dry up.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
    Is "just $50,000.00" a bad thing? That's about $45,000.00 more than a lot of people I know. And when you look at cases, like Florence Ballard, I think Lesley did fairly well.

    Doesn't the story go that even after all of her hits, she still left Mercury owing $$$? And that was at the peak of her career.

    I understand she hadn't worked much in the past few years; previous to that, I assume she was on the "oldies" circut; I can't imagine she made more than a few thousand dollars a performance. And it's not like she toured and performed daily, or even weekly.

    I wonder: did Lesley have any type of other job? Many artists, after their "peak" years, have had office jobs and whatnot: Roz and Nettie of the Vandellas come to mind. They still did gigs here and there, but had 9-5 jobs.
    Very true, and makes me realize I should clarify my comment. I think it sad for Ms. Gore and so many others who have work that generates income for decades beyond their performance and receive no royalties for advertising, movie, etc use while licensing agents, etc earn more money than the performer. I seem to recall that Ms. Gore did some other type of non-performing arts work - but I'm not sure.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
    Is "just $50,000.00" a bad thing? That's about $45,000.00 more than a lot of people I know. And when you look at cases, like Florence Ballard, I think Lesley did fairly well.

    Doesn't the story go that even after all of her hits, she still left Mercury owing $$$? And that was at the peak of her career.

    I understand she hadn't worked much in the past few years; previous to that, I assume she was on the "oldies" circut; I can't imagine she made more than a few thousand dollars a performance. And it's not like she toured and performed daily, or even weekly.

    I wonder: did Lesley have any type of other job? Many artists, after their "peak" years, have had office jobs and whatnot: Roz and Nettie of the Vandellas come to mind. They still did gigs here and there, but had 9-5 jobs.
    "Roz and Nettie" have fared out quite well. Instead of getting caught up in "I'm a Motown artist. I'm too good to go out here and work a regular job," when they left the Vandellas, they got city jobs, worked them for 20-plus years, and now get decent pensions, along with Social Security. If an Original Vandellas gig come us, fine; if not, so be it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mellow_q View Post
    "Roz and Nettie" have fared out quite well. Instead of getting caught up in "I'm a Motown artist. I'm too good to go out here and work a regular job," when they left the Vandellas, they got city jobs, worked them for 20-plus years, and now get decent pensions, along with Social Security. If an Original Vandellas gig come us, fine; if not, so be it.
    Yah! Now those are smart ladies. Congratulations to both!

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    Another article said her estate may be greater as her recording royalties have not been assessed of yet. She has been praised for her humanitarian work by many.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mellow_q View Post
    "Roz and Nettie" have fared out quite well. Instead of getting caught up in "I'm a Motown artist. I'm too good to go out here and work a regular job," when they left the Vandellas, they got city jobs, worked them for 20-plus years, and now get decent pensions, along with Social Security. If an Original Vandellas gig come us, fine; if not, so be it.
    My mention of "Roz and Nettie" was that of praise. They gave themselves a backup plan. Truth told, these days they seem to be the busiest of the Motown "heritage" artists.

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    $50,000? Boo-hoo. There are people who have a lot less than that!

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    Tis true but not many people sang It's My Party at 16 or You Don't Own Me or Sunshine Lollipops Rainbow or got nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song and then ended up with only $50000

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    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...icle-1.2169634

    Interestingly, this article refers to "they" had a house, I think it says in Bridgehampton ~ probably joint property and NOT included in the estate value.

    I wonder how much it was worth! What's Bridgehampton?

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    http://www.homes.com/for-sale/bridgehampton-ny/

    Well, maybe things weren't quite so bad; the houses in Bridgehampton seem to sell for $2,000,000 to $55,000,000!

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    Just 50k to her name? Did she sell her musical rights or something? They must just mean her musical earnings because I'm sure she invested in real estate, right?

  17. #17
    I wonder if it is possible that this is a PR stunt and there was/is more than $50K remaining, which was transferred to her partner long before her death? I don't know what the case is in the States, but in Canada, the estate has to file a final tax return when a person passes away. Sometimes people try to do some clever manuveuring to avoid extra tax payments and debt settlement. However, if it was indeed $50K, it would also not be entirely surprising to me. Although this is not necessarily a sole indication of her net worth, as being pointed out above, her assets and home and everything else could be worth much more than that.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-04-2015 at 09:48 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...icle-1.2169634

    Interestingly, this article refers to "they" had a house, I think it says in Bridgehampton ~ probably joint property and NOT included in the estate value.

    I wonder how much it was worth! What's Bridgehampton?
    Bridgehampton is a town East of me out Rt. 27/Sunrise Highway. It is between East Hampton and Southampton and about the size of Sag Harbor. Nice neighborhood filled with celebrities especially in the summer.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    I wonder if it is possible that this is a PR stunt and there was/is more than $50K remaining, which was transferred to her partner long before her death? I don't know what the case is in the States, but in Canada, the estate has to file a final tax return when a person passes away. Sometimes people try to do some clever manuveuring to avoid extra tax payments and debt settlement. However, if it was indeed $50K, it would also not be entirely surprising to me. Although this is not necessarily a sole indication of her net worth, as being pointed out above, her assets and home and everything else could be worth much more than that.

    We have something similar here Carlo. The Inheritance Tax, etc etc

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    Yes, I don't think things were quite as meagre as the media has made this out to be.

    Many families do estate planning and transfer houses and money.

    Things aren't that bad for anyone living in that neighbourhood. She might not have been loaded but we'd all take a house in that neighbourhood.
    Last edited by jobeterob; 04-04-2015 at 06:25 PM.

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    Owing Mercury Records $175,000 in 1969 is not surprising. Nobody even knows the name of the label's president, but it was not just Motown that artists owed. That was common practice in those days--artists were charged for everything--sessions [[even those that never were released), trade ads, promotion, etc. Artists also paid for the dj or advance promo copies. Having $50,000 isn't bad. She hasn't been a major act since the 60s and she did work a lot of shows and cruises. As stated above, that might not include property, etc. or maybe not even stocks or bonds. Perhaps that is just the cash in the bank.

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    $50,000? Boo-hoo. There are people who have a lot less than that!
    I know right, some entertainers die flat broke. Or worse, in a crapload of debt.

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    Lesleys partner said Lesley was not good with business matters.Id think Lesley could be in the category of Mary Wilson and Martha who are both worth millions according to celebrity worth website but perhaps her lack of business acumen is at least somewhat respnsible.
    Last edited by luke; 04-11-2015 at 09:49 AM.

  24. #24
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    [QUOTE=luke;280227]Lesleys partner said said Lesley was not good with business matters.Id think Lesley could be in the category of Mary Wilson and Martha who are both worth millions according to celebrity worth website but perhaps her lack of business acumen is at least somewhat respnsible.[/QUOTE

    Of course totally accurate

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