Aretha Franklin

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Aretha Franklin's Homes Divvied Up Using Smiley-Face Will

Judge cites 2014 document in awarding real estate to her sons

(Newser) - A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin awarded real estate to the late star's sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions. The decision Monday came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite...

Jury Says Will Found in Aretha Franklin's Couch Is Valid

'You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen counter. It's still your will'

(Newser) - A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other . It's a victory for Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, whose lawyers...

Aretha Franklin's Sons Battle Over Handwritten Wills

The Queen of Soul passed away 5 years ago

(Newser) - Five years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. As the AP reports, an unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled. The Queen of Soul,...

FBI Spied on Aretha Franklin for Years, 270-Page File Shows
FBI Spied on Aretha Franklin
Oct 12, 2022 4:24 PM CDT

FBI Spied on Aretha Franklin

During civil rights movement, agency looked for connections to Black Panthers

(Newser) - Spying on the leaders and organizers of the civil rights movement was a regular FBI practice, but a recently released file shows the extent of the surveillance of Black entertainers, including singer Aretha Franklin. Comedian Dick Gregory and singer Harry Belafonte were being monitored as well, the New York Times...

New Crimp in Aretha Franklin Estate Battle: a 4th Will
There's a
New Wrinkle in
Aretha Franklin's
Estate Battle
in case you missed it
Mar 14, 2021 9:35 AM CDT

There's a New Wrinkle in Aretha Franklin's Estate Battle

A 4th will emerges, dated not long before her 2018 death but typed and unsigned

(Newser) - Remember when it was thought Aretha Franklin didn't leave a will behind when she died, only for three handwritten wills to emerge shortly thereafter? Add a fourth one to the pile—although this one isn't handwritten and doesn't have her signature on it. On Tuesday, the Detroit ...

Aretha Franklin Left Nearly $1M in Uncashed Checks

Obama asks for something of the singer's

(Newser) - A year after Aretha Franklin died, court documents portray a confused estate case. She had left no will, and then three were found. At least one of the singer's four sons says there still hasn't been a complete inventory of the state provided to her heirs. Now, nearly...

Aretha Franklin's Estate Joins Push on Rare Cancer

New fund in her name will research rare kind of pancreatic disease

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin was famously private about her ailing health in her final years, but now her estate is joining the fight against the rare illness that claimed her life . The Aretha Franklin Fund for Neuroendocrine Cancer Research is now up and running, reports the Detroit Free Press . It's actually...

Handwritten Will by Aretha Reveals a Surprise

The father of her first child wasn't who everyone thought

(Newser) - When Aretha Franklin died, the initial word was that she didn't leave a will . That changed in a big way with the discovery of not one, not two, but three handwritten wills in her home. The big questions now are whether they're real and, if so, whether they'...

Will Found Under Aretha Franklin's Couch Cushions

2 others were found as well, but it's not clear if any are legal

(Newser) - Three wills have been found in the suburban Detroit home of Aretha Franklin nearly a year after her death, including one that was discovered under cushions in the living room, a lawyer said Monday. Franklin was 76 when she died last August of pancreatic cancer. Lawyers and family members said...

Pulitzers Go to Books About 2 Giants of American History

Works on Frederick Douglass and Alain Locke recognized

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin received an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Monday, as judges praised the Queen of Soul "for her indelible contribution to American music and culture." Franklin, who died last summer, was the first woman singled out for an honorary Pulitzer, which has been given to Bob Dylan and...

Aretha's Family: Pastor's Eulogy Was 'Very Distasteful'

Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. spoke for 50 minutes

(Newser) - As far as eulogies go, Aretha Franklin got a crummy one, at least according to her family. "He spoke for 50 minutes and at no time did he properly eulogize her," said the late singer's nephew regarding the Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. "We found the comments...

Aretha 'Didn't Get Around to' Making a Will

That could make things difficult for her heirs

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin was so hard-nosed in her business dealings that she demanded to be paid in cash before performing. Her heirs won't have it so simple. Though she lived to 76 and was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer, the Queen of Soul died without a will, the AP reports....

Bishop at Aretha Service Apologizes to Ariana

Critics accuse Charles Ellis of a public grope, but he says it was innocent

(Newser) - The bishop who officiated Aretha Franklin's funeral apologized Friday to Ariana Grande for how he touched her onstage and a joke he made about her name, per the AP . Bishop Charles H. Ellis III led Franklin's funeral and awkwardly greeted Grande on stage after she performed "(You...

Bill Clinton Finds Unique Way to Remember Aretha at Funeral

He uses his phone to play one of her songs into the mic

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin was receiving a sendoff fitting for a woman known as the Queen of Soul on Friday. Scores of big names from the world of entertainment and politics joined family and friends at her funeral at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit. Ariana Grande sang "(You Make Me Feel...

'Surprising' Swerve on Aretha's Estate

Franklin may not have left a will or trust, her longtime attorney says

(Newser) - Nearly a week after her death from advanced pancreatic cancer at the age of 76, more details are emerging about Aretha Franklin's assets. One of the more notable tidbits, per her longtime attorney: The legendary performer may have left no will or trust behind. "I was after her...

Madonna Says Panned Aretha Speech Was Not a Tribute

Madge says MTV asked her to share an anecdote about the Queen of Soul

(Newser) - Madonna has responded to widespread criticism of the "tribute" she made to Aretha Franklin at Monday night's MTV Video Music Awards. Per Entertainment Weekly , Madge explained on Instagram that she was asked by the network to share an anecdote with the audience while presenting this year's video...

Best Moments From the VMAS
Best Moments From the VMAs
Aug 21, 2018 4:17 AM CDT

Best Moments From the VMAs

J.Lo got emotional; Madonna rambled

(Newser) - With most of music industry's top acts absent, the two-hour MTV Video Music Awards lacked star power and felt flat—and it was up to a pop veteran to bring the house down. Jennifer Lopez, who earned the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for lifetime achievement, provided the...

Cops: Man Shot After Aretha Franklin Argument

Pair in barbershop disagreed about who was starring in upcoming biopic

(Newser) - Fans mourned Aretha Franklin all around the world Thursday—including in a barbershop in Suffolk, Va., where a discussion of the Queen of Soul turned violent. Witnesses say that after an argument over whether Halle Berry had played or was going to play Franklin in a biopic turned violent, Michael...

Aretha Franklin Dead at 76
The 'Queen of Soul'
Is Dead at 76
Aug 16, 2018 9:10 AM CDT

The 'Queen of Soul' Is Dead at 76

Aretha Franklin had been ill for a while

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin, the undisputed "Queen of Soul" who sang with matchless style on such classics as "Think," ''I Say a Little Prayer," and her signature song, " Respect ," and who stood as a cultural icon around the globe, has died at age 76...

Reports: 'Queen of Soul' Is Near Death

Aretha Franklin, 76, said to be 'gravely ill'

(Newser) - Rumors of serious health trouble have circulated about Aretha Franklin for years , and now multiple reports say the 76-year-old is near death. "I am so saddened to report that the Queen of Soul and my good friend, Aretha Franklin is gravely ill," tweets Evrod Cassimy of WDIV in...

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