Pendergrass’ widow: ‘Committed’ to his legacy
January 13, 2015 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
Teddy Pendergrass’ widow hopes to make a movie about her husband’s life, a musical theater performance about his ladies-only shows, and a product line in his name featuring cologne, perfume, and men’s lingerie.
Months after winning a contentious legal battle with the late singer’s son over control of his legacy, Joan Pendergrass said she was busy making plans, which include republishing Teddy Pendergrass’ autobiography and creating a traveling museum exhibit of his belongings.
Tuesday marks the five-year anniversary of the singer’s death after complications from treatment for colon cancer. His widow planned to spend the day visiting his grave and speaking to reporters for the first time since his death.
“It’s important that the litigation is over, and it’s important to let people know that I am committed to my husband and to Teddy’s legacy,” she said in an interview Monday.
Teddy Pendergrass gained fame as the lead singer with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and he became an international solo artist in the 1970s. In 1982, he was paralyzed in a car crash on Lincoln Drive. His second wife and son had been locked in a legal battle since his death in 2010.
He had almost no money at the time of his death. Dispute over control of the singer’s estate disrupted plans to preserve – or profit from – his legacy.
A Montgomery County judge ruled in October that Pendergrass’ son and namesake, Theodore “Ted” Pendergrass II, had submitted a fraudulent will to try to gain control of his father’s estate. That left a different will, submitted by Joan Pendergrass, as the only valid will, and made her the primary beneficiary of the estate.
Since October, Joan Pendergrass said she has been in communication with actor Tyrese Gibson, whom her husband asked before his death to play him in a movie based on his life. She said she also planned to add a section about his life after paralysis to his out-of-print autobiography and to restart an organization he created to assist people with spinal-cord injuries.
“People began to read about the litigation being over [and] they began to approach Joan with their ideas,” said Helen McCrary, the lawyer for the estate.
During the lengthy litigation, some family members accused Joan Pendergrass – who married Teddy Pendergrass in 2008 – of simply wanting to profit from his legacy.
In one of her first interviews since her husband’s death, she denied that claim and said she simply wanted to ensure that her husband was remembered as a great African American singer and sex symbol.
“I was self-made before I met Teddy,” she said. “So all of these allegations from people who don’t know me, they were untrue. Teddy and I were partners, lovers, best friends, soul mates.”
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