Where is bertha franklin now

Maybe they were even glad he was dead. Edelen hasn't ruled out involvement from even an even higher law enforcement agency: the FBI. Edgar Hoover.

At that time, his relationship with Ali made him suspect. These theories test the bounds of believability, but a racist plot against Cooke may not be as fantastical as it sounds. A strong-willed Black man's outsized presence in the predominantly white popular culture was perceived by some as a threat. Though not as openly political as Ali or Malcolm X, Cooke used his music platform to push for equality. He became one of the first singers of the era to wear his hair in the natural, unprocessed style, a powerful public embrace of his ethnic heritage.

Cooke also founded his own record label and publishing branch, blazing a trail for artists to maintain ownership of their work and a greater percentage of their profits. This would have made him unpopular in the eyes of the exceedingly powerful record companies.

In both a social and an economic sense, Cooke posed a danger to the power structure and it certainly put him on the wrong side of some very influential figures. A lot of that stuff did happen. To date, there is no conclusive evidence that refutes the official version of events. Cooke's blood alcohol level was found to be.

The Hacienda Motel was later learned to be a frequent late night haunt for musicians who wanted to keep their extramarital affairs under the radar. Wecht stated that he doesn't believe any of the alternate theories surrounding Cooke's death.

Journalist Peter Gulunick, who profiled Cooke in the biography Dream Boogie, also failed to uncover any information that challenges the notion that Cooke's death was anything but an act of self-defense. The fact that an FBI conspiracy is in the realm of consideration is a testament to the deep racial divisions of the time. The neighborhood where Cooke was murdered would go up in flames the following summer during the Watts riots. Though he never lived to see the strides made for racial equality, the song became an anthem for Black Americans fighting injustice, played as often today as it was half a century ago.

People Exclusive. By Jordan Runtagh. FB Tweet More. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Sam and Barbara Cooke. Sam Cooke with his wife Barbara. Leslie Odom Jr. From left: Leslie Odom Jr. Credit: Courtesy of Amazon Studios. Little Richard. None of the injuries James reported seeing were mentioned in Cooke's autopsy report.

View All. All rights reserved. Close Sign in. When Cooke entered the bathroom, she made a run for it. Boyer then ran half a block, dumped her belongings on the ground and got dressed. Meanwhile, Cooke allegedly flew into a rage when he saw that Boyer, his clothes and his cash were gone. Filled with anger and alcohol, Cooke wrapped himself in his sports coat, put on his one remaining shoe and confronted the motel manager.

According to Franklin, when she said no, he began ramming the door with his shoulder. The door frame got loose, and the latch gave in. He charged in, looking around for Boyer. Franklin recalled the encounter growing violent. Cooke allegedly flew into a fit of rage and started restraining her.

She later testified that he had grabbed both of her arms and twisted them. Now, Franklin may be shorter than Cooke, but she outweighed him by about 30 pounds. She told the police that she started kicking him. The bullet entered his left side, passing through his left lung, his heart and right lung. Talk about famous last words. At around a. She was trying to shield their two young kids from reporters and fans who were causing a scene in front of their house. At the time of his death, Cooke had a blood alcohol level of.

Cyril H. The way they see it, his death was the result of a set-up. Their story was that Boyer was a prostitute who was working in cahoots with the motel manager in order to rob Cooke.

According to this theory, Boyer lured him there. Why else would he drive so far out of his way, passing motel after motel — the kinds that were more suited to his superstar stature? The truth about Elisa Boyer came out a month later when she was arrested on prostitution charges in Hollywood. In , she was found guilty of second-degree murder from another shooting reportedly the death of a boyfriend.

It was never recovered. While Cooke had been shot with a. His autopsy exposed a 2-inch bump on his head. Still, the gun contained numerous bullets.

If Franklin was, indeed, frightened for her life, why would she drop a loaded gun to simply hit him with a stick? Furthermore, Franklin appeared to have no marks nor injuries when she testified in front of cameras five days after the murder. The guests at Hacienda told the police that they never heard gunshots nor sounds of any altercation.

His hands were broken and crushed…They tried to cover it up with makeup, but I could see massive bruises on his head. No woman with a broomstick could have inflicted that kind of beating against a strong, full-grown man. All these discrepancies and holes in the story have led many to wonder if Cooke was actually killed elsewhere, by a third party.

If so, his body would have been dumped at the Hacienda Motel. None of it made sense, especially to those who knew him. It gives off the impression that the authorities just wanted to sweep the case under the rug. They could not have been less interested in pursuing a full thorough investigation. Perhaps the FBI were involved, too. At the time, the FBI was being led by the notoriously paranoid J.

Edgar Hoover. Cooke grew deeply involved with civil rights, and just being close to Muhammad Ali made the singer a suspect. He was beset by paternity lawsuits up until his death and most were quietly settled with payoffs.

Despite his gospel music roots, he epitomized the Hollywood lifestyle: Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse. While unacceptable in polite society, it is sadly not uncommon in the entertainment world. And although I view the sad episode of his untimely demise through the biased eyes of a fan, I believe Sam Cooke was set up.

Night clerk Bertha Franklin had a past of her own, she was an ex-madam with a criminal record. Whether Elisa and Bertha knew each other is a matter of speculation, but based on their backgrounds, it seems likely they were in it together. It appears that Sam Cooke, who was no novice when it came to dealing with prostitutes, had been worked like a common street john. Sam should have know better than to leave his wallet and cash unattended while he used the bathroom.

Sam Cooke, however, was drunk, enraged and embarrassed. Given his star status, Cooke made the alcohol-fueled mistake of taking matters into his own hands and paid for it with his life.

Womack later said he wed Barbara out of sympathy, fearing she might be suicidal if left alone. The couple divorced in Bertha Franklin was forced to quit her job at the Hacienda Motel after receiving several death threats. She moved to Michigan where she died a year-and-a-half later of a massive coronary. Wilson, a huge Sam Cooke fan, supposedly routinely drove around L.

In , the car sold to a Japanese collector for an undisclosed, but reportedly, world record sum.