Is Freddie Eckstine Freddie Eckstine?

Now suddenly I receive a letter from one of his associates informing me Freddie Eckstine may have duped everyone and may not be Freddie Eckstine after all but rather Freddie House. The letter went on to say that the legitimate Eckstine family is threatening to sue Freddie

 

Freddie Eckstine left a few voice mail messages on my answering machine stating how eager he was to do an interview with me.  He crooned a bit of subtle flattery on my machine stating how he had read my articles and thus hoped I would include him among my profiles.

Upon arriving home, I listened to Freddie’s messages.  His voice sounded deep, sensual, and very charming.  He is clearly a man that has been around women and knows just what to say. 

He isn’t forward, he isn’t insistent, he’s only hoping, hoping I will take the time for him and give him an opportunity to talk to me, my readership and also to my listening audience. 

He states how he has read my work and listened to my Internet radio show on www.BlakeRadio.com via Rainbow Soul.  He is impressed that the show has an outreach of over 140 countries and can be heard nationwide.  He recognized the significance of that and stated how delighted he would be to be a guest on “Topically Yours,� so he could share his life as Billy Eckstine’s son, his tribute to Mr. ‘B’ -as Billy Eckstine was known- via his Las Vegas show and just talk about  Freddie Eckstine, the individual, his career and show business destiny. 

I did some research and saw where Freddie was touted by others as the son of Billy Eckstine.  I spoke to his booking agent who sent me separate photos of father and son and sure enough the resemblance between Billy Eckstine and Freddie Eckstine was uncanny. 

Heck, it seemed as if Billy literally spit Freddie out.  I was told that Freddie’s musical style was like Billy’s, his dress and sound similar.  In fact, he was so much akin to the Eckstine gene pool it seemed obvious no gene splicing occurred.  Well, it certainly looked like it via the pictures, via the publicity and via the life Freddie outlined. 

So, yes, I showcased Freddie on my radio show where we talked about how he appeared in several Las Vegas casinos performing his show “Sentimental Journey,� which honored the life of his father and the great Sarah Vaughn via singer Rea Turee.   He went down memory lane where Freddie remembered fondly his childhood memories of seeing Marion Anderson and Mahalia Jackson cooking in his kitchen.  We talked about his friendship with Ruth Brown.  

We talked about how his father was always on the road and how Freddie saw little of him.  I even wrote an article on Freddie using photographs his booking agent sent, some showing Freddie in photos with celebrities such as Dionne Warwick.  The article appeared in a few publications. Freddie got his 10 minutes of fame via me and indeed others like me.

Now suddenly I receive a letter from one of his associates informing me Freddie Eckstine may have duped everyone and may not be Freddie Eckstine after all but rather Freddie House. The letter went on to say that the legitimate Eckstine family is threatening to sue Freddie for claiming to be an heir to the Eckstine family lineage.  Freddie’s an imposter they claim. Huh?

What’s that you say?  You mean he looks like a duck, walks like a duck, even sings like a duck but he might not be a duck?  Holy Oprah Winfrey. An imposter? A fraud? 

Are you sure?  Yes.  No.  Maybe, who knows! The Eckstine family is demanding Freddie back up his claim by taking a DNA test. What is Freddie’s response? “I am an Eckstine because my mother told me so.� Alrighty then! 

The other version is that some of Freddie’s show biz cronies noticing Freddie’s uncanny resemblance to Billy Eckstine, gave Freddie the idea of pursuing the course he is now on as Billy’s son.  One wonders why with all the impersonators out in Las Vegas why Freddie just didn’t do a show as a Billy Eckstine impersonator since that would have saved him a whole lot of headaches, if his detractors are right.

The problem is, it appears, at least at present, no one knows for sure if Freddie is Billy’s son.  Not the casinos, not his management, not fellow celebrities, not the press and certainly not the Atlantic City Resorts where Freddie is presently appearing because they are headlining him as the son of the great Billy Eckstine, or at least they were. 

Freddie is slated to appear at the Resorts until January 18th.  I understand that after that he is expected to return to his hometown of Las Vegas where Freddie will have to stand front and center and take a DNA test to prove is he or he isn’t.  

Personally, I found Freddie to be a nice guy and I am not one for kicking a chap when he is down, so for his sake, I hope Freddie can prove his heredity or otherwise Freddie is in for some huge legal and career problems. 

 

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