Together, the documents and interviews suggest a portrait of a renowned R&B artist and Philadelphia institution whose mind and money may have been slipping away at the same time.
Last Wednesday, attorneys for Teddy Pendergrass II and his father's widow, Joan Pendergrass, met with a judge in Montgomery County, but left without an agreement. One of her attorneys said the dispute was less about money than about the singer's legacy. What that legacy includes - and who deserves to control it - has divided the family.
LaDonna Pendergrass Hollerway, one of the late singer's daughters, said she believed that Joan Pendergrass wanted only to profit from his life - through a movie, a book, or even a reality show.
"She was married to my dad for only a year, and she has turned my family upside down," said Hollerway, a hospital technician in Plano, Texas.
Joan Pendergrass declined interview requests. Her supporters deny the accusations.
"To say it's a money grab is ludicrous - there's just no money to fight about," said her attorney, Kevon Glickman, of the firm Offit Kurman.
If the root of the dispute isn't clear, the acrimony is. Three weeks ago, at the Philadelphia premiere of a television documentary about the famed singer, Teddy Pendergrass II shared a stage with his stepmother - but refused to hug her or be photographed with her.
"We simply don't see eye-to-eye," the younger Pendergrass said Friday. He declined to elaborate, except to say: "What I do know is my father did what he intended to do - and that is, put me in charge for the family."
Others say Joan Pendergrass cared deeply both for her husband and his children and is stunned to have been dragged into such a battle.
