Gail Collins
Born
Gail Collins

(1941-02-02)February 2, 1941
DiedDecember 6, 2013(2013-12-06) (aged 72)
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
Other namesGail Collins Pappalardi
Occupation(s)Songwriter, record producer, visual artist
SpouseFelix Pappalardi

Gail Delta Collins (February 2, 1941 – December 6, 2013) was an American songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the 1983 killing of her husband Felix Pappalardi.

Biography

Collins married Felix Pappalardi on May 30, 1969.[1] She came to prominence (as 'Miss Gail Collins') co-producing, with Pappalardi, the self-titled debut album by Energy, a group featuring Corky Laing.[2] She also co-produced, with Pappalardi, the Felix Pappalardi and Creation album in 1976. Collins co-wrote Cream's "World of Pain" with her husband and "Strange Brew" with Pappalardi and Eric Clapton. Both songs are included on the album Disraeli Gears. She contributed lyrics to many Mountain songs. Her artwork appears on many album covers by Mountain, including Climbing!, Nantucket Sleighride, Flowers of Evil, Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On, Twin Peaks and Avalanche. She was associate producer on the 1978 album by Hot Tuna, Double Dose.

On April 17, 1983, Felix Pappalardi was shot once in the neck in the fifth-floor New York City apartment he shared with Collins Pappalardi. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and Collins Pappalardi was charged with second-degree murder.[3][4] Collins Pappalardi claimed that the killing was an accident. During the trial, it was revealed that the couple had an open marriage and that Collins Pappalardi had shot her husband after he had returned in the early morning from seeing his girlfriend.[5] She was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter but found guilty of criminally negligent homicide[6] and sentenced to 16 months to 4 years in prison.[7] On April 30, 1985, she was released on parole.[8]

On December 6, 2013, Collins was found dead by her landlord in the Mexican village of Ajijic, Jalisco, a resort town with many American expatriate residents. She had been undergoing cancer treatments there. She was cremated. Her three cats were euthanized after her death and cremated so that their ashes could be mixed with hers.[9]

References

  1. ^ Krajicek, David J. (February 23, 2014). "The last verse for one of rock's most intriguing wives". Goodreads. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Russell Freethy, 'NOW... Meet Pappalardi, the Daddy of Them All!' Times Colonist (British Columbia) 1 Feb 1969 p. 7
  3. ^ "Record Producer Slain. Police Charge His Wife". The New York Times. April 18, 1983. Retrieved 2009-10-29. Mr. Pappalardi, who was 41 years old, had been shot once in the neck and was pronounced dead when the police arrived at the couple's apartment, at 30 Waterside Plaza on the East Side, according to authorities.
  4. ^ "New York Post article, by Mike Pearl and Peter Fearon, 9/15/83, posted at pappalardi.com". Archived from the original on 2002-08-05.
  5. ^ Frank Faso and Stuart Marques, 'Shades of Harris Trial', New York Daily News, 8 September 1983, p. 112
  6. ^ Wife Found Guilty In Pappalardi Case , 9/22/83 AP article, published in The New York Times.
  7. ^ "New York Post article, by Mike Pearl and Peter Fearon, 9/22/83, posted at pappalardi.com". Archived from the original on 2001-01-04.
  8. ^ "New York State Department of Corrections, Inmate Information Lookup". "Pappalardi, Gail"
  9. ^ Krajicek, David J. (February 22, 2014). "Gail Collins, infamous lyricist who killed husband Felix Pappalardi, found dead in Mexican village". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
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