The late actor and soul singer Isaac Hayes was deep into Scientology during the final years of his life - so deep in fact that he actually quite his 'South Park' Chef's voice gig when the show made fun of Scientology big wig Tom Cruise.
But it was revealed this week that Hayes didn't show any love in his will to the cult church which makes it's billions of dollars by sucking dry the bank accounts of its celebrities and other wealthy followers.
According to sources close to Hayes' family, the “Shaft” singer divided up his large estate into three parts to be divided equal among his charity foundation, his widow and youngest son, and the final third to be divided among his 11 older children.
He probably gave more than enough cash to the church while he was alive and saw no need to do anything more.
His will is important in one other respect: the copyrights to his music, including the theme from 'Shaft' is worth millions.
According to Tom Friedman: "Many of the copyrights were renewed beginning in 1995-96 for a second 28 year term. But when those start expiring in 2024, the family will come into a fortune thanks to the Songwriters Act of 1927:
Rights to previously sold catalogs revert to songwriters’ heirs once they have died, as soon as copyrights are up for renewal. Thus, Hayes’s half of songs he wrote for Sam Moore & Dave Prater with David Porter in 1965-68, like "Soul Man" and "Hold On I’m Coming" will go to Hayes’s grandkids and great grand kids. By 2028, the biggest Hayes copyright, "Theme from Shaft," will come to them as well."
