Punk poet Lou Reed left behind a $30 million fortune — but that’s not stopping his widow, Laurie Anderson, from trying to collect his past due debts.
About a year before Reed died in November, he was scheduled to take the stage at the UR-1 Festival in Miami Beach alongside Kanye West.
The “Walk on the Wild Side” crooner’s fee was $200,000, and Reed’s company, Sister Ray Enterprises, collected a $20,000 down payment before the Dec. 9, 2012, show.
But at the last minute, the festival, scheduled to coincide with Art Basel, was canceled because of money problems — reportedly partly because of West’s whopping $1.5 million fee.
In February, Sister Ray’s lawyers went into arbitration with managing member Alejandro Olmes of Go Big Productions, which was supposed to put on the show.
An arbitrator awarded the $180,000 balance to Reed’s estate because the rocker had been “ready, willing and able to perform” but was “prevented from doing so by [Go Big’s] actions.” The arbitrator also awarded $7,100 in legal fees.
Anderson, an artist, is suing in Manhattan Supreme Court to enforce the award.
Reps for Go Big did not immediately return calls.