Posted on 12/11/2014 5:06:12 PM PST by SMGFan
Not everyone has a name like “Jethro,” so it only makes sense that the guy who played Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies would want to cash in on such a famous moniker. That’s why he’s ticked off right now at CBS, claiming the network breached a contract he had with it by allowing an Iowa restaurant chain to use the Jethro name and character.
Actor Max Baer Jr. played Jethro on the show about a family of hill dwellers who struck it rich and moved out to Califor-ni-a, and snagged a deal with CBS in 1991 allowing him to license the use of that fictional character for things like restaurants, hotels and casinos, he claims in a lawsuit against the network reported by The Des Moines Register.
(Excerpt) Read more at consumerist.com ...
“It’s not a secret deal; we just can’t talk about it.”
I'll have to take the side of Max Baer Jr on this one. He was not well compensated when they were shooting these episodes, they wrecked any future career for him as a result of his being typecast, and I would say an person ought to pretty much own their own image.
Intellectual property laws seem to me to be subject to a lot of abuse nowadays.
“why do actors think they own their characters”
Because the licensing rights are sometimes a very lucrative portion of the actor’s total contractual compensation for his services as an actor, spokesperson, and publicity attraction. This is especially true for some television series actors who are too typecast in a long running series to secure enough future roles to amount to any further substantial compensation.
Remember the delight on Miss Hathaway's face when she learned that he was an Oxford man!
Went to Marine World to become a marine.
He better commence to ciphering .
He thought it was mushroom. I remember that one too.
I still say Jethro was puttin’ the hillbilly log to Miss Hathaway!
Max is a good guy.Well, from what I’ve read about him.
Only, well, they aren't, since they helped the restaurant ensure that they were not infringing on the copyright. The restaurant changed their character's image to remove the rope belt, changed the shirt, added suspenders - just enough to ensure that they weren't infringing. There was no contract between CBS and the restaurant to license the character or their use of the name.
So, well, the lawsuit is pretty much dead in the water before it even started. But hey, some lawyer's going to make money.
Will they have a billiard (bill-E-ard) head mounted on the wall?
I remember Alan Hale Jr. having a restaurant called The Lobster Barrel in Los Angeles.
I believe his father was Max Baer, the heavyweight champion, whose story is partly told in “Cinderella Man”.
“Put me down Jethro”. Miss Jane Hathaway
Uncle was Buddy Baer a prize fighter
How about Mickey Rooney’s Weiner World. He lost a bunch on that investment.
I’ll have to take the side of Max Baer Jr on this one. He was not well compensated when they were shooting these episodes, they wrecked any future career for him as a result of his being typecast, and I would say an person ought to pretty much own their own image.
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According to IMDB he made $35 million on the movie Macon County Line.
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