A jury in federal court in Los Angeles has ruled that the Frank Sinatra trademark was infringed upon by an unauthorized tribute show that played in Las Vegas, according to lawyers for the estate.
"My father spent a lifetime concerned with the quality and integrity of his professional life; it is unfortunate that we must resort to the judicial system to stop people who simply want to profit from the use of his name," Sinatra's daughter Tina Sinatra said in a statement released over the weekend.
The show "Sinatra: The Main Event" played in Atlantic City in 2001 and at The Venetian in 2002. It starred noted singing impressionist Bob Anderson.
The show was billed in ads and posters as an unauthorized bio of Ol' Blue Eyes. But Sinatra Enterprises lawyer Mark Lee argued that the word "unauthorized" was so small that the public would be confused and think the production was approved by the estate, which it wasn't.
Lee said the producer, Jeffrey Kutash, and Kutash's Main Event Inc. had to pay "substantial" damages, but he would not provide a figure.
Calls to Kutash on Monday were not returned.
Lee said that the ruling had potential repercussions for other such productions.
"This case clearly stands for the proposition that you cannot use the Sinatra trademarks in a production in a way that is likely to confuse the public into believing that it is an authorized show, when it isn't," Lee said through a spokesman Monday.
The ruling "does indicate that other parties should be cautious before they decide to exploit" the likeness and image of such celebrities as Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis Presley.
Eeewwww
"Shock!" indeed.
The delightfully disturbing Jim Rose Circus-style revue at Bourbon Street had a special guest act last weekend -- the world's oldest male stripper.
Las Vegas resident Bernie Barker, 82, performed a four-minute dance to the, well, shock, of the packed room.
"I thought he was kind of sexy, in a great-grandfatherly sort of way," said Lisa Meli, 22, of Las Vegas, who was in the audience.
On Dec. 17, 2002, Barker was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest practitioner of his craft.
Barker came to the stage dressed in an unbuttoned-to-the-navel sequined shirt and tight black leather pants. He left wearing a G-string and a glow stick attached just below his belly button.
"The audience loved him," Meli said. One woman, she said, even rushed the stage and stuck a $1 bill into Barker's waistband.
Producer Scott Lewis said there are no immediate plans to make Barker a permanent part of the show, although he may make an encore appearance at Saturday's performance, when "Shock!" celebrates its one-year anniversary.
Di coming?
Alicia Carroll, owner of what is being billed as one of the largest collections of Princess Diana memorabilia in private hands, is looking to open the "Princess Diana Exhibition & Royal Museum."
"If Liberace can sustain a museum in Las Vegas, a museum about Diana will attract millions of visitors," Carroll told VegasBeat from her Los Angeles home office.
After a flirtation with a major casino, she is now searching for a location.
"Anyone who says the Mafia is dead in Las Vegas has never tried to go into business with a casino," Carroll said. "They wanted to tell me what hours I could be open, how much I could charge people to come in, what percentage of the take they'd get and on top of that, they wanted me to pay for my own security."
So now she is looking for a space to house her collection of letters, cards, photos, pill boxes, ink wells and quills, jewelry and clothing.
Bettor end
New Golden Nugget owners Tim Poster and Tom Breitling had some unexpected free time on their hands on Sunday.
They were supposed to walk through Binion's, followed by cameras from the new Fox series "The Casino," which is documenting their takeover of the Golden Nugget.
Of course, Binion's was closed over the weekend after federal agents raided the place and seized money to pay for unpaid employee benefits.
The closing of the famous casino -- perhaps best known these days as the home of the World Series of Poker -- was a big national story in newspapers across the country.
First rate
David Alenik was in a giddy mood on Monday. We were talking to him about Gary Coleman and Kevin Sorbo eating in his East Tropicana Avenue restaurant The Pasta Shop, when he quickly changed the subject.
"What is important to us (he and his co-owner and brother Glen Alenik) is our rating in the latest Zagat's book -- did you see it?"
The 2004 edition of the respected consumer survey was released last week.
In it, the small family-owned eatery placed as the top-rated Italian restaurant in the entire city of Las Vegas, with a food rating of 25 (out of 30).
"We are so proud and thrilled and grateful to our customers for recognizing two brothers who came from upstate New York 15 years ago to open a restaurant," David Alenik said.
VegasBits
Shopper: "Cheers" star John Ratzenberger (he played bumbling postal worker Cliff Claven) was spotted shopping last week at Elton's, the new men's haberdashery in Mandalay Place ...
Punch: Bankrupt former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson and a robust female companion caught part of Sunday's Packers-Eagles game at the Monte Carlo's Brew Pub. Saturday night, Tyson was at ghostbar with Palms owner George Maloof ...
Colorful: Pop artist James Rosenquist is expected to attend the opening of his show next month at the Godt-Cleary Gallery at Mandalay Place. Rosenquist's retrospective at New York's Guggenheim Museum wraps up this month. After its Vegas appearance it heads to the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain in July. The retrospective was the hottest show of the fall art season ...
Attitude: The Hollywood hotspot Key Club is opening a sister spot in Summerlin. PLUSH, an ultra lounge and supper club, officially throws its doors open on Friday night at the Rampart Casino at the Resort at Summerlin. Chefs Gustav Mauler and Los Angeles import Jeff Haines will man the gourmet spatulas.
From Sun wires
Actor-writer missing: Actor-writer Spalding Gray has been reported missing, police said.
Police in New York City and in Southampton, N.Y., where the actor keeps his primary home, were searching for the actor. No further details were immediately available and the investigation was ongoing early today, an NYPD spokesman said.
Gray, perhaps best known for writing and appearing in the autobiographical film "Swimming to Cambodia" (1987), had a history of depression and had tried to commit suicide in 2002, the New York Times reported today.
Custody dispute: A dispute between Alec Baldwin and ex-wife Kim Basinger over custody of their 8-year-old daughter, Ireland, will go to trial Feb. 23, a judge said Monday.
Baldwin and Basinger were married in August 1993. Basinger filed for divorce in 2001. Her petition said she sought physical custody but the two would share joint legal custody and Baldwin would have visitation rights.
Ross to change plea: There will be no trial for pop diva Diana Ross on drunken driving charges.
During a pretrial hearing in Tucson City Court, Ross' lawyers said she's ready to accept a plea agreement and will change her earlier "not guilty" plea at a hearing scheduled for Feb. 9.
Ross faces three DUI-related charges after being stopped by police on Dec. 30, 2002, after authorities received a report of a car traveling the wrong way on a city street.
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