Sunday, September 23, 2007

Even in Death, Rodney Dangerfield Gets No Respect Says Lawsuit


Joan Dangerfield filed has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court to stop the public viewing of a videotape of her late husband in his last years on earth. (Always suspect he was from some where else?) According to Joan, the video was never intended for the public view. The complaint alleges that producer David Permut, has more than 200 hours of video footage of Dangerfield during the last few years of his life. The video is "highly private, extremely sensitive and very personal," according to the complaint.

Apparently, the video is being edited into a documentary called "Respect" intended to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival next year. The action seeks a court order barring Permut from showing the footage until the dispute with Joan Dangerfield can be settled through arbitration. Can you say it is all about money? But for some, money means respect...

Update 11-12 Courtesy of Tom:
You didn't report this part of the story mentioned in the AP article: "The action also claims Permut violated an agreement he had with Joan Dangerfield giving her joint control of the material." The suit is about control. Maybe Permut was including portions of the footage when Rodney was ill that his wife thought wasn't appropriate. Sounds to me like she is trying to protect his legacy. She must have a good point because she was able to get an injunction to halt the project which isn't easy to do. Tom

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everything is about money. Money makes families fight and it is what makes the world go round.

Dollar Bill

Anonymous said...

How can legal pub hope to compete with NFL football on Sundays. Can you feel us housewives pain? We are NFL widows....

Now, maybe Joan Dangerfield really wants to prevent people from seeing Rodneys last sick days for reasons other than money.

Jill

Ms Calabaza said...

I'd like to believe that Mrs. D is concerned about his legacy, but I doubt it. I bet she "settles" after she gets a lil' cut on the movie deal . . .

Anonymous said...

He still gets no respect. Well this is not just about money it is about controll. Control of a documentary which will generate money.


Bobbi.

Ron said...

Rodney was awesome in Caddyshack, sad to see this happen.

Anonymous said...

Every one dies sooner or later.

Ron said...

Yes, everyone dies, but it is a shame Rodney cannot be respected after his death. He was a big time comedian in his day.

Anonymous said...

Rodney, thanks for the laughs!

Anonymous said...

You didn't report this part of the story mentioned in the AP article:

"The action also claims Permut violated an agreement he had with Joan Dangerfield giving her joint control of the material."

The suit is about control. Maybe Permut was including portions of the footage when Rodney was ill that his wife thought wasn't appropriate. Sounds to me like she is trying to protect his legacy. She must have a good point because she was able to get an injunction to halt the project which isn't easy to do.

Tom

Legal Pub said...

Tom, thank you for your comment which was appreciated enough to become an update to the story. While some may not appreciate the difference between money and control, it remains a distinction worth making in some cases.

Anonymous said...

Rodney, thanks for all the laughs. Caddy Shack was a true classic.

Anonymous said...

It is all about RESPECT and CONTROL

Anonymous said...

MONEY!

Anonymous said...

The whole world revolves around money.

Dollar Bill

Mikenfgn said...

The whole world revolves around money. Dollar Bill