Minnie the Moocher

[don willard]

Who were Jazzbo, Minnie the Moocher, and Freddie the Freeloader? Are these names copyrighted or can they be used as characters by anyone, writing a novel for instance?

[Eve]

Ukulele Ike's on vacation this week, so I'll have to jump in here. Minnie the Moocher was a song based on an earlier folk song,

"Here's the story 'bout Willie the Weeper,
Willie was a chimney-sweeper.
He had the dope habit and he had it bad—
Lemmee tell you 'bout the dreams he had . . ."

Lyda Roberti sang "Minnie the Moocher" in a B'way show around 1930, then Cab Calloway had a hit record:

"Folks, now here's the story of Minnie the Moocher,
She was a red-hot hoochie-coocher . . . "

It goes on about her "cokey" boyfriend, Smokey Joe, and how he taught her how to "kick the gong around." I think the lyrics are copywrited under ASCAP, but you'd be safe using the name itself.

[lucie]

IIRC, Freddie the Freeloader was a character created by Red Skelton; a tramp of some sort. I have no idea if it is copywritten or even copywritable. Probably not something you want to use as his estate my consider it his intellectual property. Can't help you out on Jazzbo.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Freddy the Freeloader was a character created by the late, great comedian Red Skelton. Freddy was a hobo, with something of a combination between Emmett Kelly and Charlie Chaplin's Tramp, and the routines were almost always silent (usually slapstick with a little pathos/bathos).

[Joe_Cool]

I knew a hooker once, named Minnie Mizzola...


[sorry, I've seen the Blues Brothers way too many times]

[CalMeacham]

(Groucho Marx in "A Night at the Opera")

"Pay thousands of dollars to hear Lazzaro sing? Why for two bits you can get a recording of "Minnie the Moocher". (beat) "For another two bits you can get Minnie."

[SavageNarce]

To return to the OP, I would avoid using the names as much for fear of confusion as copyright infringement. I doubt that copyright can really be applied to something like a song title - certainly book titles have been duplicated in the past - but characters may be another story. Just try calling yourself "Mickey Mouse" and see how long it takes for the Disney lawyers to beat a path to your door.

[Eve]

"Just try calling yourself "Mickey Mouse" and see how long it takes for the Disney lawyers to beat a path to your door."

—Ah, but by then you will have built a better mousetrap . . .

[pldennison]

. . . but characters may be another story. Just try calling yourself "Mickey Mouse" and see how long it takes for the Disney lawyers to beat a path to your door.

IANAL, but I don't believe that those characters are (or can be) copyrighted--they're trademarked. And I seriously doubt that Minnie, Freddy or Jazzbo were ever trademarked as characters.