Law professor and blogger Eugene Volokh needs some information for an article about a legal case against a comic book, and I’m hoping some of the Dopers can come up with some facts to help.
He’s writing about the Tony Twist case, in which the hockey player sued a comic book and its writers because they used his name for one of their characters. Note, they didn’t use him as a character, just his name. To quote Volokh’s blog:
Now, Volokh’s writing a response to his case, and he’s looking for this:
Also,
He’s not looking for real people who have popped up in books, however, but examples from the movies like Hedley Lamarr in “Blazing Saddles” or Yogi Bear, or Archibald Leach (Cary Grant’s birth name) from “A Fish Called Wanda.” But for the purposes of his article, he needs examples from literature, and the more prominent, the better.
Since he’s defending the artistic right of a creator to name his characters any damn way he wants, it’s time for like-minded readers to come to Gene’s aid. Unfortunately, I’m coming up blank. Since there are tons of well-read book lovers in Cafe Society, I’m sure someone can help.
(If you want more information, Volokh’s original post can be found here).