It Appears To Be A Pretty Clear-Cut Case
Country legend Willie Nelson is threatening to sue the U.S. Forest Service unless it renames two tracts of Oregon land being sold for logging - currently called “Willy” and “Nelson.”
A letter from Nelson’s lawyer complains that the agency “is using Mr. Nelson’s first and last name to identify to the public a pair of timber sales that are desecrating invaluable cultural and burial sites and destroying pristine old-growth forests.”
The letter also demanded Nelson receive a written apology for “having embarrassed him and tarnished his name by engaging in such thoughtless and reckless conduct.”
A Forest Service spokesman said the name “Willy” was taken from the nearby Williamson River. When the sale was divided, “Nelson” was used as the name for the second sale.
Loose talk
Meg Ryan, on shooting the combat film “Courage Under Fire” (in People magazine): “The male actors were talking about their war wounds - one broke his arm on the set, another hurt his leg - and I’m like, ‘I had a 10-pound baby a few years ago,’ which shut everyone up.”
The doctor who’s killing all those people?
Raffi Cavoukian turns 48 today.
The price is certainly right for the lawyers
Yet another “Price Is Right” model is suing game-show host Bob Barker. Holly Hallstrom, 43, claims she was fired after 19 years on the show for being overweight. Barker - who sued Hallstrom for libel when she first voiced her allegations - was previously sued by Dian Parkinson, who said he forced her to have sex, although she later dropped the case.
Ageless profession, groundless accusations
Guru to the stars Deepak Chopra is suing The New York Post and The Weekly Standard for $15 million over a story in which a hooker claims he paid her for sex in 1991. Chopra says his passport shows he was in India at the time, and the hooker forged the credit-card and hotel recipts she claimed were proof of their tryst.
He probably would’ve settled for a baby grand
Saying there were no written agreements, a judge has dismissed a multimillion-dollar palimony suit filed against Van Cliburn by mortician Thomas E. Zaremba, who claims the pianist had sex with HIV-positive people during their 17-year relationship.
Guess you could say he did the Munster mash
No lawsuits yet, so far as we know, but Butch Patrick - better known as Eddie Munster in his younger days - was arrested after pulling out into traffic and hitting another car. Said the other driver, after learning of Patrick’s identity: “I thought he was just an ordinary person.”
But the ‘Jr.’ part would only fit on the 100’s
Former TV talk host Morton Downey Jr., who faces surgery for lung cancer, has filmed a public service spot for the American Lung Association. As Downey told The New York Times: “I feel kind of responsible for a lot of kids who smoke, because they would come up to me after shows and ask me to autograph their cigarettes.”
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino