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You Gotta Nip it in the Bud. Nip It.
I’m not sure what Barney Fife would’ve thought of this lawsuit, but I’m guessing he would’ve turned to Andy and said, “Oh, you’re just full of fun today, aren’t you? Why don’t we go up to the old people’s home and wax the steps?” That’s because the real Andy Griffith is all sorts of sour grapes after a man in Wisconsin legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith for the sole purpose of capitalizing upon that name in his effort to win a local sheriff’s election. Griffith is alleging that the man, who formerly went by the name William Fenrick, violated Griffiths’ alleged trademark and copyright in his name, as well as his privacy rights. Griffith has also asked the court to force Fenrick to go back to his old name.
Fenrick does not deny changing his name to gain publicity, but claims that he did not benefit from the name change. Indeed, the election results actually bear that out: Fenrick came in third in the race, gaining only 1,248 votes out of the approximate 17,000 cast votes.
Of course, I don’t remember ever seeing a black person in Mayberry, but if there had been one, I doubt they would’ve treated him as badly as a couple of firefighting captains treated fellow firefighter, Tennie Pierce. Indeed, Pierce — a black firefighter — just won a $2.7 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles, after he claimed that he was racially discriminated against when his co-workers served him spaghetti laced with dog food. Pierce alleged that, after reporting the incident, he was harassed with verbal slurs and other derogatory remarks. Other firefighters allegedly barked like dogs and asked him how the food tasted.
It’s funny, though; Paris Hilton never sued Nicole Ritchie after Nicole fed her dog food. But, maybe that’s why they didn’t speak for over a year.
