Watch The Hazel Animated Commercial - Shirley Booth Imitator

[eddie146]

Here's the link to view the Burst commercial Shirley Booth sued Colgate due to the public got the impression she provided the voice .

https://vimeo.com/294278891

[eddie146]

I learned from someone in here. Shirley Booth lost her lawsuit to Colgate.

[Hazel Anyday]

That was interesting, it really did sound like Hazel too. Though I think for a moment there I did recognize the voice of who it really was, possibly Bea Benederit (when she was on Jack Benny's radio show she did a voice very similar as the phone operator) or Mae Questel (when she was younger she was the voice of Betty Boop) but when Mae got older her voice was deeper and had an accent like Hazel's too.

[eddie146]

Originally Posted by Hazel Anyday

That was interesting, it really did sound like Hazel too. Though I think for a moment there I did recognize the voice of who it really was, possibly Bea Benederit (when she was on Jack Benny's radio show she did a voice very similar as the phone operator) or Mae Questel (when she was younger she was the voice of Betty Boop) but when Mae got older her voice was deeper and had an accent like Hazel's too.

Good analysis. but I believe Bea was deceased .

My fault I did not mention the year this ran.

It was 1970.

The public got the impression Shirley Booth was broke and needed the money because was Hazel over.

[eddie146]

Booth v. Colgate-Palmolive Company, 362 F. Supp. 343 (S.D.N.Y. 1973)
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - 362 F. Supp. 343 (S.D.N.Y. 1973)
August 6, 1973
362 F. Supp. 343 (1973)
Shirley BOOTH, Plaintiff,
v.
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY and Ted Bates & Co., Inc., Defendants.
No. 71 Civ. 932.
United States District Court, S. D. New York.

August 6, 1973.
*344 Fitelson & Mayers, New York City, for plaintiff; Harold J. Sherman, Clifford Forster, New York City, of counsel.

Coudert Brothers, New York City, for defendants; Carleton G. Eldridge, Jr., John M. Keene, III, New York City, of counsel.


OPINION
BONSAL, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Shirley Booth, instituted this action on March 2, 1971, against defendants Colgate-Palmolive Company ("Colgate") and Ted Bates & Co., Inc. ("Bates") to recover as compensatory and exemplary damages the sum of $4,000,000, which she claims she sustained by reason of the defendants' unfair competition and defamation. Her complaint alleges three causes of action: (1) under the New York State common law of unfair competition; (2) under the Lanham Trade-Mark Act (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a);[1] and (3) under the New York State law of defamation. Jurisdiction is asserted on the grounds of diversity of citizenship. 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

Defendants move for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the grounds that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the defendants are entitled to judgment dismissing the complaint as a matter of law.

Plaintiff Shirley Booth is a well-known comedy and dramatic actress who has performed on the legitimate stage, in motion pictures, and on television. From 1961 to 1966, she played the title role of "Hazel" in a popular television comedy series broadcast weekly from 1961 to 1965 by the NBC television network and from 1965 to 1966 by the CBS television network. The series was based on the adventures of a copyrighted cartoon character named Hazel, with the permission of Ted Key, the character's creator and copyright holder, who was given credit during the broadcasts. Since 1967, television and audio tape recordings of the series have been presented throughout the United States and in other countries.

*345 Defendant Bates is an advertising agency which produced radio and television commercials promoting Colgate's laundry detergent "Burst". These commercials, first broadcast on January 16, 1971, used the name and likeness of the copyrighted cartoon character Hazel pursuant to a written license agreement with Key, the creator and copyright holder, dated June 22, 1970. The voice of Hazel in the commercials was performed by Ruth Holden. Neither she nor the plaintiff was named or identified during the commercials.

The parties agree that New York law applies to plaintiff's first and third causes of action.


I

FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION: Unfair Competition under New York Law
Plaintiff relies on three arguments to support her first cause of action under the New York State common law of unfair competition. Plaintiff's first argument is that star performers such as herself have a property right in their performances, which property right permits the protection of those performances against both direct misappropriation, such as for example the unauthorized tape recording of a vocal performance, as well as against indirect misappropriation, such as the imitation of a performer's timing, inflection, tone, or general performing style. Plaintiff, Shirley Booth, has devoted many years to training as an actress and has attained stardom. She contends that she endowed the role of Hazel with her own unique and creative artistic interpretation, and that the "modern liberalized and considerably expanded doctrines of the New York law of unfair competition" protect her against imitation of her voice in defendants' commercials.

For the purposes of their motion, defendants concede that "Ruth Holden's voice as used in the Burst commercials constituted an `imitation' of the `normal speaking voice' . . . of Shirley Booth as plaintiff used it and it was heard in the `Hazel' situation comedy series." Defendants contend, however, that imitation of a voice without more does not give rise to a cause of action for unfair competition.

[eddie146]

it was Ruth Holden

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by eddie146

Here's the link to view the Burst commercial Shirley Booth sued Colgate due to the public got the impression she provided the voice .

https://vimeo.com/294278891

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Too bad, the video seems unavailable now ^^^^^^