Ben F. Goldman Jr.

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Ben F. Goldman Jr. (1909-1981) was an entertainment lawyer who practiced from 1937 until he died in 1981. He is not to be confused with Ben M. Goldman, another entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles.

Contents

Biography

After graduating from USC Law School, where he was a member of the Southern California Law Review, [1] Goldman was admitted to practice law in California in 1937. [2] In 1939, he received publicity for a suit he brought, as co-counsel with his brother Louis L. Goldman, on behalf of two juvenile roller skaters who claimed that Sid Grauman—the showman who established Hollywood landmarks, the Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre—had reneged on promises of motion picture roles in exchange for their completion of a 6,000-mile cross-country roller skating junket. [3]

In 1944, Goldman joined the "big five" movie studio RKO Pictures as in-house counsel. He left the studio in 1949 to return to private practice. [4]

In the 1950s, he represented notorious juvenile heiress Mary Catherine Reardon Gueci, daughter of a wealthy St. Louis paint manufacturer, who had "been accused of everything from murder to shoplifting" beginning at the age of 13. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

In 1951, he represented MGM set decorator Morris Braun in a stolen idea suit against television station KTTV Channel 11, claiming its show Batter Up was taken from his script, Play Ball. [10]

In 1952 and 1953, representing plaintiffs in a defamation action, he obtained two decisions against prominent publishers before the California Supreme Court, Gill v. Curtis Publishing Co. [11] and Gill v. Hearst Publishing Co., [12] in which California recognized a common-law right of privacy, and the tort of false light, for the first time.

In 1953, he represented writer/producer Mort Greene [13] against actor Bob Cummings in an employment dispute over Greene's services on the television sitcom My Hero. [14]

In 1954, he represented the executive head of Technicolor, Natalie Kalmus, in divorce proceedings, arranging her narrow escape from a jail sentence for contempt of court after she wrote a letter to the judge without Goldman's knowledge. [15] [16]

In 1955, he represented noted radio psychologist John J. Anthony, known as "Mr. Anthony," [17] in a suit against theatrical agent Johnny Maschio, husband of actress Constance Moore, over an agreement to film a television series and distribute radio transcriptions. [18] [19]

Diverging from his Hollywood focus, he represented a coalition of homeowners who unsuccessfully opposed the extension of the Olympic Freeway (now the Santa Monica Freeway) to the Pacific coast in 1956. [20] [21]

In 1958, he represented a film studio schoolteacher in a stolen-idea case over the TV show Sea Hunt . [22]

In 1962, he represented Serge Guy Delprat, a French playwright and poet, in a bizarre case in which he and a woman named Maris Denver Lindley sued one another for false imprisonment over a "ghost story" enactment that took place at Lindley's beach house on Halloween, after the two had met through a mutual friend, Aldous Huxley. Lindley accused Delprat of "bursting into her home, seizing her and threatening her with death." He allegedly screamed, "Trick or treat! These are for the dead!" When she ran into her yard, he allegedly chased her, threw her down and choked her, stopping only when neighbors began screaming. Delprat was imprisoned for a month before Ventura County authorities dropped the charges and released him. [23]

In 1965, he represented actor Michael Wilding, a former husband of Elizabeth Taylor, in a libel suit against gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and the publishers of her book The Whole Truth and Nothing But, securing a six-figure settlement. [24] [25]

In 1980, he represented 13 writers from The Red Skelton Show in a suit against Skelton demanding that he syndicate his show in reruns so that the writers could receive residuals. [26]

Personal

Also active in politics, Goldman was elected president of the 26th Congressional District Democratic Council in 1963. [27]

His brother, Louis L. Goldman, and grand-nephew, Jeffrey D. Goldman, were also prominent entertainment lawyers.

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References

  1. ↑ "Southern California Law Review". www.heinonline.org. HeinOnline. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Attorney Search". apps.calbar.ca.gov. State Bar of California. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "Two Roller Skaters Sue After Trip Across Country". Los Angeles Times: 22. 12 January 1939.
  4. ↑ "Ben Goldman Jr. Resigns". www.yumpu.com. Box Office. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Heiress sued by her lawyer over $3000 fee". Daily News: 17. 22 March 1951.
  6. ↑ "Juvenile Court Gets Heiress Reardon Shoplifting Case". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News: 24. 11 May 1950.
  7. ↑ "Heiress Must Take Trouble to New Court". Los Angeles Mirror: 6. 6 October 1950.
  8. ↑ "Young Heiress Made Court Ward". Los Angeles Mirror: 6. 11 May 1950.
  9. ↑ "Heiress May Be Declared Ward of Juvenile Court". Los Angeles Times: 16. 12 May 1950.
  10. ↑ "$150,000 Suit Over Idea Hits KTTV, Staffers". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News: 1. 17 August 1951.
  11. ↑ "Gill v. Curtis Publishing Co., 239 P. 2d 630 - Cal: Supreme Court 1952". scholar.google.com. Google. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Gill v. Hearst Publishing Co., 40 Cal. 2d 224 - Cal: Supreme Court 1953". scholar.google.com. Google. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  13. ↑ "Mort Greene (1912-1992)". www.imdb.com. IMDb. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ↑ "Actor Robert Cummings Target of $119,200 Suit". Los Angeles Times: 7. 6 January 1953.
  15. ↑ "Natalie Kalmus Escapes Court Contempt Term". Los Angeles Times: 2. 17 June 1954.
  16. ↑ "She's So Sorry She Wrote Judge". Los Angeles Mirror: 4. 16 June 1954.
  17. ↑ "John J. Anthony Is Dead at 68; Radio's Marital Problem Solver". www.nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  18. ↑ "Mr. Anthony Asks $296,450". Los Angeles Times: 19. 17 January 1955.
  19. ↑ "Mr.Anthony In Suit Over 39 TV Films". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News: 2. 17 January 1955.
  20. ↑ "See Mass Freeway Session In August". West Los Angeles Independent: 1. 29 July 1956.
  21. ↑ "Study Health, Safety Factors Along WLA Freeway Route". West Los Angeles Independent: 1. 9 August 1956.
  22. ↑ "Teacher Sues Over TV Idea". Los Angeles Times: 72. 27 August 1958.
  23. ↑ "Halloween 'Ghost' Claim Brings Counterclaim". Ventura County Star: 9. 3 April 1962.
  24. ↑ "Big Payoff For Michael Wilding In Book Suit". Eureka Humboldt Standard: 2. 27 March 1965.
  25. ↑ "Wilding Wins Settlement in Suit Over Book". Los Angeles Times: 59. 26 March 1965.
  26. ↑ Oliver, Myrna (5 September 1980). "Red Skelton Agrees To Preserve Tapes". Los Angeles Times: 29.
  27. ↑ "26th District Democrats Elect Ben F. Goldman". Evening Vanguard: 2. 4 April 1963.
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