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Re: Howdy Doody



I highly doubt that there will be any outcome for at least a couple years.
The additional info/pleas will be reviewed, and that takes time. The judges
seem to take their time on these things, plus they have other caseloads to
deal with. I'm amazed at how long it takes things to sluggishly move through
the legal process. I'm no legal scholar, but have taken a law-related course
(in part because I'm pretty fed up with a lot of the legal maneuverings that
criminals seem to enjoy in our land), and I am very interested to see how
this one goes. Who knows what documents/pleas have been submitted? What sort
of counsel does the family have? Are these attorneys well versed in this
type of case? Has there been a precedent set on this somewhere? That should
come out fairly early on, I would imagine. Who's attorneys are the best? The
cleverest? I hope the family doesn't go broke paying for legal counsel. What
kind of guy/lady is the judge? He/she can be off the bench next month for
all we know. I am anxious to see the rationales presented on both sides. As
Detroit is a little removed from Hollywood, maybe this case will be less
theatrically conducted (we can only hope). And, I would imagine that
whatever decision comes down will be appealed. It could drag on for some
time. (Could it go to the Supreme Court?)

I suspect also that Hollywood studios, which have been around a lot longer
than TV, wised up real quick. Things like Dorothy's shoes from "Wizard of
Oz", things like that, were better protected. (I recall those sold for some
horrific amount at auction a couple years back).  Intellectual property such
as Howdy Doody are very marketable....nostalgia sells (which is why we hear
all those great 60's and 70's hit songs in commercials). Many Boomers really
like that kind of fuzzy, reflecting-back-to-the-old-days stuff. Whoever ends
up with Howdy Doody would probably have a very marketable entity, stand to
make a lot of money.

I think this will be a most interesting case.

Sharon Lee Butcher
Reference Librarian
AEDC Technical Library
100 Kindel Drive, Suite C212
Arnold AFB, TN  37389-3212
Phone:  931-454-4430
Fax:  931-454-5421
e-mail:  sharon.butcher@arnold.af.mil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dean DeBolt [SMTP:ddebolt@MAIL.UWF.EDU]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2000 11:23 AM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Howdy Doody
>
> I have been trying to find out what happened in the Howdy
> Doody puppet custody case in May 2000.  There are many
> newpaper articles about the case, and the hearing before
> the judge.   The basic arguments were that the puppet held
> by Buffalo Bob and which came into the Rose family had been
> destined for the Detroit Institute of the Arts.   The DIA sued the
> families for custody.   This happened May 5 or 6, 2000.
> The judge gave the attorneys two weeks to submit additional
> information and pleas.
>
> I cannot find anything more about this....and does anyone on
> the list know the outcome of the case?    I found it interesting,
> not because I grew up on "What time is it?"...but because the
> case covered ownership (NBC?), intent of the donor which
> had not been stipulated formally in writing, and heirship rights.
>
> Dean
>
>
>
> Dean DeBolt
> University Librarian
> Special Collections and West Florida Archives
> John C. Pace Library
> University of West Florida
> 11000 University Parkway
> Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
> Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>