Beverly Hills: Swimming pools, movie stars, personality rights infringement.
Actress Donna Douglas has settled her legal dispute with toymaker Mattel over a Barbie doll named based off of her Beverly Hillbillies character, Elly May Clampett.
PHOTOS: Toy Wars – Battle of the Blockbuster Summer
Reuters reports that the consumer product division of CBS Corp. had licensed the rights for Mattel to replicate Elly May, something it argued it had exclusive rights to do. Douglas, now 78, had sued both companies claiming they were “engaging in the unauthorized use” of her name and likeness to sell the product.
She sought a minimum of $75,000 in damages. Neither her attorney or Mattel would comment on the details or figure, but documents filed in Louisiana on Tuesday indicate that it had been settled.
Douglas played the beautifully dim Elly May on the CBS television series from 1962 to 1971. The fish-out-of-water tale about Appalachian family that struck oil and moved to a Los Angeles mansion was later adapted for a 1993 film of the same name.
