Paul Lynde play at Exit Theatre gets pulled over copyright claim

In a game of theatrical tic-tac-toe over who has the right to tell comic Paul Lynde's story on stage, a West Hollywood writer-actor has put a big X in the path of a small San Francisco theater company that had scheduled its own solo-actor take on the "Hollywood Squares" celebrity.

The Exit Theatre announced Friday that Sean Owens wouldn't be doing his play "Center Square" after all -- the title alluding to the spot on the tic-tac-toe TV quiz-and-comedy show gameboard that Lynde occupied on "Hollywood Squares." Owens was going to perform it twice in April in a 70-seat house that is the largest of three Exit spaces. Then theater officials got a "cease and desist" e-mail this week from Matzoball Entertainment LLC, and canceled the show.

"I guess I'm the big bad wolf, but I don't mean to be," said Michael Airington, who since 2004 has been performing "Off Center: the Paul Lynde show." Under the Matzoball corporate banner, Airington licenses the rights to Lynde's name, image and story from Lynde's estate. "I felt bad, but it's infringing on something we've been working on and putting a lot of sweat into, and we paid a lot of money to obtain the rights," Airington said. "When we first started, I didn't do my homework and we were told, 'You have to have permission to do this.' "

Airington said his show, last seen locally at the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park, is based on research he did, including interviews with "Hollywood Squares" host Peter Marshall, Karen Valentine, Cloris Leachman, Kay Ballard and Andy Williams. The premise of the show, he said, is that Lynde is trying to tell his life's story, but keeps getting interrupted by game-show questions from Marshall, who did voiceovers for the production.

An Exit Theatre spokesman, Gary Carr, said Friday that Owens' play is very different: instead of impersonating Lynde, he was going to play himself talking about Lynde's life and pop-cultural milieu, and how Lynde's television persona influenced him when he was growing up. The two staged-reading performances were going to take place during DIVAfest, an annual Exit event showcasing women playwrights -- Owens, who is a man, getting included because he's noted for performing in drag.

Carr said Exit officials may check with lawyers as to whether Matzoball really has the right to quash Owens' show, but it's not a priority. Any attempt to revisit the show "probably won't be for months." As for Owens, he said, "Sean's got a lot of other things to do," including a play called "End of the Trail" that is currently in New York City as an Exit contribution to an annual winter theater series called FRIGIDfest.

-- Mike Boehm

Photo: Paul Lynde (top) on "The Dating Game" Credit: ABC Archive

Photo: Michael Airington in "Off Center: The Paul Lynde Show" Credit: Jim Cox

Comments

[Ester Goldberg]

too see Michael Airington perform a truly remarkable PAUL LYNDE Check this out:

The show is returning THIS year!

youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkqohtLA5cA

my Space
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=29614563

[Mary Wallace]

I checked out the original press release for Sean Owens's show and it states that the show would be "an uncanny portrait" of Lynde...unlike Gary Carr's statement that Owens would "play himself talking about Lynde's life".....this was clearly going to be a performance by Owens as Paul Lynde. Michael Airington is absolutely justified in having the show stopped....it clearly was an infringement on the show that Airington has done in the past and will be doing later this year.....he is not only looking out for his own interests (as well he should) but also the interests of the Lynde estate. Just as Airington states was his own experience with his show at the beginning, Owens should have done his homework (as should any performer starting up a show where they portray a famous personality....there are people who own rights to their stories and likenesses.)

I am not familiar with Owens but I have seen Airington's Paul Lynde show and he is absolutely brilliant in his portrayal.

The original press release for the Owens show (scroll down to the 3rd page get to it):
http://www.theexit.org/releases/release02.23.09.pdf

The original news story about the cancellation:
http://sanfrancisco.broadwayworld.com/article/EXIT_Theatre_Cancels_DIVAfest_Show_STEALTH_DIVA_411_425_20090227

[Susie]

I know Mr. Airington & know he has worked hard & paid a lot of money to obtain the rights to Paul Lynde's life story. So it's only right that he should be compensated if someone is making money from impersonating Paul Lynde. It would appear Mr. Owens is a newbie in the business because pretty much everyone else knows you need to get copyright clearance, even if most/all of the creators are no longer living b/c their estates may remain "open" (don't know the legal term) and can be income generating for many years after their death.