A measure designed to arm heirs of deceased celebrities with tools to crack down on unauthorized uses of their famous loved ones' images cleared a major hurdle last Tuesday. The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 209 by an 11-1 vote, with three members abstaining. Nicknamed the "Astaire Bill" after Fred Astaire, who died in 1987, SB 209 would close loopholes in California law.
Current law allows dead celebrities' names, voices, likenesses or signatures to be used in commercial projects only with permission from survivors. But the law allows several exceptions, including plays, books, magazines, films, music, works of art, radio and television programs, and material with political or news value.
SB 209, introduced by state Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco, would eliminate the exceptions and place the burden of proof on those using the celebrity images, forcing them to show that their use is protected by the First Amendment. "The world is a safer place for dead celebrities," quipped Dana Mitchell, counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and a bill proponent.
SB 209 cleared the Senate in April by a landslide 30-1 vote. Tuesday's approval enables the bill to go before the Assembly floor and, if approved there, to Gov. Gray Davis for signature. It could be enacted as early as Jan. 1. The bill extends heirs' protective rights to 70 years after death, as opposed to the 50 years now allowed, and provides that a celebrity's heirs may sue in California if the celebrity did not live in the state.
Testifying on behalf of SB 209 before the committee Tuesday was Astaire's widow Robyn Astaire, accompanied by a delegation of celebrities and their heirs, including Janet Leigh, Boris Karloff's daughter Sara, and Bela Lugosi Jr.
Burton introduced the bill at the request of Robyn Astaire after she lost a court battle against the makers of a video featuring her late husband. Astaire sued when she saw the videos advertised as, "Fred Astaire teaches you to dirty dance." The court ruled the videos were covered by the film exception clause under current law.
"Fred left me in charge of his legacy, and I promised to oversee his creative property as he would have," Astaire said. "It's been difficult to keep my promise."
Casting the lone "no" vote Tuesday was Assemblyman Dick Ackerman, R-Fullerton. "The philosophical question I have is, do we want the dead to have the same right as the living?" he asked. Ackerman argued that the issue should be addressed at the federal level, and "that each state should not have a different policy."
Assembly Judiciary Committee chairwoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, disagreed with that stance. "I'm very pleased we moved the bill along," she said, but added, "The middle ground we took leaves room for the fictitious portrayal and satire of celebrities and all the ground we want to protect."
Paul Bond writes for The Hollywood Reporter.