Who was Pam and Tommy’s lawyer and publicist in real life?
Pam & Tommy’ follows the tumultuous series of events that unfold after a private videotape is stolen from the couple’s home. Following a disgruntled carpenter named Rand, who flees with their safe, unaware that it contains the explosive tape, Pamela and Tommy have a devastating experience. Unable to contain the spread of the tape, they watch their privacy exposed to anyone with a few dollars.
Of course, being celebrities, the two seem to have a team of top lawyers and a publicist advising them on the best course of action. Whether the advice actually works remains debatable. Given the real-life origins of the show, we worried about the real lawyers and publicists helping Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Here’s what we found.
Who was Pam and Tommy’s lawyer and publicist?
When the series’ titular couple first realize that their private tape is missing, Tommy hires a private detective and some of his biker friends to help find the video. Unfortunately, the tape has long spread too much and soon finds itself in the hands of Penthouse magazine boss Bob Guccione.
Fearing that their video will be published in the magazine, Tommy appeals to renowned lawyer Richard Alden (Paul Ben-Victor). The attorney immediately announces that filing a $10 million civil lawsuit is the best course of action to prevent Penthouse from releasing the tape.
In real life, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee actually filed a $10 million civil lawsuit on March 29, 1996. Besides Penthouse, they also filed a lawsuit against Milton Ingley, Rand Gauthier, and anyone the couple thought they had. a copy of their private video. . Unfortunately, details about their real lawyer at the time remain scarce.
However, the lawsuit against Penthouse was apparently dismissed, and the magazine went ahead and released the tape to the public, although they could not use stills from the tape as they did not officially own the rights. author. Of course, that was just the beginning as the couple then faced more grueling legal battles, eventually signing a release that allowed Seth Warshavsky’s Internet Entertainment Group to release the video.
Pamela Anderson has seemingly been through the hardest part of it all, caught in the eye of an out-of-control media storm. Of course, publicists and PR reps advised her on how to navigate the scandal. On the show, she is advised by Gail Chwatsky (Mozhan Marnò), a smart but empathetic publicist who seems to have Pamela’s best interests at heart. When she learns of the lawsuit, she immediately claims that the legal action was the wrong decision. Considering how things are going, it looks like Gail might be right.
In real life, Pamela Anderson apparently had multiple publicists. Aside from the wild publicity sparked by the private tape leak, the actress was also involved at the time in “Barb Wire,” a 1996 action movie starring her.
Although records of Pamela’s publicist in 1996 are, again, sparse, she could have engaged the services of Marleah Leslie of Marleah Leslie & Associates. The PR firm has apparently represented Kathy Griffin, Jim Carrey, Larry King and many more over the years. Around 1998, the actress also appeared to be working with publicist Ann Israel.
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