(Newswire.net — October 23, 2014) Los Angeles, CA — According to a law suit filed by Frank Sivero, The Simpsons writers who were living next to him in 1989, imitated his character for animated gangster Louie.
The suit claims that Simpsons producer James L Brooks was familiar with Sivero, who lived next to writers of The Simpsons in 1989 as he was preparing for Goodfellas: “They saw each other almost every day.” the Sivero says.
The lawsuit claims that “They [writers] were aware the entire character of Frankie Carbone was created and developed by Sivero, who based this character on his own personality.” Sivero claims he created the Carbone character entirely on his own while improvising on the Goodfelas movie set.
To back up Sivero’s claims, layers quoted Wikipedia on character Louie from The Simpsons. “Louie’s appearance and mannerisms are strongly evocative of character actor Frank Sivero.” Further more, Wiki compares their black curls, heavy brow and wise guy attitude.
Sivero bases his monitary damages on the grounds that the FOX producers appropriatied his “confidential idea” for the character, as well as on his “loss of likeness” and being subsequently typecast.
He also claims The Simpsons’ production company, Gracie Films, promised him that he “would be part of the future” and that they would make a film together, which never occurred. Fox has not made a public comment onthe suit.
Sivero led a quiet professional life and he has not been seen on screen since 2008’s crime B-movie Hotel California. However, he has been quite busy defending what he views as his legal rights to the Frankie character. In July, he sued a deli in El Cajon, California, for creating a ‘Frankie Carbone’ sandwich without his permission.
Louie is a minor character in The Simpsons saga, however, the $250 Million law suit against writers suggests that maybe Louie’s boss Fat Tony is may be looking for his cut. Few people, outside of Sivero and his lawyers, seem to believe that Sivero will be able to score a payoff from Fox for their use of Louie the Simpsons thug.