Shirley Slesinger Lasswell
Encyclopedia
Shirley Slesinger Lasswell (May 27, 1923 Detroit, Michigan
– July 19, 2007 Beverly Hills, CA) was an American brand marketing pioneer. She is best known for licensing the rights
to Winnie The Pooh to the Walt Disney Company in 1961 and later suing the company in a dispute over royalties
.
on May 27, 1923. She was the daughter of Clara Louise Leasia, whose family pioneered new Canada in the 17th century, and Michael Basso, the descendant of a family of Italian toy makers. She had one sister, Patricia Jane Basso (Cornell). Shirley Ann Basso performed in Olsen and Johnson
Broadway musical comedies. She spent 30 months with the USO entertaining American troops at military bases and hospitals in Europe
and the Pacific during World War II
. She met her first husband, Stephen Slesinger
, while working on Broadway
in 1947, and married him in 1948. Actress Clara Bow
and her husband, actor Rex Bell
, served respectively as the maid of honor and the best man at the Slesingers' wedding. The Slesingers lived in New York City
and on their ranch in the Blanco Basin near Pagosa Springs, which provided the backdrop of Slesinger's Western films and summer programs for inner city youth. Their marriage lasted until Stephen Slesinger's death in 1953.
In 1964, she married Fred Lasswell
, a Reuben Award winning cartoonist and inventor, who drew the comic Barney Google and Snuffy Smith
. Lasswell also invented the first practical citrus harvester and created creative educational programs for schools. The couple remained married until Fred Lasswell's death in 2001.
created famous brands and trademarks for hundreds of literary and cartoon characters. He is credited with creating the iconic image of Winnie the Pooh in his red shirt when he obtained exclusive rights from A. A. Milne, beginning in 1930, to use Pooh as he pleased, outside of Milne's black and white books. In exchange, Milne received 3% of sales and 15% to 50% of other Pooh rights Slesinger would commercialize. Slesinger's rights included exclusive rights of character and name reproduction in connection with goods and services and all media such as television, radio and any future sound, word and picture reproduction devices. The deal included the rights to Winnie the Pooh, as well as the other now famous characters, such as Christopher Robin
, Eeyore
, Tigger
and Owl
.
Stephen Slessinger died in 1953. His death left Lasswell a widow with a one-year-old daughter, Pati. Lasswell assumed leadership of her husband's company in 1956 and took over the marketing and licensing of Pooh along with Slesinger's other characters. She later said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times
, "I thought, 'Now what do I do?' But it was right there for me. I decided to promote Pooh."
Lasswell initially began designing Winnie the Pooh related products, such as clothing, toys and dolls for sale at upscale American department stores in the 1950s under Stephen Slesinger Inc. However, Lasswell also began to expand Winnie the Pooh into other markets. She was in the initial stages of developing Pooh for television when she met Walt Disney
, founder and head of the Walt Disney Company. Disney wanted to create a television show featuring the Winnie The Pooh characters. Lasswell signed the first of two licensing agreements in 1961, which licensed the Walt Disney Company exclusive television rights and certain other rights owned by Stephen Slesinger, Inc, in exchange for royalty payments.
. Lasswell was buying Pooh merchandise in the park (she described herself as a "Pooh shopaholic
") when she said she noticed that she wasn't receiving a royalty payments for much of the merchandise that she saw being sold. Lasswell hired a lawyer to look into the matter.
In 1991, Stephen Slesinger Inc. filed a lawsuit
against the Walt Disney Company, claiming that Disney had breached their contract and miscalculated the royalties owed to Lasswell under the 1961 Pooh licensing deal. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that Disney had failed to pay millions of dollars in additional royalties for Pooh related products not specifically covered in the 1961 licensing agreement, but promised in a verbal agreement with Disney representatives. The products in question included computer software
, DVD
s, videos
and other electronic merchandise. The Walt Disney Company denied owing any additional royalties.
Despite the lawsuit
, Winnie The Pooh became even more profitable for the Walt Disney Company since the 1990s. The Pooh franchise reportedly brings in more than one billion dollars a year for Disney, which is more than its Mickey Mouse
related merchandise.
The Winnie The Pooh legal battle between Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and Disney has continued for more than 16 year from 1991 to present day. The breach of contract
lawsuit has so far involved three judge
s and a dozen separate law firm
s in both the California Superior Court and the U.S. federal courts
.
There have been victories and defeats for both Disney and Stephen Slesinger, Inc., with both sides winning and losing key legal battles. Disney was sanctioned when it was found to have destroyed 40 boxes of paperwork related to the Pooh dispute. A California
state judge
threw out the lawsuit in 2004 after finding that misconduct
had been committed by the Lasswell family. The judge accused Lasswell of hiring a private investigator in order to obtain Disney company documents from the trash. He also alleged that the Lasswell family altered court papers in order to cover up the charges. The 2004 decision by the California state judge is currently being appealed by the Lasswell family as of 2007. A federal ruling of 28 September 2009 from Judge Florence-Marie Cooper
determined that the Slesinger family had granted all trademark and copyright rights to Disney, although Disney must pay royalties for all future use of the characters. Both parties have expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
at her home in Beverly Hills, California
on July 19, 2007. She is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA. She was 84 years old and was survived by her daughter, Pati Slesinger, and her granddaughter.
Her 1991 breach of contract lawsuit against Disney was still ongoing at the time of her death.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
– July 19, 2007 Beverly Hills, CA) was an American brand marketing pioneer. She is best known for licensing the rights
Rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
to Winnie The Pooh to the Walt Disney Company in 1961 and later suing the company in a dispute over royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
.
Early and personal life
Lasswell was born Shirley Ann Basso in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on May 27, 1923. She was the daughter of Clara Louise Leasia, whose family pioneered new Canada in the 17th century, and Michael Basso, the descendant of a family of Italian toy makers. She had one sister, Patricia Jane Basso (Cornell). Shirley Ann Basso performed in Olsen and Johnson
Olsen and Johnson
John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen and Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson were zany American comedians of vaudeville, radio, the Broadway stage, motion pictures and television. Their shows were noted for their crazy blackout gags and orchestrated mayhem...
Broadway musical comedies. She spent 30 months with the USO entertaining American troops at military bases and hospitals in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Pacific during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She met her first husband, Stephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger , was an American radio/television/film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry...
, while working on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1947, and married him in 1948. Actress Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
and her husband, actor Rex Bell
Rex Bell
Rex Bell , born George Francis Beldam, was an American actor and politician. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and a western movie star. Rex was born in Chicago and married actress Clara Bow in 1931. They had two sons, Tony Beldon and George Beldon, Jr...
, served respectively as the maid of honor and the best man at the Slesingers' wedding. The Slesingers lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and on their ranch in the Blanco Basin near Pagosa Springs, which provided the backdrop of Slesinger's Western films and summer programs for inner city youth. Their marriage lasted until Stephen Slesinger's death in 1953.
In 1964, she married Fred Lasswell
Fred Lasswell
Fred Lasswell was an American cartoonist best known for his decades of work on the comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.Born in Kennett, Missouri, he got his start as a sports cartoonist for the Tampa Daily Times...
, a Reuben Award winning cartoonist and inventor, who drew the comic Barney Google and Snuffy Smith
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, originally Barney Google, is a long-running American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck . Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a huge international readership, appearing in 900 newspapers in 21 countries...
. Lasswell also invented the first practical citrus harvester and created creative educational programs for schools. The couple remained married until Fred Lasswell's death in 2001.
Winnie The Pooh
Stephen SlesingerStephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger , was an American radio/television/film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry...
created famous brands and trademarks for hundreds of literary and cartoon characters. He is credited with creating the iconic image of Winnie the Pooh in his red shirt when he obtained exclusive rights from A. A. Milne, beginning in 1930, to use Pooh as he pleased, outside of Milne's black and white books. In exchange, Milne received 3% of sales and 15% to 50% of other Pooh rights Slesinger would commercialize. Slesinger's rights included exclusive rights of character and name reproduction in connection with goods and services and all media such as television, radio and any future sound, word and picture reproduction devices. The deal included the rights to Winnie the Pooh, as well as the other now famous characters, such as Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, appearing in his popular books of poetry and stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. He has subsequently appeared in Disney cartoons....
, Eeyore
Eeyore
Eeyore is a character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh....
, Tigger
Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
and Owl
Owl (Winnie the Pooh)
Owl is a fictional character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books and in Disney's Winnie the Pooh cartoons. Owl's character is based on the archetype of the "wise old owl", although in the books, the quality of Owl's "wisdom" is sometimes questionable....
.
Stephen Slessinger died in 1953. His death left Lasswell a widow with a one-year-old daughter, Pati. Lasswell assumed leadership of her husband's company in 1956 and took over the marketing and licensing of Pooh along with Slesinger's other characters. She later said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "I thought, 'Now what do I do?' But it was right there for me. I decided to promote Pooh."
Lasswell initially began designing Winnie the Pooh related products, such as clothing, toys and dolls for sale at upscale American department stores in the 1950s under Stephen Slesinger Inc. However, Lasswell also began to expand Winnie the Pooh into other markets. She was in the initial stages of developing Pooh for television when she met Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, founder and head of the Walt Disney Company. Disney wanted to create a television show featuring the Winnie The Pooh characters. Lasswell signed the first of two licensing agreements in 1961, which licensed the Walt Disney Company exclusive television rights and certain other rights owned by Stephen Slesinger, Inc, in exchange for royalty payments.
Royalties dispute
The dispute over royalties between Stephen Slesinger Inc. and the Walt Disney Company had its initial beginning in 1981. Lasswell was on a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FloridaOrlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Lasswell was buying Pooh merchandise in the park (she described herself as a "Pooh shopaholic
Shopaholic
Shopaholic is a series of novels written by the UK author Sophie Kinsella, who also writes under her real name Madeleine Wickham. The books follow protagonist Becky Bloomwood through her adventures in shopping and life. As of September 2010, there are six books in the series. The entire series has...
") when she said she noticed that she wasn't receiving a royalty payments for much of the merchandise that she saw being sold. Lasswell hired a lawyer to look into the matter.
In 1991, Stephen Slesinger Inc. filed a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against the Walt Disney Company, claiming that Disney had breached their contract and miscalculated the royalties owed to Lasswell under the 1961 Pooh licensing deal. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that Disney had failed to pay millions of dollars in additional royalties for Pooh related products not specifically covered in the 1961 licensing agreement, but promised in a verbal agreement with Disney representatives. The products in question included computer software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, videos
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
and other electronic merchandise. The Walt Disney Company denied owing any additional royalties.
Despite the lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
, Winnie The Pooh became even more profitable for the Walt Disney Company since the 1990s. The Pooh franchise reportedly brings in more than one billion dollars a year for Disney, which is more than its Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
related merchandise.
The Winnie The Pooh legal battle between Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and Disney has continued for more than 16 year from 1991 to present day. The breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
lawsuit has so far involved three judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s and a dozen separate law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
s in both the California Superior Court and the U.S. federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
.
There have been victories and defeats for both Disney and Stephen Slesinger, Inc., with both sides winning and losing key legal battles. Disney was sanctioned when it was found to have destroyed 40 boxes of paperwork related to the Pooh dispute. A California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
threw out the lawsuit in 2004 after finding that misconduct
Misconduct
A misconduct is a legal term meaning a wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts....
had been committed by the Lasswell family. The judge accused Lasswell of hiring a private investigator in order to obtain Disney company documents from the trash. He also alleged that the Lasswell family altered court papers in order to cover up the charges. The 2004 decision by the California state judge is currently being appealed by the Lasswell family as of 2007. A federal ruling of 28 September 2009 from Judge Florence-Marie Cooper
Florence-Marie Cooper
Florence-Marie Cooper was a United States federal judge.-Early life and education:Cooper was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and moved to San Francisco with her family in 1952. Cooper graduated from high school in 1958 and began working as a legal secretary...
determined that the Slesinger family had granted all trademark and copyright rights to Disney, although Disney must pay royalties for all future use of the characters. Both parties have expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
Death
Shirley Slesinger Lasswell died of respiratory failureRespiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
at her home in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
on July 19, 2007. She is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA. She was 84 years old and was survived by her daughter, Pati Slesinger, and her granddaughter.
Her 1991 breach of contract lawsuit against Disney was still ongoing at the time of her death.