Goodfellas actor Frank Sivero has lost a US$250 million legal battle with The Simpsons producers after alleging they ripped off his onscreen persona for a gangster character on the long running cartoon.
Sivero filed suit against Fox Television Studios bosses in October, claiming The Simpsons' wiseguy character Louie is based on his portrayal of ill-fated mobster Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese's gangster movie Goodfellas.
He alleged a group of writers on The Simpsons got the idea for mob henchman Louie while they were living next door to the actor in California in 1989, when he was preparing for the role in the classic 1990 film. Louie made his debut on the cartoon series in 1991 and has appeared in more than a dozen episodes.
Fox executives denied the accusations in March and asked a Los Angeles judge to dismiss the lawsuit, and on today, they got their wish.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rita Miller issued a tentative ruling in the defendants' favour after insisting the cartoon character bares few similarities to Sivero.
During the hearing, she told Sivero's lawyer Alex H Herrera, "If I was a teenage girl and I had a crush on your client, would I be happy with a poster of this character Louie? Even if Mr Sivero's face was on this as long as it is parody you can't win."
Herrera disputed the ruling after the hearing, insisting his client should get "an appropriate day in court to prove his case".
It is not yet known if Sivero, 63, plans to appeal.
WENN.com
