Lawsuit Over 'Elly May Barbie'

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The actress, Donna Douglas,
who played Elly May Clampett,
in the hit 1960s television
series "The Beverly Hillbillies,"
is suing Mattel over its "Elly
May Barbie" doll.

The company "licensed the rights
to 'Beverly Hillbillies' for this
product through the appropriate
channels, "Mattel's spokesman.

Donna Douglas' federal lawsuit,
filed in Louisiana, claims the
toy-maker is "engaging in the
unauthorized use of her name,
likeness, image and attributes"
as Elly May.

Douglas never gave Mattel
permission to market the doll or
use her endorsement to promote
it per court papers.

The suit states that a photo of
Douglas in character as Elly May
is used in the packaging, and
Mattel makes claims in its
promotional material that the doll
"captures the essence of the
classic '60s TV character and show."

"The Beverly Hillbillies," starring
Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Max Baer
Jr. and Douglas, ran on CBS for nine
years, from 1962 through 1971, and
was popular.

The show was about a rural Southern
family that moves to the glitz of
Beverly Hills.