In 1998, I was one year into my Londons Times Cartoon project. I was still living, working, and trying to survive in an abandoned rural Mississippi warehouse. Nobody would rent to me as they, I am certain, felt this former 9-5 business executive had lost his mind for launching a cartoon at age forty three. I was a year into the project.

Not a lot was going right, I could clearly see it was a hobby, and I would eventually need to take some kind of job in sales, but for now, I was obsessed with seeing it through.

Then a marketing idea hit me, which, at the time, I thought was brilliant (I humbly add). I would create another series of cartoons called “Panel Hollywood” and feature real life celebrity caricatures and then mail signed copies directly to them or to their agent to forward. Out of the 150 or so that we created and mailed, about twelve responded, and even offered reviews, which was my strategy. Their reviews of the work remain on my main cartoon website.

One day, while toiling away on a hot summer afternoon, an email arrived. It was from the estate of the late, great Roy Orbison. It was from his widow Barbara's assistant, who wanted to know if they could purchase the rights to a Roy Orbison cartoon on my website. Ms. Orbison loved the cartoon so much, she wanted to make custom greeting cards for her friends and Roy Orbison fans. They had seen it on my website. I had not mailed a copy of it to them yet, as I'd not located the estate yet, or its representatives.

Naturally, I offered it gratis, letting her know that he (Roy) had brought me so much pleasure throughout the years, and so many others, I need to sleep at night, and there would be no charge. She thanked me profusely, and used the card which was later revealed to be a wonderful success. You couldn't work with a nicer person (than Barbara Orbison)

Over the years, I have received threatening letters from attorneys of some celebrities of which I have used their likeness in parody. At first this frightened me, so I consulted with major cartoonists way above my league, who assured me most of the best cartoonists receive at least one per month, and many of them frame them. I talked to an attorney who taught me about “The Fair Use Act” in the U.S. Constitution, and how it protects such parody. My attorney revealed that those greedy attorneys, simply spend all day cruising the Internet, in hopes of finding someone who was clueless to the law,
and would “settle with them”. And I was told this works quite often (even though the attorneys do not have case).

So I started framing the threatening letters like all the rest. Even the late Charles Schulz, whom I highly respected and made himself available to me when starting, had received them.

My biggest surprise was about five years after Ms.Orbison and I did business and had a very nice(but short) business relationship. I received a letter from a large Houston law firm representing the Orbison estate demanding cease and desist, not only to take down all the images, but to provide an accounting of what had been sold, and “they would probably settle rather than take this to court”.

Not that this makes me an authority by any means, but my maternal direct ancestry includes former Supreme Court Judge Benjamin Cardozo. His name might not mean much to many, but his words do to many attorneys. His books, his writings, until this day, are generally the “final word” in interpretation of Constitutional Law.

Again, this does not make me an expert, but, more than homework and the last episode of The Adams Family were discussed at our dinner table. Talk of legal rights, civil rights, and rights of expression were instilled very early. Before I was 18, I clearly understood the difference between parody and copyright infringement. Parody is protected by the Fair Use Act. Infringement is not. Our work is total parody. We make it very clear in both the artwork and text.

I remembered that attorney I had hired a long time ago and it all made sense. A lot of these celebrity lawyers are working on their client's behalf, but ironically, the celebrity (or estate executor...in this case Ms. Orbison) hadn't a clue I was being threatened for something she already had in her possession, and enjoying.

Then I remembered a story Charles Schulz told me. Mad Magazine ran a hilarious parody of Peanuts. The day it hit the stands, Schulz's attorneys shot out a gruesome letter of what would happen to “Mad” if they did not remove all copies and pay their client for damages. What the lawyers did not know what that Mr. Schulz had also seen that Mad issue, and loved the parody so much, he sent them a congratulatory note telling them how brilliant it was.

If you are a person who works in the arts, and creates images of real celebrities in parody form, it is a very good idea to Google and learn about “The Fair Use Act”. This is important, not only because it educates the creator to know his/her rights, but keeps that element who has entered the world of law to erode our precious Constitution and this great country, any more than they already have. Freedom of speech (and expression) is one of the major differences in our Constitution, and say the one of the former Soviet Union, or Iraq, or Iran.

When they do their job right, that is, finding real copyright infringement criminals and making them pay, they are doing a great thing. When they go after humor producers of parody, especially without even contacting their own client first, they are showing a real sense of irresponsibility and limited capabilities of practicing the law the way our Founding Fathers had in
mind.

Your Heart Health For Laughing Out Loud

We all know that laughter is the best medicine. If not the best, certainly good for you. Scientific studies have shown that mental stress can restrict blood flow to the heart. But now a study has linked laughter to increased blood circulation. Laughter appears to cause the tissue inside blood vessels to expand. Medical science feels that laughter may be important to increase cardiovascular health.

A recent study was conducted at the University of Md. of twenty men and women, all healthy. To make them laugh, they watched part of the movie "Kingpin," a 1 ½ hour comedy. To create the opposite emotions, they also watched the brutal beginning of "Saving Private Ryan." Researchers used ultrasound technology to measure changes in blood flow through an artery in the arms of participants.

Blood flow increased in 19 of the 20 participants after watching "Kingpin." which is a 22% increase. The study leader, a Dr. Miller feels that is similar to the effects of aerobics. Blood flow decreased in 14of the twenty people after they watched "Saving Private Ryan." The decrease was an average of thirty-five percent.

Research shows that reducing stress can reduce disease in the body. When the body is under stress, it produces hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol. Cortisol is related to anxiety and fearfulness and adrenalin gives us us the "fight or flight element. Too much of these hormones can be harmful. Dr Miller observed that the study could not explain how laughter is responsible for the effects observed. Is it from muscle movement or chemical release?

The researchers say laughter may cause the body to release endorphins, like when exercise takes place. Miller states that these endorphins may block the effect of stress hormones and cause the blood vessels to expand. Laughter may also influence the release of nitric oxide, which too expands blood passages. The results were presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Miller does not suggest to replace exercise with laughter, but he says fifteen minutes of laughter could help one's health considerably.

Rick London is founder of Londons Times Cartoons, the most popular offbeat cartoon
site on the Internet and owns several cartoon gift shops including Rick Londonwear
www.ricklondoncollection.com