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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
A documentary on the life of rock ‘n’ roller Randy Rhoads might sound appealing to the family of the late Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot guitarist, but a coffee table book making use of materials provided for the film strikes a sour note.
The musician’s family and estate filed suit last month in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the authors and publishers of the “Randy Rhoads” book, according to reports. The lawsuit claims that the book makes unauthorized use of photos and interview excerpts and other information that was provided exclusively for use in a planned documentary about the guitarist.
The suit names the book’s authors, Andrew Klein and Steven Rosen, its editor, Peter Margolis, and its publisher, Velocity Publishing Group Inc. It claims fraud, breach of contract, invasion of privacy and misappropriation of rights of publicity.
Mr. Rhoads’ family entered into an agreement with Mr. Margolis in 2007 to produce a documentary about the guitarist, according to reports. With the documentary never completed, however, materials provided exclusively for the film were subsequently used to produce the book, the suit claims, without the family’s authorization or cooperation.
Mr. Rhoads died at age 25 in a 1982 airplane crash while on tour with Mr. Osbourne.