Jerry Lewis 'Irate' Over KROQ Radio Hoax With Chirac
DJ Impersonates Actor For Five Minutes
POSTED: 8:00 a.m. PST March 21, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- Jerry Lewis is considering legal action against a radio station whose disc jockey impersonated the comedian in a conversation with French President Jacques Chirac, his attorney said.
A disc jockey for KROQ 106.7's "Kevin and Bean Show" called Chirac last week posing as Lewis and held a five-minute phone conversation with the French president in which the pair discussed the war in Iraq.
"He's irate about it," said Alan Isaacman, an attorney for Lewis. "That caused Mr. Lewis great damage. It's a terrible thing to do at this time of crisis in our nation's foreign policy."
Isaacman said he sent a letter to the radio station and its owners, Viacom, and subsidiary Infinity Broadcasting Co., complaining that Lewis' name and voice were unlawfully appropriated to obtain an interview by deception.
He told EW.com, the Web site for Entertainment Weekly that Lewis was considering legal action.
The station did not return a message Thursday seeking comment.
According to EW.com, which obtained a tape of the phone call, Chirac told the disc jockey Ralph Garman that he recognized his voice as Lewis' and went on to discuss why he opposed military action against Iraq.
"The resolution (Bush) wanted to send (to the United Nations) a few days ago says (Iraq) has one week before the attack, and that is not reasonable, you know," Chirac said. He invited the man he believed was Lewis to visit him in Paris.
"Understand one thing: France and I will always be friends with America, even if we have two different views of this problem," he said.
The American comedian is widely popular in France.
"The French people appreciate his professional accomplishments and humanitarian contributions," Isaacman said. "Something like that could easily be misunderstood."
