"Wham-O © versus Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star"

"Wham-O © versus Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star"
Some Thoughts From Paul Petersen

It was with no small amusement that I heard about Wham-O's lawsuit against the new movie, "Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star." Seems the Wham-O Corporation, newly reconstituted after a group of investors bought the company back from Mattel, just doesn't get the joke when David Spade, deprived of childhood experiences, attempts to use a "Slip and Slide" without waiting for the strip of plastic to be wet down.

Hey, Wham-O. Get over it! Take it from a whole bunch of former child stars who over the years have been the object of ridicule and mirth thanks to becoming American icons in the fickle and ever-changing entertainment industry. Just slap yourself on the corporate forehead and move on with your life!

If you can't laugh at yourself, Wham-O…if you can't appreciate the affection and familiarity that comes with becoming an indelible part of the unique American culture, find something else to do with your time.

A lawsuit against the unauthorized use of your "Slip and Slide" trademark in one of the best comedy bits in a movie? Give me a break.

How would you like to find your products on a porn site? Happens to us "vintage celebrities" all the time as images taken from our past are computer-altered and placed on Internet sites frequented by pedophiles. Now, if a "Slip and Slide" were put to those uses, I'd understand your legal snit. Slip and slide, indeed.

And where does Wham-O get off threatening legal action against this nice little family picture? Seems to me the movie business ought to be dunning Wham-O for "borrowing" the "flying disk" idea. You see, some of us have been around the Industry long enough to remember Film Editors stepping out of their cubby-holes and tossing 35 millimeter film-can lids to each other to break the tedium of hours spent at a Moviola machine. We were flying "lids" back in the 30's! Talk about trademark issues. And when you take the fabric off of round 10-K diffusion 'silk' you've got a pretty fair "Hula Hoop." Us kids who used to be reprimanded for creating this costly toy didn't sue you, did we?

Come on, Wham-O. Get with the program and find the humor in your special place in the collective memory of America. We've had to do it…grinning through the pain of unauthorized slanders against images that will not go away…until we found that safe haven of understanding.

No disrespect was intended when David Spade screeched to a halt on the un-lubricated "Slip and Slide." The gag worked because we all know and love your product, and I'd place a fair-sized wager that this "Dickie Roberts" comedy bit reminds a whole bunch of parents and grandparents to put your product on their Christmas lists.

Like so many former kid stars, Wham-O enjoys a special place in our hearts and enjoys the affection and respect of millions who recall the joys of childhood play. And just in case you don't yet "get it," Wham-O, at the core of everything funny is someone else's pain, and that goes for banana peels and going off the edge of a "Slip and Slide." We love you, Wham-O. Don't blow it.

Take a lesson from the people who best understand fads. We've been Fads, too, believe me. If you didn't like the gag, go make an OSHA commercial or something, but do it with a grin. More than 20 former kid stars worked on "Dickie Roberts." We got the joke, why can't you?

Fraternally,
Paul Petersen