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Questions About Actor Likenesses

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  • Mary Canary
    Career Member
    • Jun 21, 2017
    • 589

    Questions About Actor Likenesses

    So I was sitting here comparing the Kelly Garret figure's head to pictures of Jaclyn Smith from her Angels days.
    I have to wait until I'm Stateside in a few weeks before I can get my Kelly from family who ordered her for me and really look at her close up.
    But I'm already daydreaming about small touches I can do to make her look more like Jaclyn / Kelly.

    For one thing, Jaclyn Smith's eyes are not pale blue like that - I think they're a darker blue-almost-gray.
    And of course her cheeks are one of her more prominent features - maybe a little blush to try to shape them?
    It doesn't look like much went into giving her a classic Angels hairstyle either - another modification I could make.
    I think eyebrows can change the whole look of a person - in this case, they seem too thick and not arched.
    And then there's the open mouth... Jaclyn had a great smile, but I always picture Kelly with kind of a glamorous pout.
    In some ways I think the Charmed girl looks more like Kelly than Kelly - paint applications can go a long way in changing the look of a figure.
    Anyway, I think these are small changes that could be made to Kelly her up a bit more.

    All of this isn't to complain, 'cause I do like the figure.
    But this got me to thinking about actor likenesses and licensing and how far can a company go in making something look like an actor without an actor's consent.
    The super hero figures are less complicated - lots of actors have played Batman or Superman, plus they have an established comic book look already.
    But when you have Charlie's Angels or Cheers or Golden Girls or whoever, how close can you get to an actor's looks without crossing a legal line?
    I'm guessing the Angels aren't approved likenesses, since the packaging doesn't even feature actor photos.
    Maybe Mego just thought "brunette and flared pants" was enough to translate as Kelly?
    Or maybe they were worried if she looked too much like Jaclyn Smith there would be legal issues?

    Does anyone know if Mego secured actor likeness approval for any or all of the new figures? Fonzie? Sulu? Star Trek? Tootie?
    Are actor likenesses automatically included in licensed properties like Star Trek?
    Like is it an actor likeness or a character likeness? Are the 2 separate things?
    Is every licensed property different - like Star Trek license includes actor likenesses but Charlie's Angels doesn't?
    What about comic books and artwork that show characters clearly drawn like the actors?
    Like I said, paint deco can go a long way in changing a simple facial sculpt that isn't based on an actor or actress to make it look closer.
    So at what point do they have to stop and say "This looks too much like the real person, let's back up and be more generic..."
    Would just changing the eyebrows or the cheeks be a step too far?
    What happens when an actor sees an unlicensed likeness and says "This looks too much like me" -- or even "This looks nothing like me but it's the character I played"?
  • pmwasson
    Maker
    • Sep 12, 2007
    • 4864

    #2
    If you look at the cards, some have photo and some don't. I'm guessing the ones that don't have photos didn't get the actor's likeness rights, but its just a guess.

    Cards with photos:
    Sulu
    Chekov
    Dracula
    Fonzie
    Norm
    Piper
    Alice
    Jimi Hendrix
    Mirror Mirror Kirk and Spock

    Cards without photos:
    Kelly Garrett
    Peggy Bundy
    Tootie
    I Dream of Jeannie
    sigpic LaserMego

    Comment

    • Mary Canary
      Career Member
      • Jun 21, 2017
      • 589

      #3
      ^ That was my assumption too.

      But then you have Kim Fields tweeting out the Tootie figure.
      Likeness or not, she seemed thrilled about it.

      Still makes me wonder how similar a figure can look without it looking too similar... yknow?

      Comment

      • RonnyG
        Career Member
        • Apr 23, 2014
        • 909

        #4
        Originally posted by pmwasson
        If you look at the cards, some have photo and some don't. I'm guessing the ones that don't have photos didn't get the actor's likeness rights, but its just a guess.

        Cards with photos:
        Sulu
        Chekov
        Dracula
        Fonzie
        Norm
        Piper
        Alice
        Jimi Hendrix
        Mirror Mirror Kirk and Spock

        Cards without photos:
        Kelly Garrett
        Peggy Bundy
        Tootie
        I Dream of Jeannie
        Interesting to note: It appears all the cards with cast photos are CBS properties, and those without photos are Sony properties.

        Comment

        • TrekStar
          Trek or Treat
          • Jan 20, 2011
          • 8354

          #5
          Originally posted by Mary Canary
          ^ That was my assumption too.

          But then you have Kim Fields tweeting out the Tootie figure.
          Likeness or not, she seemed thrilled about it.

          Still makes me wonder how similar a figure can look without it looking too similar... yknow?
          I'm guessing Kim Fields was just happy with having a toy company make her character, she probably never dreamed it
          would ever happen, so whether she thought the likeness was on or off she wasn't going to complain.

          Comment

          • SKotK
            Career Member
            • Mar 11, 2014
            • 574

            #6
            Originally posted by tjacwave50
            I'm guessing Kim Fields was just happy with having a toy company make her character, she probably never dreamed it
            would ever happen, so whether she thought the likeness was on or off she wasn't going to complain.
            It's also possible that a request for using her likeness never got past her lawyers...and that had she known they wanted to make a figure of her, she might have been able to have them lower or waive the fees. This kind of thing happens a lot, where things don't happen - not because the property holder didn't want it - but because their legal department ruined the fun without them even knowing.

            --SKot
            Look what happens when you aren't allowed to play with "dolls"...

            WANTED: partly-unsealed or bubble-damaged carded Romulan + unbroken plant trap from Mission to Gamma VI

            Comment

            • Mary Canary
              Career Member
              • Jun 21, 2017
              • 589

              #7
              That is a very interesting observation about CBS vs. Sony properties.
              Wonder what that's about...

              Also, you guys are right that the actors may never even get contacted even if the attempt by the toymaker was made.
              I do think with some characters it is much easier to create a lookalike figure that doesn't necessarily look like the performer.
              For example, Tootie's school uniform, pigtails, and knee high socks are pretty good indication of who she is, even if the face is more generic and isn't sculpted to look like the actress.
              Jeannie, too, has an iconic costume.
              But with characters like the Angels or Charmed, who change their street clothes from episode to episode, there's less translation as to who specifically they are.

              Or what about the old 3 3/4 figures, like the Dukes and Buck Rogers, who were less detailed in their faces?
              Did Mego need rights to the actors' likenesses for those figures? Or can they just make a blondish guy in a yellowish shirt, slap Bo Duke's name on him, and there you go...
              As kids, we're told this is Bo Duke even if the resemblance isn't totally there, and we eat it up because we love the character or the show.
              Surely every figure produced for a tv or film hasn't had actor approval...
              Meanwhile, some likenesses that probably were approved look nothing like the actors.
              At what point is the toymaker put at risk if the figure looks a little too similar?

              Comment

              • RonnyG
                Career Member
                • Apr 23, 2014
                • 909

                #8
                I did this in photoshop. Thinned her eyebrows, thinned her eyeliner, add lashes, added blush, changed lip color, darkened eyes.
                makeover.jpg

                Comment

                • Remco Monster
                  GLOWS in the Dark!
                  • May 3, 2006
                  • 2722

                  #9
                  The likeness issue is my only real problem with the new Mego figures. The figures I like the least are mostly due to the fact they look nothing like the person. After this Target deal, I hope Mego only do properties they have the rights to.

                  Comment

                  • Falstaff13
                    Persistent Member
                    • May 28, 2008
                    • 1251

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Mary Canary
                    I do think with some characters it is much easier to create a lookalike figure that doesn't necessarily look like the performer.
                    For example, Tootie's school uniform, pigtails, and knee high socks are pretty good indication of who she is, even if the face is more generic and isn't sculpted to look like the actress.
                    Jeannie, too, has an iconic costume.
                    But with characters like the Angels or Charmed, who change their street clothes from episode to episode, there's less translation as to who specifically they are.

                    Or what about the old 3 3/4 figures, like the Dukes and Buck Rogers, who were less detailed in their faces?
                    Did Mego need rights to the actors' likenesses for those figures? Or can they just make a blondish guy in a yellowish shirt, slap Bo Duke's name on him, and there you go...
                    As kids, we're told this is Bo Duke even if the resemblance isn't totally there, and we eat it up because we love the character or the show.
                    Surely every figure produced for a tv or film hasn't had actor approval...
                    Good point that some characters are more distinctive without the likenesses being exact. Using your Dukes question, didn't Mego switch labels on Bo and Luke to Coy and Vance when John Schneider and Tom Wopat were replaced briefly?
                    Hugh H. Davis

                    Wanted: Legends of the West (Empire & Excel) and other western historically-based figures. Send me an offer.
                    Also interested in figures based on literary characters.

                    Comment

                    • K
                      Fun Will Now Commence
                      • Jun 20, 2001
                      • 2524

                      #11
                      Ronny, those are dramatic resulls. Shows that sometimes the paint application is as important as the head sculpt.
                      I LOVE CHEESECAKE!!!sigpic


                      "...and the Geeks shall inherit the earth."

                      Comment

                      • Mary Canary
                        Career Member
                        • Jun 21, 2017
                        • 589

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Falstaff13
                        Good point that some characters are more distinctive without the likenesses being exact. Using your Dukes question, didn't Mego switch labels on Bo and Luke to Coy and Vance when John Schneider and Tom Wopat were replaced briefly?
                        Did they?? I have no idea.
                        I think they used Coy and Vance on the cartoon.

                        Comment

                        • Mary Canary
                          Career Member
                          • Jun 21, 2017
                          • 589

                          #13
                          Originally posted by K
                          Ronny, those are dramatic resulls. Shows that sometimes the paint application is as important as the head sculpt.
                          You can achieve a lot with a repaint or partial repaint.
                          I just wish in this case she didn't have the open mouth.
                          Not that Jaclyn Smith doesn't have a great smile...

                          Comment

                          • Falstaff13
                            Persistent Member
                            • May 28, 2008
                            • 1251

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Mary Canary
                            Did they?? I have no idea.
                            I think they used Coy and Vance on the cartoon.
                            I thought I had seen once where someone had the figures with the labels for Coy and Vance. I didn't remember the replacements being on the cartoon, but, even though I watched the show, I never really watched the cartoon.
                            Hugh H. Davis

                            Wanted: Legends of the West (Empire & Excel) and other western historically-based figures. Send me an offer.
                            Also interested in figures based on literary characters.

                            Comment

                            • EmergencyIan
                              Museum Paramedic
                              • Aug 31, 2005
                              • 5470

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Mary Canary
                              Did they?? I have no idea.
                              I think they used Coy and Vance on the cartoon.
                              They did put Coy and Vance stickers on the Bo and Luke cards but they had new character heads made for Coy and Vance (that includes the 3 3/4 inch figures).

                              Wopat and Schneider left the series over a merchandising dispute.

                              - Ian
                              Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?

                              Comment

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