Manager brings defamation lawsuit over Tom Waits biography

By Eriq Gardner

It's never a surprise when an artist feels he's been screwed by dirty accounting from managers and studios. 

But apparently preserving one's reputation as an honest manager still counts.

Herbert Cohen, who has managed the careers of such legends as Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper and Linda Ronstandt, is suing Random House and the author of "Low Side of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits," after the book quoted several individuals who claim Cohen stole money from Waits. The book also goes into a bit of detail about litigation involving Cohen and Waits, and accuses the manager of stealing royalties. 

In one passage, Waits allegedly tells author Barney Hoskyns, "I thought I was a millionaire and it turned out I had, like, twenty bucks. And what followed was a lot of court battles, and it was a difficult ride."

Cohen says these statements are libelous and wants $1 million after the book "was published with malice and oppression, in that it was intended to harm plaintiff's reputation, and with reckless disregard for the truth, in light of the fact that Hoskyns interviewed many others in preparing the Book, and the true facts could have been ascertained by consulting plaintiff, other interviewees, and public records."

The complaint was filed in California district court. Considering that the author is British, we wonder why the lawsuit wasn't filed in the much more defamation-friendly UK court. Or why Cohen isn't also going after Waits, who was quoted.

Comments

[David Konow]

When did this guy handle Alice Cooper? Shep Gordon was his manager forever.