Matlock Sues Andy Griffith

Or Andy Griffith sues Andy Griffith, take your pick. A man in Wisconsin legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith so he could run for the office of sheriff in Grant county, Wisconsin. He figured it gave him instant name recognition to run as 'Andy Griffith'. The real Andy Griffith is not amused, however.

The star of "The Andy Griffith Show," who portrayed the sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry, has sued a Wisconsin man who unsuccessfully ran for the Grant County post after legally changing his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith.

The lawsuit, filed Nov. 3 in U.S. District Court in Madison, alleges that William Harold Fenrick, 42, violated trademark and copyright laws, as well as the privacy of actor Andy Samuel Griffith, when he used his new name to promote his candidacy for sheriff in southwestern Wisconsin.

The lawsuit says the former Fenrick changed his name for the "sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith's notoriety in an attempt to gain votes." It asks the court to order him to go back to his original name.

The actor's lawsuit also asks Griffith to publish disclaimers and an apology in Grant County newspapers that say he has no association with the actor. It seeks unspecified damages and court fees.

"Now that the election is over, if Fenrick is willing in some fashion to clear the record, we probably could find a way to resolve it," said the actor's lawyer, Jim Cole.

Griffith argues that he did not benefit from the name change.

Fenrick/Griffith says the lawsuit is "un-American". I'd argue that lawsuits are rapidly becoming a defining characteristic of America, but let that pass. So we have a real actor using a real lawyer to sue a real person who changed his name to cash in on the name recognition of the fictional character that the real actor played on television many years ago. The real question here is: If the man now changes his name to Matlock can he defend himself in court? Or conduct surgery if he changes his name to Marcus Welby, MD?