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Radio host Paul Harvey's estate sues Paramount over 'Landman' voiceover
June 23 (Reuters) - The estate of radio host Paul Harvey sued Paramount Global (PARA.O), opens new tab in New York federal court on Monday for allegedly featuring a segment from his longtime program "The Rest of the Story" in the Paramount+ TV show "Landman" without permission.
The estate said, opens new tab that Paramount misused a 90-second segment from a Harvey monologue on rising gas prices in the opening segment of a "Landman" episode. The complaint also said the makers of "Landman" edited Harvey's monologue to make it appear to support the oil industry, even though the full segment criticized government fossil-fuel policies and endorsed alternative fuels.
Spokespeople for Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint. The estate's lead attorney Jaime Wolf of Pelosi Wolf Spates said the producers of "Landman" "had no right to falsify the late Mr. Harvey's message and turn him into an unwitting shill for big oil."
Harvey, who died in 2009, was a fixture of American radio. His signature program, "The Rest of the Story," aired from 1976 to 2008.
Paramount's "Landman," which began airing last year, is a drama set in the oil fields of West Texas produced by "Yellowstone" co-creator Taylor Sheridan. According to the complaint, the show's tenth episode opens with the recording of Harvey's 2008 segment "Gas Crisis," in which he said that gas prices are "deliberately manipulated by governments and certain corporations to advance broader agendas."
The lawsuit said that the estate's lawyers attempted to contact Paramount in March but never received a response. The estate asked the court for an unspecified amount of copyright infringement damages.
The case is Paulynne Inc v. Paramount Global, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:25-cv-05206.
For Harvey's estate: Jaime Wolf and Angelo DiStefano of Pelosi Wolf Spates
For Paramount: attorney information not yet available
