Actor sues 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' producers

Actor sues 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' producers

By Samuel Maull, Associated Press
NEW YORK — An actor who says he created the Dog the Bounty Hunter reality TV program has sued the show's producers for at least $5 million that he claims they owe him in royalties, salary and other compensation.
Boris Krutonog of Los Angeles says the A&E Television Networks and others failed to pay him for the fourth season of the show as its creator and co-executive producer. Filming for the fifth season recently began.

The Honolulu-based show's producers also have failed to give Krutonog accountings of money earned from home video, TV syndication and other sources, according to his papers filed this week in Manhattan's state Supreme Court.

Krutonog also complains in court papers that he was the target of "abusive, violent and outrageous conduct" and "episodes of psychotic behavior by" the show's stars, Duane "Dog" Chapman and his wife Beth.

Krutonog says A&E, television producer David Houts and his companies, Hybrid Films Inc. and D&D Television Productions Inc., breached their contract with him. He seeks compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages.

On Wednesday, Houts referred questions about Krutonog's claims to A&E. The networks' spokesman, Dan Silberman, said he could not comment on pending litigation.

Krutonog, a Russian-born actor who had roles in Air Force One,The Hunt for Red October and The Italian Job, says in court papers that he introduced himself to Dog Chapman in 1995.

Believing that Chapman's colorful life and exploits could be the basis of a movie or a television show, Krutonog signed contracts with Chapman and received the exclusive right to develop the program, court papers say.

Chapman's adventures included a raid into Mexico in 2003 to capture serial rapist and fugitive Andrew Luster. Chapman and his crew had faced criminal charges there because of the abduction but a Mexican judicial panel dismissed the case.

Between 1995 and 2003, Krutonog developed what became Dog the Bounty Hunter, court papers say. They say that to get his consent to produce and air the show, A&E agreed to pay him as co-executive producer "for the life of the program."

The show was pulled off the air in November after Chapman was heard in a taped telephone conversation using a racial slur to refer to his son's girlfriend, who is black. Last week, Chapman and A&E executives announced the return of the show with Chapman saying he was "ashamed" of his racial remarks.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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'Dog the Bounty Hunter' to return to television after racial slur

Duane "Dog" Chapman adjusts his sunglasses as he speaks during a press conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Wednesday008. Executives with A&E, the cable network that broadcasts "Dog the Bounty Hunter," say viewers can catch reruns of the show starting June 25. Filming has begun on the fifth season. (AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman)
Monday, May 19, 2008 9:21 AM CDT

By Sudhin Thanawala
Associated Press

HONOLULU -- Bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman’s TV show will return to the air this summer, months after it was pulled when the reality star used a racial slur in a profanity-laced tirade.

Filming has begun on the fifth season, according to executives with A&E, the cable network that broadcast “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” Reruns of the show will start June 25, with new episodes, including ones from the fourth season that have not previously aired, coming a few weeks later.

The show features Chapman and crew chasing down bail jumpers in Hawaii and other states. It was pulled from the air in November when Chapman was heard in a taped phone conversation using a racial slur in reference to his son’s girlfriend, who is black.

The Chapman family, A&E executives and a representative from a civil rights organization were part of a carefully choreographed press conference Wednesday to announce the relaunch of the show.

The message: Chapman deserves a second chance.

“It’s not about ratings,” A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said. “We know his heart. We know him and know he’s not a racist.”

Scott Lonker, vice president nonfiction and alternative programming at A&E, said viewer demand for the show also weighed in the decision.

Niger Innis, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, said Chapman’s use of the racial slur was wrong. But he noted that Chapman “took ownership of the harm it caused” and “sought to turn his life around.”

Alphonso Braggs, Hawaii chapter president of the NAACP, disagreed, saying Chapman got off lightly for behavior that is “absolutely unacceptable.”

“If individuals see they are able to behave inappropriately with little or no consequence, they will continue that pattern,” he said.

Chapman, in his trademark sunglasses and badge, signed a copy of his book, “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide” at the media-only event and said he was “ashamed” by his racial comments.

He said he has received counseling and reached out to blacks, speaking at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event and participating in a toy drive.

“There was one perfect person, and they called him Jesus Christ,” Chapman said. “You have to ... realize that everyone is human, and you can err.”

His wife, Beth, said her husband’s use of the racial slur was not a reflection of the family’s feelings and vowed it would not set them back.

“We’re Chapmans, and we’re fighters,” she said. “And brother, we’re not going to settle in our setbacks. We’re going to have a comeback.”



Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

It's not about ratings, but viewer demand played a part in the decision? Interesting...

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

That's BS.
Not about ratings then why even put it back on the air.
I don't know about the rest of the viewers but I quickly got tired of the show saying what idiots they are.
"Loly, loly, ice head" is what comes to my mind every time I even here about that show and all I can think is what the..........................never mind. That wouldn't be professional. Good luck to them.

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