SANDY HACKETT BROUGHT THE RAT PACK BACK—

AND NOW HE’S BACK WITH A NEW SHOW AND

A LAWSUIT AGAINST HIS FORMER

PARTNERS AT TRP ENTERTAINMENT

“Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show” Set To Open At The Sahara,

Where His Legendary Father, Comedian Buddy Hackett,

Played To Sold Out Audiences For Over A Quarter Of A Century

But behind the scenes, the laughter is muted and a copyright infringement battle is looming between Sandy Hackett and Dick Feeney, his former partner on “The Rat Pack is Back,” which has been running for more than seven years in Las Vegas.

Hackett has responded to being “terminated” from the show he created by filing a Federal Court action against former partner Feeney and their company, TRP Entertainment, LLC. Hackett’s lawsuit alleges that Feeney seized Hackett’s interest in the company after forcing him to resign under great duress and that Feeney, The Plaza Hotel and others continue to exploit Hackett’s creation without permission.  The suit includes causes of action for copyright infringement, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and misappropriation of the Hackett’s right of publicity.

In addition to playing Bishop in the show, Hackett was the production’s writer, producer and director.  He undertakes the same roles in his new show, “Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show,” which he is producing at The Sahara with his wife, singer/producer/songwriter Lisa Dawn Miller, and which he says will “expand my original creative vision, making it bigger and better.”

Hackett’s lawsuit, filed by attorney Howard E. King, describes Hackett as the author of the play that forms the basis of the production, which was originally known as “The Tribute To Frank, Sammy Joey & Dean,” and that Hackett is the registered owner of the copyright in the manuscript for the production, the creator of the characters, and author of the dialogue created after his copyright registration and prior to filing his complaint.

Attorney King promised vindication of Sandy’s rights:  “Sandy wrote the script and created the show.  Feeney cannot discard Sandy while keeping the fruits of his labors and creativity.  The lawsuit seeks damages from those who have deprived Sandy of his interest in the show and all others contributing to the ongoing copyright infringement committed by continuing to present Sandy’s show without permission.”

“My interest has always been to provide wonderful shows that celebrate the era when Frank, Dean, Sammy and Joey set the standard for fun and musical entertainment in Vegas,” Hackett says. “Most of all, I always hope to create and produce shows that do honor to my father and the wonderful friendship he shared with them for so many years.  I now look forward to doing that with partners who appreciate my efforts.”