Bill Murray is a comedy legend, but a hilariously brutal cease-and-desist letter he received from a lawyer for the Doobie Brothers is whatâs getting the laughs today.
The actor owns a golf apparel brand called William Murray Golf and is selling a shirt called Zero Hucks Given, named for Huckleberry Finn.
Ads for the shirt feature the classic rock bandâs 1972 hit âListen To The Music,â but apparently without permission from the band, according to Stereogum.
That was unacceptable to the Doobie Brothersâ lawyer Peter Paterno, who sent a letter to the actorâs camp demanding he stop using the song without compensating the band.
âListen to the Music is a fine song,â Paterno said in the letter. âI know you agree because you keep using it in ads for your Zero Hucks Given golf shirts. However, given that you havenât paid to use it, maybe you should change the company name to âZero Bucks Given.ââ
Paterno pointed out that Murray has a pattern of not paying to use music in ads and other promos; a pattern the lawyer said the actor shares with the president.
âIt seems like the only person who uses our clientsâ music without permission more than you do is Donald Trump,â Paterno said.
The hits just kept on coming. Paterno even dragged Murray for his movie choices:
âThis is the part where Iâm supposed to cite the United State Copyright Act, excoriate you for not complying with some subparagraph that Iâm too lazy to look up and threaten you with eternal damnation for doing so.
âBut you already earned that with those Garfield movies. And you already know that you canât use music in ads without paying for it.â
Paterno suggested the real reason the band was angry may have been for aesthetic reasons.
âWeâd be almost OK with it if the shirts werenât so damn ugly. But it is what it is,â he wrote.
So far, Murrayâs camp hasnât responded, but you can see Paternoâs letter below.