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Check
Still In The Mail
By
TIM BOXER
LMER
GERTZ,
who died at 93 in Chicago, was one of the country’s leading
civil rights lawyers. He defended both black and whites in various
landmark cases. He got the courts to overturn Jack Ruby’s
conviction of assassinating Lee Harvey Oswald, but Ruby
died in jail awaiting a new trial. His other famous triumphs
involved getting thrill killer Nathan Leopold released from
prison and successfully defending Henry Miller against
obscenity charges for “Tropic of Cancer.”
Gertz
was a nationally renowned champion of civil rights, fighting for
black lawyers’ right to join bar associations, and helping to
write a bill of rights in Illinois.
That
did not stop him from defending the rights of a white person
experiencing injustice from a black person.
That’s
why he represented me in a lawsuit against Dick Gregory.
As
a young reporter in the Windy City in the early ‘60s, I
discovered Greg playing in a coffee house. I thought he was the
most brilliant standup of the new breed of cerebral comics.
With
a handshake deal, I became his publicist. In short order, the
press began to take notice of this fresh new humorist with his
unique outlook on hate and prejudice.
He
appeared in the newspapers every single day for three months
straight, until NBC’s Jack Paar Show booked, which
brought him to the big time in New York.
Greg
promised me $25,000 for making him a star overnight. When I
mentioned Greg’s unfulfilled promise to Gertz, the fearless
civil rights fighter saw the injustice inflicted on me and did not
hesitate to bring it to the attention of the court.
After a jury trial that lasted less than a week, Greg
agreed to settle. But wouldn’t you know, after three decades,
the check is still in the mail.
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