Now We’ll Get to See Even More of the Naked CowboyThe scourge of Times Square is getting his own reality-TV show. Meanwhile, a Cadwalader partner sues over the mold in his Hamptons house, and the ‘Times’ thinks we care too much about people’s personal lives (can’t imagine why), and more, in our daily roundup of industry news.
The Naked Cowboy Flaunts His AssetsWe knew we loved the Naked Cowboy, but we had no idea that we should be trying to marry him. His Nakedness discussed his potential multi-million-dollar settlement against Mars with Main Street.com today and revealed some of his other assets. “I have a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch,” he said. “I buy real estate. I’m investing in the seventeenth floor of one of my friend’s hotels in Panama City Beach and bought a yacht for celebrity tours.” Wait. The Naked Cowboy has a yacht? Of course he does! “Basically, I invest in high-visibility assets,” the Cowboy explained. “High visibility — the way I do everything in life.”
Naked Cowboy Has High-Visibility Assets [Main Street]
in other news
Naked Cowboy Wins First Battle in War With M&MTime was, a man could play a guitar in Times Square in a cowboy hat and tightie whities and be assured that he was the only one doing it. That’s what Robert Burck, who has made a living over the past eight or so years as the Naked Cowboy, thought, anyway. “I am the epitome of the American dream,” he once said. “I’m Captain America, but better.” But recently, his dream has been threatened: by an M&M. Mars, the company that owns M&Ms, recently erected a billboard in Times Square on which a blue M&M in underwear and a cowboy hat strums the guitar, much like Burck. “My initial response was like, ‘Wow that’s cool,’” Burck told the Post the other day. But then he thought twice: He had spent years becoming the Naked Cowboy, honing his act, perfecting it. And now a piece of chocolate waltzes in and assumes his identity? Burck was not having it. This past Monday, he filed a $6 million suit against Mars for trademark infringement and other claims. The threat of the lawsuit seems to have worked; the Post today reports that Mars has taken down the billboard with the offending caricature. But this is not just a victory for the Naked Cowboy, it’s a victory for us all. “I represent the little guy,” he said.
Candy Man Can’t [NYP]
M&M Melts [NYP]
intel
Happy National Underwear Day!Today, as you no doubt know, is National Underwear Day. And what better way to celebrate than by picking up some merch from New York’s most visible (and slightly overfriendly) icon of underoos? That’s right — the Naked Cowboy has expanded into retail. You can pick up specially tagged briefs from his Website, or a personalized blue guitar, or his touching Every Moment Counts DVD and its sequel, Fear God Hate Sin. But his newest products, like Statue of Liberty–style figurines, are, frustratingly, only available in person. And if you’re going to venture into the 92-degree human steamer that is Times Square today, you, too, may find the Cowboy’s minimalist look the best way to go.
Products [NakedCowboy.com]
