Dangerfield's widow files suit against comedian's friend

The widow of the late American comedian Rodney Dangerfield says even in death, her husband can't seem to get any respect.

Joan Dangerfield has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles to stop the airing of a videotape of the comedian made during his later years.

Dangerfield, whose catchphrase was "I don't get no respect," died in October 2004 at the age of 82.

His wife says the video footage was never meant for public viewing.

The lawsuit says producer David Permut, a former friend, possesses more than 200 hours of video footage of Dangerfield taken during the final few years of his life.

According to Joan Dangerfield, much ofthe "extremely sensitive and very personal" footage shows her husband in poor health.

The lawsuit claims that Permut, who owns a production company in Beverley Hills, is editing the material into a documentary called Respect that he hopes to air at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.

The lawsuit also alleges Permut violated an agreement he had with Joan Dangerfield giving her joint control of the material.

Dangerfield, whose real name was Jacob Cohen, rose to fame during the 1960s after a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.He was so popular, he soon started headlining shows in Las Vegas and would eventually appear on The Tonight Show more than 70 times.

His comedy album, No Respect, won a Grammy Award and during the 1980s, he appeared in a string of movies: Caddy Shack, Easy Money and Back to School.

The comedian was bestowed an American Comedy Award for lifetime creative achievement in 1994.