Plumber John Keating's plan to unclog a drain went down the drain when he drove to a Beverly Hills home last September, found himself in a bizarre rendezvous with a scantily clad blonde, her lover, and her verbally abusive…or so he believed. What he also got was two producers chasing him, telling him it was all a practical joke. And now they're going to get something: he's sued HBO, Time Warner, and World of Wonder, producers of The Naked Players Meet The Public, schedule to air on HBO March 9.
Keating tells the Associated Press he grabbed his wrench in self defense when confronted with the randy trio and fled only to be pursued by the producers. The Naked Players Meet The Public is a show involving actors playing R-rated jokes on unsuspecting people, only slightly in the style of the legendary Candid Camera.
Karen N. Frederiksen, an attorney for the defendants, tells the Associated Press HBO never intended to use the Keating segment without getting a release from him; indeed, the segment isn't going to be included in The Naked Players Meet The Public. But the plumber tells the AP the episode caused him such distress he decided to sue last November.
World of Wonder officials sent Keating a letter of apology shortly after the September incident, saying they meant no pain or distress. Keating sued two months later, for unspecified damages, saying he suffered a range of emotions from feat to anger to annoyance and back, the AP says.
During a Feb. 28 hearing, his attorneys told the court Keating should be allowed to see the videotape of the incident before being deposed by defense attorneys. A trial date will be set after a judge rules on that motion, the AP says. Keating sued last November for unspecified damages, saying he suffered a range of emotions from fear to anger to annoyance and back.
His attorney Brian Rishwain says Keating was greeted at the door of the home to which he went by a "buxom blonde" who led him upstairs to a bathroom off the master bedroom, where he started working on the sink.
Shortly, Rishwain continued, Keating heard what he called groans of ecstasy and stuck his head out to investigate. He saw the woman "in a compromising position" with a man who then ran into the bathroom saying the woman's husband was coming upstairs, and demanded Keating let him pose as a fellow plumber.
When the supposed husband arrived, he looked "furious" and accused his wife of sleeping with both Keating and the other man, putting Keating in fear for his life, Rishwain said. Frederiksen said she couldn't comment on the suit but the defendants deny liability or negligence, the AP says.
``The idea was to create an absurdly ridiculous scene and capture individuals' reactions to it,'' the World of Wonder letter to Keating stated. ``This certainly rang true with the many other plumbers who visited us that day.''
