Leonard Whiting: Last News

Leonard Whiting has shared a moving tribute to his Romeo and Juliet (1968) co-star Olivia Hussey Eisley, who died yesterday at the age of 73.

Romeo And Juliet and the horror classic Black Christmas, has died at the age of 73.News of her passing was confirmed by the San Francisco Chronicle and later shared on the actor’s Instagram page. She died of cancer, having been diagnosed in 2008 and suffering a recurrence in 2018.“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Olivia Hussey Eisley, who went peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones on December 27th,” reads the Instagram post.“Olivia was a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her,” it continued.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A judge on Monday dismissed a second lawsuit over the bedroom scene in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” finding that the lead actors consented to their appearance in the film. Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were 16 and 17 at the time of filming. They first sued Paramount in December 2022, alleging that they were duped by director Franco Zeffirelli into appearing in the nude.

a lawsuit over a nude scene in “Romeo and Juliet,” finding the 1968 film is protected under the First Amendment.Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting — both 72 and the titular stars of the Franco Zeffirelli flick — claimed they were coerced into performing nude in the film’s bedroom scene while minors.They accused Paramount Pictures of sexual exploitation and distribution of nude imagery of children in their December suit, which sought more than $500 million in alleged damages.Judge Alison Mackenzie granted Paramount’s motion to strike the lawsuit Thursday.Mackenzie rejected Hussey and Whiting’s argument that the nude scene could be considered “child pornography.” The judge also found the pair did not comply with a 2020 California law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.According to court documents obtained by The Post, Mackenzie wrote there was no evidence the film included “sufficiently sexually suggestive as a matter of law to be held to be conclusively illegal.” Paramount requested to dismiss the suit under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute, which allows defendants to move to strike supposedly meritless complaints that could undermine free speech.Solomon Gresen, an attorney for Hussey and Whiting, said he plans to appeal the decision.“I was angry,” Gresen told The Post on Friday. “I think that the anti-female bias in this country is real, and it’s something that I have dedicated my career to trying to right the wrongs.”He added: “It’s abusive to take images of naked children.

A judge tossed a lawsuit brought by the actors in Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" on Thursday. Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who are now 72, originally claimed that a nude scene in the 1968 film was child pornography and that the pair had been sexually abused while filming it.

A Los Angeles County judge on Thursday said she will dismiss a lawsuit that the stars of 1968’s Romeo and Juliet filed over the film’s nude scene, which they said involved them being subjected to fraud, and sexual abuse and harassment when they were in their teens. Superior Court Judge Alison Mackenzie ruled in favour of a motion from defendant Paramount Pictures to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet at age 15 and is now 72, and Leonard Whiting, who played Romeo at 16 and is also 72.

“Thus with a kiss I die,” wrote William Shakespeare in Romeo & Juliet, and thus echoed a Los Angeles judge today over the alleged sexual abuse and negligence lawsuit from the stars of Franco Zeffirelli Oscar-nominated 1968 adaptation of the doomed lovers play.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A judge on Thursday said she will throw out a lawsuit over a nude scene in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” after finding that the film is protected by the First Amendment. The stars of the film, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, filed the suit in December, alleging that they were coerced by director Franco Zeffirelli into performing nude in the film’s bedroom scene. Hussey was 16 at the time of filming; Whiting was 17. Judge Alison Mackenzie granted Paramount’s motion to throw out the suit, finding that the plaintiffs had not complied with the provisions of a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Paramount has filed a motion to throw out a lawsuit over the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” arguing that a nude scene with underage actors does not amount to “childhood sexual assault.” Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were 16 and 17 when they starred in the movie, which was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The film’s famous bedroom scene includes a lingering shot of Whiting’s buttocks and a brief glimpse of Hussey’s breasts. The actors, now in their 70s, filed a $500 million suit in December, alleging that Zeffirelli pressured them into performing in the nude. They accused Paramount, the distributor, of profiting from their sexual exploitation.

Pippo Zeffirelli, son of Romeo and Juliet director Franco Zeffirelli, is criticizing the lawsuit brought by that film’s stars, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting.

The lead actors of the 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet have filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures for sexual harassment over the movie’s nude scene.

Almost 55 years after the Oscar nominated adaptation of Romeo & Juliet from director  Franco Zeffirelli came out, the stars of the film are now suing Paramount Pictures for more than $100 million for alleged sexual abuse, negligence and more.