The Region - News from May 2, 1985

Entertainer Bill Cosby was accused in a civil suit of agreeing to buy a statue from a Pasadena sculptor and then having bronze castings made of it and of another statue by the same artist without paying for either. Richmond Barthe claims in his Los Angeles Superior Court suit that Cosby went to his studio and asked to buy a statue titled “The Seeker.” The entertainer also agreed to take the artwork to a New York foundry and have several reproductions made of it and another work there to help Barthe in a proposed art show, the suit alleges. The suit says “The Seeker” is valued at more than $15,000 and asks an additional $1 million in exemplary and punitive damages. A spokesman for the TV star said Cosby had no comment.