The Fight Over Sam Simon's Estate

Tyson Kilmer, the man who is now caring for the late Sam Simon's dog, a behaviourally-challenged Cane Corso named Columbo, recently spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about the lack of support that he has received from the estate since Simon's passing. Simon had verbally agreed to take care of the dog's lifetime expenses. Those expenses made headlines on other sites, because they clock in at $140,000. Sound ludicrous? Yes. Is that the amount that Simon himself was spending to care for the dog while he was alive? Yes. Yet the executor of Simon's estate refuses to pay any money for the dog's exceedingly expensive care. Simon's friend Merrill Markoe stated, "Sam would be humiliated and enraged. At the very least, Sam would have expected Columbo's care to be the same as it was when he was alive. He was thrilled when Tyson said he would take Columbo — thrilled and relieved. He would never have agreed to cut off funds for his own fucking dog!"

Lest you think all this brouhaha is being made over just Simon's dog, the problem is much larger than that. Before he died, Simon stated on Marc Maron's podcast that he was donating nearly all of his Simpson's royalties to charity, royalties which bring in tens of millions annually. Simon made additional verbal promises to each individual charity that he supported. But the various charities that Simon generously supported during his lifetime have yet to see a single dollar from the estate. Capt. Paul Watson, of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, had this to say: "In my opinion, there is something quite irregular with this development. A failure to follow through with Sam's promises and stated commitments will only serve to tarnish the unblemished reputation of this remarkable man who is no longer in a position to defend those promises." Mark Thompson, a close friend of Simon's, is quoted as follows: "The notion that the organizations that Sam dedicated so much of his life and fortune to should in any way be cut off is sickening. Sam had clearly intended that they continue to be fully funded to do critical work. The whole thing is bizarre. Throw Columbo in the mix, and it takes an even more twisted turn. If this is all true, then Sam's estate is being administered by people who have no consideration for who he was and what he wanted his continuing legacy to be."

The full article is on the long side, but it is well with the read. View the entire article at The Hollywood Reporter.