Shirley Slesinger Lasswell

Shirley Slesinger Lasswell (May 27, 1923 – July 19, 2007) was an American marketer. She was the wife of comics artist Stephen Slesinger and, after his death, Fred Lasswell. She is furthermore best known for losing a lawsuit with The Walt Disney Company due to her company's judicial misconduct in a dispute over Winnie-the-Pooh royalties.

Early and personal life Lasswell was born Shirley Ann Basso in Detroit, Michigan on May 27, 1923.

Lasswell initially began designing Winnie-the-Pooh related products, such as clothing, toys and dolls for sale at upscale American department stores in the 1950s under Stephen Slesinger, Inc. However, Lasswell also began to expand Winnie-the-Pooh into other markets. She was in the initial stages of developing Pooh for television when she met Walt Disney, founder and head of the Walt Disney Company. Disney wanted to create a television show featuring the Winnie-the-Pooh characters. Lasswell signed the first of two licensing agreements in 1961, which licensed the Walt Disney Company exclusive television rights and certain other rights owned by Stephen Slesinger, Inc., in exchange for royalty payments.

In 1991, Stephen Slesinger Inc. sued Disney, alleging the company had failed to pay Lasswell millions of dollars of additional Pooh royalties. The legal battle lasted 16 years, with both sides accused of misconduct, until a California state court judge threw out the main lawsuit in 2004. At the time of Lasswell's death, the decision was in the process of being appealed. In another legal action, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit in 2007 that would have ended Disney’s obligation to pay Lasswell and her daughter merchandise royalties for Pooh.

Death Lasswell died on July 19, 2007.