Gov. Settles Suit Against Bobblehead Manufacturer

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has settled a lawsuit against an Ohio firm that produced bobblehead dolls in his image, according to the governor’s production company.

The former actor, who is fiercely protective of his image on the stump and on the screen, sued the company in April to halt production of the plastic dolls, which featured a gun-toting Schwarzenegger in a business suit.

Under the settlement, Ohio Discount Merchandise Inc. can produce Schwarzenegger-the-politician dolls -- but without the gun.

Ohio Discount also agreed to donate a portion of its sales to Schwarzenegger’s nonprofit Arnold All-Stars after-school program in Los Angeles.

Ohio Discount, which produces a variety of bobblehead dolls, including President Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jesus, had claimed a 1st Amendment right to make the Schwarzenegger dolls.

Schwarzenegger’s lawyer, Martin Singer, said that the governor would not challenge a doll that was created purely as a political satire but added that the box containing the first doll used images from Schwarzenegger’s films and his bodybuilding days without permission.