Continue reading the main story Share This Page. Continue reading the main story. Edward L. Masry, a flamboyantly pugnacious lawyer who won millions from a utility in a toxic pollution suit and was portrayed by the actor Albert Finney in the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," died on Monday at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 73.
Erin Brockovich played a vital role in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric, an energy company, for the groundwater contamination in the town of Hinkley, Calfornia, in 1993, which propelled her into the kind of stardom that no one could have seen coming.
On review website Rotten Tomatoes Erin Brockovich holds an approval rating of 85% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 7.50/10.
In the film, Ed Masry represents Erin Brockovich in the car crash case. In reality, it was his law partner, Jim Vititoe. Brockovich had never been Miss Wichita; she had been Miss Pacific Coast.
actor Peter CoyoteIn 'Erin Brockovich', he was portrayed as a character named Kurt Potter (played by actor Peter Coyote).
Marg HelgenbergerIn the movie, she was known as Donna Jensen (and played by Marg Helgenberger). There is no real-life Donna Jensen — the details of her story are a composite of several real-life travails. But Roberta Walker was the main inspiration.
In 2001, the actress, now 52, went on to win her first Oscar for her portrayal of Brockovich in the drama. As for Brockovich, she went on to become a household name overnight. Still, the no-nonsense legal researcher continued raising awareness on environmental issues and the importance of having clean water.
Masry & Vititoe, the law firm for which Brockovich was a legal clerk, received $133.6 million of that settlement, and Brockovich received $2.5 million as part of her fee.
As of the 2010 census, the ZCTA had a population of 1,692 (a decrease of 11.6% since 2000). The postal ZIP Code is 92347 and the community is inside telephone area codes 760 and 442.
Fifteen years after the film showed triumphant residents winning a $333-million settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for contaminating its water — and nearly 20 years after the settlement itself — Hinkley is emptying out, and those who stay still struggle to find resolution.
Erin Brockovich's husband has filed for divorce, TMZ has learned. Eric Ellis just filed the docs in L.A. County Superior Court, citing "irreconcilable differences." The couple was married in 1999. They have no minor children. A date of separation is not listed.
$20 millionWith Erin Brockovich, released on March 17, 2000, Julia Roberts becomes the first actress ever to command $20 million per movie.
$20 millionRoberts was paid $20 million for Erin Brockovich, per The Hollywood Reporter — the first woman to ever get paid that amount for a film.
Girardi Keese was portrayed in the film Erin Brockovich as helping win a $333 million settlement in a case concerning contaminated drinking water. Roland's opinion recommended that Girardi pay more than $2.2 million in restitution.
Girardi's career includes his work with Ed Masry on the environmental contamination case dramatized in the film “Erin Brockovich” in 2000 and his representation of families of victims of the Lion Air crash in 2018 that killed all 189 on board.
Edward L. Masry, a flamboyantly pugnacious lawyer who won millions from a utility in a toxic pollution suit and was portrayed by the actor Albert Finney in the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," died on Monday at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 73.
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"Even though we cleared my calendar for the day, I was still on the phone. There was no resting, you just kept on going," Tammy Duckworth says on an episode of PEOPLE's podcast Me Becoming Mom
Erin Brockovich-Ellis is an unemployed single mother, desperate to find a job, but is having no luck. This losing streak even extends to a failed lawsuit against a doctor in a car accident she was in. With no alternative, she successfully browbeats her lawyer to give her a job in compensation for the loss.
The real Erin Brockovich-Ellis claimed that the film was 98-99% accurate.
The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts, who fought against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) regarding its culpability for the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident. The film was a box-office success, and gained a positive critical reaction.
Erin Brockovich was released on March 17, 2000, in 2,848 theaters and grossed $28.1 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $126.6 million in North America and $130.7 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $257.3 million.
Later, Ed visits Erin because he needs the documents she found while investigating, and she takes the chance to request her job back in return. Rehired, she continues her research, and over time, visits many Hinkley residents and gains their trust. Ed and Erin hold a barbecue in order to speak to many of the residents and explain to them what PG&E has been trying to get away with, at which point Erin is awkwardly flirted with by one of the men. Erin and Ed find numerous medical problems in Hinkley, and that virtually everyone has been treated by PG&E's doctors who have led them to believe their issues are unrelated to the "safe" chromium. The Jensens' claim for compensation ultimately becomes a major class action lawsuit. Unfortunately, Ed explains that all direct evidence is linked solely to PG&E Hinkley, rather than PG&E corporate. Until headquarters can be implicated, PG&E corporate can deny any knowledge of what's happening in Hinkley.
Erin realizes Charles has been trying to communicate with her, and is finally able to listen to his story. Charles tells Erin he and his cousin were both employees with PG&E Hinkley. Heartbroken, he tells her his cousin has just died; dying a painful death from the poison he interacted with at PG&E.
She begins complaining loudly that she deserves more respect, but is astonished to find that he has increased it—to $2 million.
Soderbergh received a separate Best Director nomination for Traffic, another film released that same year, which he won. Early in the film, the real Erin Brockovich has a cameo appearance as a waitress named Julia; the real Ed Masry also appears in the same scene.
Brockovich had never been Miss Wichita; she had been Miss Pacific Coast. According to Brockovich, this detail was deliberately changed by Soderbergh as he thought it was "cute" to have her be beauty queen of the region from which she came. The "not so good employee" that met Brockovich in the bar was Chuck Ebersohl.
Mr. Masry, a crotchety criminal and tort lawyer, and Erin Brockovich, a self-trained legal assistant, filed a class-action suit in 1993 against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. In 1997, they, joined by two large law firms, won a $333 million settlement on behalf of 648 residents of the town of Hinkley, Calif.
Soon, Mr. Masry and Ms. Brockovich were signing up plaintiffs in Hinkley. They filed suit when they had 47.
He trod the council chamber as if it were a courtroom, treating his colleagues like "bumbling fools," according to The New York Times in 2002. Chuck Cohen , the town's land-use lawyer, once responded:
Tom Girardi was the actual, real-life attorney who stepped in to help Erin Brockovich get justice for the residents of Hinkley, Calif. back in 1993. However, if you're looking for him in the movie, you won't find a guy named Girardi in the Julia Roberts film "Erin Brockovich." Instead, they turned the Girardi character into a fellow named Kurt Potter, played by Peter Coyote. However, Girardi was an advisor on the film and was closely involved with turning the true story into an Oscar-winning motion picture.
The Truth About Tom Girardi's Connection To Erin Brockovich. The Bravo-verse was shocked when Erika Jayne not only announced that she and her husband, lawyer Tom Girardi, were divorcing after 21 years of marriage, but that Tom was also charged with stealing or misappropriating over $13 million in settlements meant for his clients.
As he told Attorney At Law Magazine, "Peter Coyote played me. I was on the set every day and it was a true story. The thing that was good about it was that it did bring up a subject that nobody really gave any thought to before that time and obviously to see Julia Roberts five days a week wasn't too bad either."
Brockovich's work in bringing litigation against Pacific Gas & Electric was the focus of the 2000 feature film, Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts in the title role. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing in a Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Roberts won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich. Erin Brockovich herself had a cameo role as a waitress named Julia R.
She has two brothers, Frank Jr. and Thomas (1954–1992), and a sister, Jodie. She graduated from Lawrence High School, then attended Kansas State University, in Manhattan , Kansas, and graduated with an Associate in Applied Arts Degree from Wade College in Dallas, Texas.
The case was settled in 1996 for US$ 333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in United States history. Masry & Vititoe, the law firm for which Brockovich was a legal clerk, received $133.6 million of that settlement, and Brockovich herself received a settlement of $2 million.
Brockovich and Masry alleged that 300 cancer cases were linked to the oil wells. Subsequent testing and epidemiological investigation failed to corroborate a substantial link, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Wendell Mortimer granted summary judgment against the plaintiffs. In May 2007, the School District announced that it was to be paid $450,000 as reimbursement for legal expenses.
Brockovich had a more extensive role in the 2012 documentary Last Call at the Oasis, which focused on not only water pollution but also the overall state of water scarcity as it relates to water policy in the United States.
Brockovich assisted in the filing of a lawsuit against Prime Tanning Corp. of St. Joseph, Missouri in April 2009. The lawsuit claims that waste sludge from the production of leather, containing high levels of hexavalent chromium, was distributed to farmers in northwest Missouri to use as fertilizer on their fields.
In early 2016, Brockovich became involved in potential litigation against Southern California Gas for a large methane leak from its underground storage facility near the community of Porter Ranch north of Los Angeles.
The actor’s early success brought him riches that set him on a course where he didn’t need to take any role he didn’t truly adore.
Finney, the son of a bookmaker, had no desire to surround himself with elite friends and titles. He even turned down an offer of knighthood.
Albert Finney, who has died at the age of 82 after a short illness. William Conran / AP file
Erin Brockovich played a vital role in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric, an energy company, for the groundwater contamination in the town of Hinkley, Calfornia, in 1993, which propelled her into the kind of stardom that no one could have seen coming. After all, she became the inspiration behind ‘Erin Brockovich,’ a movie starring Julia Roberts, along with several other television programs and films, including an episode of ABC’s ’20/20,’ titled ‘The Real Rebel: The Erin Brockovich Story.’ So now, if you’re curious to know more about her life and relationship with Jorg Halaby in particular, we’ve got you covered.
Although Erin was living in Reno, Nevada, at the time, they agreed to keep their connection going because of the mutual spark they had felt. In fact, Jorg was the one who helped her relocate to Los Angeles and introduced her to Jim Vititoe and Ed Masry, partners at a renowned law firm.
On April 26, 2000, both Jorg Halaby and Shawn Brown were arrested and charged with extortion for attempting to coerce more than $300,000 from Erin Brockovich and Ed Masry.
As time passed, she and Jorg split up, but he reportedly remained a crucial part of her life. Moreover, as per Erin, Jorg was compensated rather well by Universal for his portrayal in the 2000 movie, but that despite their great relationship, she did not love him.
Is He Real? Jorg Halaby, the influence for the rough biker character of George in ‘Erin Brockovich,’ is a real person whom Erin was involved with for a brief while. The long-haired, Harley-riding man and Erin had met when she was 25 and fresh from her second divorce in the early 1990s.