Trainer Says He Was Robbed of a Credit, by ‘George’

Plus, another Clinton in court . . . John Doe unmasked . . . Mrs. Moore no more.

Watch out for that tree! The trainer who says he turned actor Brendan Fraser from flab to fab for the film “George of the Jungle” is suing the vine-swinging, tree-slamming star for allegedly cheating him out of a film credit.

Daniel S. Field claims in his Los Angeles Superior Court suit that Fraser had promised him the credit as his personal trainer for “George.” Alas, when the film came out in January 1997, Field’s name was not in the credits, but other trainers’ were. He is seeking unspecified damages for fraud and breach of contract. Fraser could not be reached.

According to the suit, Field has buffed out a number of celebrities, and film credits are as good as gold in the world of personal trainers.

Fraser, according to the suit, “was out of shape at the time,” a condition that can be painfully obvious when one runs around in a loincloth. The actor “needed extensive counseling, training and expertise,” the suit says. If Field “had known of [Fraser’s] secret intention not to afford any credit, he would not have trained [him].”

DAKOTA VS. BEAR: First Sibling Roger Clinton is due Monday in South Bay Municipal Court to defend himself in a dog bite case.

Jeff Klempan alleges in his small claims lawsuit that he was injured in May while walking his dog, a Rottweiler named Dakota, past Clinton’s rented Redondo Beach abode.

Unleashed, the Clinton canine, named Bear, ran from the house into the street and attacked the legally leashed Rottweiler, the suit charges. When Klempan tried to break up the dogfight, he alleges, Bear bit him.

Klempan, who received stitches in his arm, sued Clinton for a week’s worth of lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering. Clinton countersued, seeking $300,000 for mental anguish allegedly caused by witnessing the dogfight. Woof.

THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG: Rod McKuen, the feel-good ‘60s poet and songwriter, is being sued by Delta Music over his 1994 sale of two song catalogs, which included the original score of “Gone With the Wind,” along with recordings by Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra.

Delta’s suit, filed in Superior Court in Santa Monica, alleges that McKuen misrepresented that he owned the rights to the music. After the deal was struck, the suit states, others laid claim to the recordings, including MGM, Universal and Sony.

Alleging fraud and breach of contract, Delta is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. McKuen could not be reached for comment.

THE FINE PRINT: There’s a quiet newspaper war going on, and since it involves two publications that serve the 45,000 lawyers in Los Angeles, naturally it has wound up in court.

A trial began last week in Los Angeles Superior Court of feisty underdog Metropolitan News Co.’s suit against the Daily Journal Corp. over lucrative legal advertising.

The Met News claims the DJ is trying to steal its longtime advertisers by offering them bargain-basement rates. The DJ insists it’s playing fair in a competitive market.

It’s a bit of a David vs. Goliath affair, with Met News Publisher Roger M. Grace, his wife and daughter--all lawyers--against the DJ’s corporate Chairman Charles T. Munger, the super-rich partner of uber-investor Warren Buffet. The DJ, circulation 15,000, is a mere drop in Munger’s estimated $825-million bucket of investments. But for the Graces, the Met News is their livelihood.

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME, KIDS: Add Kelsey Grammer, star of the hit sitcom “Frasier,” to the list of celebs who probably should leave the lens cap on while frolicking in the boudoir.

Court documents recently unsealed in Van Nuys confirm that it indeed was Grammer who sued Internet Entertainment Group under the pseudonym John Doe over a home sex video.

Grammer/Doe’s Sept. 22 suit alleged that he discovered a month earlier that he was missing a homemade video, co-starring an unidentified “filmed female.” He accused the firm and its “agents” of stealing it. The group responded that it knew nothing about the tape but, now that you mention it, the company sure would like to see a copy.

Anyone would be embarrassed if their randy home videos got out, but nobodies don’t get to file secret lawsuits under false names, said Internet Entertainment attorney Alan Isaacman. He convinced Superior Court Judge Leon Katz to open up the Grammer file last week.

“I think it’s inappropriate for public records of the courts to be sealed in the case of a celebrity who has a rather typical lawsuit claim,” Isaacman said.

Grammer, meanwhile, has withdrawn the suit.

Never mind.

THE EX FILES: The on-again, off-again Dudley Moores are off again, for good. Moore’s rocky marriage to his fourth wife, Nicole Rothschild, is officially over, and the divorce is final. Moore had sued for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. She sued him in Santa Monica, alleging, among other things, that he made her dance provocatively and wear very little clothing for hours at a time. She withdrew that suit in June.