Henry Bushkin could be in trouble for failing to list his best-selling Johnny Carson biography as an asset in bankruptcy court.
Bombastic Bushkin, as Carson called his one-time lawyer, filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles two years ago.
“There were only six chapters at the time,” Bushkin told me. “The book wasn’t released until two years later. What, am I in slavery my entire life?
“It’s just an embarrassment,” he said.
His bankruptcy trustee, David Gill, said in court papers filed on Christmas Eve that the Carson biography was on the best seller list for almost three months.
“The debtor did not list a value for the book in his schedules. The debtor also failed to advise the trustee that the book was being published or that he had received advances and other compensation,” Gill stated. “Moreover, the creditors allege that the debtor may have concealed or transferred other assets.”
The creditor making the most noise is businessman Bruce Singer, who had an agreement with Bushkin to pay his living expenses until the book was finished in return for a 25 percent share of the book’s profits.
In a complaint filed in the bankruptcy court on Dec. 17, Singer claims he is owed at least $160,000.