Business Notes

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers -- those legendary names are as synonymous with sophistication as a jet-black tuxedo, the snow-white swirl of an evening gown, a Ritz cracker . . . A Ritz cracker? According to Astaire's widow, a subsidiary of Nabisco Brands hoped to create just such a connection when it released a million packages of its familiar Ritz snack crackers decorated with dancers in formal dress. Though the faces seem airbrushed, Mrs. Astaire and the very much living Ginger Rogers see an uncanny resemblance to a photo of the famed Hollywood hoofers from the 1935 hit film Top Hat. Their response: a $1 million lawsuit.

"When you put a celebrity on a can of merchandise, that's an endorsement," says Steven Ames Brown, who is representing both Rogers and Astaire's estate. Nabisco Brands, insisting that the design depicts "two unidentified dancers," says the suit is "without merit."